Posted on 08/17/2002 10:21:43 AM PDT by forest
Some folks think that because I drive a little 4WD vehicle I do not care about good transportation. That is not exactly true, of course. Within the past couple weeks, I have ridden in two greatly different styled electric vehicles. However, I was also in an older GTO and a Plymouth Roadrunner -- both muscle-cars with four on the floor and duel quads.
Fact is, I grew up drag racing. Today, I am more interested in other things.
For instance, a couple years ago I reported a little about my visit with a Jeep Commander all electric fuel cell vehicle.(1) That's a very interesting vehicle. Problem is, it needed a hydrogen station to refuel and there just are not any of those around yet. It did, however, "move out" with surprising vigor.
Still, it ran on hydrogen. And hydrogen is a lot more dangerous than gasoline. Chrysler is working on that, of course, and recently unveiled its third generation fuel cell concept vehicle, the Chrysler Town & Country Natrium.(2) That vehicle also has zero emissions and uses a device to convert sodium boro-hydride to hydrogen fuel to power the fuel cell. That's borax, which can be found laying around on the ground in many areas of the country. Still, there are no borax fuel stations available either.
The newest iteration of the Jeep Commander has an onboard reformer to produce hydrogen from gasoline for the fuel cell stacks. That type of technology is probably what all electric fuel cell vehicles will use for the foreseeable future. All vehicle manufactures are working on that and most expect to have vehicles available for sale within the next three years.
Meanwhile, Ed Garsten (now with AP) writes that General Motors is announcing their "skateboard" fuel cell powered vehicle. We have no idea which bright light at GM came up with that tag. This is a full sized automobile.
The GM concept vehicle seems to have two names: Hy-wire and Autonomy. The vehicle is a bit "sporty" for my taste. But, it seems that they wanted it to look futuristic and that's what came out of the engineering shop. Those who like Corvettes will love it. Those of us who do not wish to act like a contortionist to get in and out of a vehicle will not.
Apparently they call it a "skateboard" design because most of the working parts are in the a 6-inch thick chassis, stuffed with electronic components. That chassis, in this case, is also a platform frame and apparently holds most of the vehicle's weight. Also, apparently, Ed Garsten was a bit early with his report. Because, when I called GM, I learned there is an embargo on that news.
But, this is the Internet, after all. So, some information can be found.(3) What I could not learn are some important little incidentals, like what fuel is used to produce the hydrogen to run the fuel cell. The flat chassis, however, seems to be the design key.
"There's no engine to see over," says Wayne Cherry, GM Vice President of Design. "Drivers wouldn't have to sit in the traditional location. They could move to the center of the vehicle or closer to the front bumper or further back. It will take a little getting used to, but it's maximum freedom, maximum space for people and their stuff. There wouldn't be foot pedals or a steering column. The body shape could be anything you want it to be. We've chosen this futuristic two-seater, but next, we might do a mobility body that allows a wheelchair user to roll into the driving position, or a 10-seat transit bus. We've even talked about a seating position that puts the driver up front, like a helicopter pilot."
One important change is that the vehicle uses "by-wire" technology. That is, everything -- the brake and accelerator controls and the steering -- operates with a hand- held unit called an X-Drive, which is moved from side to side like a video game joystick. So, if there is no electrical power, absolutely nothing will work. Which means, when the electrical power goes down, the vehicle cannot even be steered to push it to the side of the road.
Electric vehicles are certainly the wave of the future. But, for the moment . . . well . . . some mechanical mechanisms may be very hard to replace effectively.
Still, anyone paying attention while traveling around Southeastern Michigan will probably notice a number of different styled electric vehicles on the road. They seem to be very dependable and most obviously have rather good pickup.
1. http://209.15.142.23/reports/headsup/fron211.htm
2. http://www.kfmb.com/misc/cool_cars/details.php?storyID=8132
3. http://www.gizmo.com.au/public/News/news.asp?articleid=1166
An onboard reformer to produce hydrogen from gasoline for the fuel cell stacks will be the type of technology probably used in all electric fuel cell vehicles for the foreseeable future.
Apparently they call it a "skateboard" design because most of the working parts are in the a 6-inch thick chassis, stuffed with electronic components. That chassis, in this case, is also a platform frame and apparently holds most of the vehicle's weight. Everything -- the brake and accelerator controls and the steering -- operates with a hand - held unit called an X-Drive, which is moved from side to side like a video game joystick.
Where do you get that? Give us an example of technology the oil companies have "bought up"?
Those supposed replacements for the internal combustion engine either exist only in minds of econuts, have major practical technological problems, or are economically unviable in comparison to the internal combustion engine. When something is actually practical and economically competetive it will be produced. A good example is hybrid cars.
Did you miss the obvious?
1) It runs on gasoline and it scores low on energy effiency because it uses only the hydrogen atoms.
2) Where's the gas tank?
3) Where's the room for a family of four and some groceries/cargo?
4) It is *NOT* zero emission. It will produce water and some kind of carbon droppings.
5) How much will it cost above ordinary (and more efficient) vehicles?
6) How long will the "fuel cell" last and who is going to work on it when it breaks down?
7) How much in out tax dollars went into producing this monstrosity and how many will be used to subsidize it and it's siblings in the other car companies?
The best of all viable fuel sources.
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