United States and State of California flags fly over Custom House Plaza in Monterey, California, the start of the very first fuel cell vehicle road rally.
Posted on 09/10/2002 9:12:58 AM PDT by Chemist_Geek
California Coast 2002 Rally Photos
United States and State of California flags fly over Custom House Plaza in Monterey, California, the start of the very first fuel cell vehicle road rally.
By Bill Moore
Hot off our new Canon G2 digital camera.
September 08,2002
The California Fuel Cell Partnership and the Green Car Group invited EV World to cover the first-ever road rally of hydrogen-powered, fuel cell vehicles. The rally would start in Monterey and wind down the scenic but challenging Highway 1 to Santa Barbara, over 300 miles to the south. Of the seven vehicles that began the rally, five completed the trip, often at speeds in excess of 65 mph.
We recorded this historic event with photographs, video and personal interviews with many of the participants. You can view some of the more than 300 high-resolution photos we took by clicking the Rally Photo Album link.
When the rally was over and the remaining five teams could relax, it was clear that they had passed an important milestone, one they weren't entirely confident they could achieve when they started their fuel cell stacks in the plaza at Monterey.
The first day would be relatively easy with a brief parade around the Monterey Peninsula. Day two would be the most daunting for the fuel cells as the winding, twisting ribbon of highway between Carmel and San Simeon would tax the responsiveness of the drive systems and their overall range. Day three would subject the vehicles to more typical California freeway driving conditions as the rally motored from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara, passing through newly established vineyards and out onto the wind-buffeted coast west northwest of Santa Barbara.
The car would refuel four times between Carmel and Santa Barbara, twice along the Big Sur section of Highway One, once in San Luis Obispo and the fourth time between Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.
Certainly the rally was more than just about building public awareness, although that was certainly part of the story. Equally important was the technical data the teams collected, information that will, even in failure, enable each carmaker to continue to improve their technology.
Still, the most common questions bystanders asked were, "When would they be available for sale?", "How much would they cost?", and "Where would the hydrogen come from?" All good questions for which there are few good answers at this point. But as the rally demonstrated, we're beginning to sense the direction in which the answers will be found.
Watch more more coverage on the rally in the coming weeks.
END STORY
Sure I'm all for that, while we perfect the fuel cell and photovoltaics and nuclear fission and fusion reactors. Drilling Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, and off the California coast is only a stop-gap measure.
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