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What About The Hydrogen Car?

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We have been hearing about electric cars lately and how auto companies are pushing to get them on the roads, but what ever happaned to the hydrogen car. Beyond the test market, hydrogen-powered cars seemed to be nothing more than research and development, but with new hydrogen technology it is no longer the dangerous fuel we were reluctant to put on the roads.

At last month’s Los Angeles auto show Honda introduced the Honda FCX Clarity, the world’s first production fuel-cell car. Befor this, BMW was leading the way in hydrogen development with their Hydrogen 7, a V12 internal combustion engine that can be powered by gasoline as well as liquid hydrogen. With a price tag of at least $250 000 only 100 celebrities and politicians have received a loaner car for evaluation and to provide feedback. The honda fuel cell car would also be quite expensive to buy, but once it goes into production for the public, the price would significantly go down.

Like the electic car, there is the problem of “fueling up”. According to H2stations.org, a website that tracks hydrogen refilling stations, there are only 10 certified filling stations in Canada (and those are used for industrial purposes), 38 in Europe and 49 in the U.S. (with more than half in California).

Honda tried to address the infrastructure problem with its experimental Home Energy Station, a self-contained unit that converts natural gas into hydrogen, but burning natural gas to produce hydrogen seems to just defeat the purpose.

Good Auto Sales in 2009

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Even though the 2009 auto industry has been a bleak one, three automakers sold more vehicles in 2009 than they did in 2008. Hyundai and Kia, which are affiliated, and Subaru.

In 2009, Subaru sold 216,652 vehicles, a 15 percent jump from 2008 and more than the automaker’s previous record of 200,703, in 2006. This may have been due to the introduction of two new models, the Legacy and Outback, which recorded sales leaps of 37 percent and 24 percent over the previous year. Their strongest performer, the Forester, recorded sales of 77,781 units.

Kia Motors America announced its 14th consecutive year of record sales with 305,473 units sold, a 3.8-percent year-over-year increase. Kia saw nine months of record sales in 2007. Leading the way for the brand in 2007 were Rio, Optima and Sportage.

Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea’s largest automaker, posted a 61.3 percent rise in September global sales compared to a year earlier helped by the launch of two new models, Tucson ix and Sonata.

So what are these auto makers doing different? The improvement in quality over the last few years and the smaller more fuel efficient designs seem to be what the consumer is looking for.

Make Your Car Run Better

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If you haven’t traded in your car with the governments cash for clunkers program and you don’t foresee yourself buying an electric car in the near future, there are still some things you can do to make your car run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

1. Use your cruise control whenever possible. In town this may not be feasible, but on the highway if you maintain a steady speed (less breaking and accelerations) your car will use less fuel. Avoid circling parking lots and rush hour traffic will also decrease your breaking and acceleration.

2. Don’t leave your car idling. Cars today don’t need to be warmed up before you drive. If you gently drive your vehicle until it has warmed up, your car will be running for a shorter period of time. If you’re sitting at a drive through, or just running in to the market to get something, always turn your engine off.

3. Use the highest gear possible for your speed. A higher gear means better fuel efficiency.

4. Use air conditioning as little as possible. Opening a window is often enough to cool down your car. On the highway however, the extra drag caused by having a window open will increase fuel consumption, so your probably better off using the a/c.

5. Don’t carry stuff you don’t need. The extra weight on the car and extra drag caused by roof racks will increase your gas mileage. Even snow on the car can increase your weight and drag.

6. Use your garage if you have one. (I could never understand why someone would have a garage and not use it.) The car will need less heating in the winter and less cooling in the summer. It’s more convenient for you and better for your car.

7. Keep your engine tuned and your tires inflated. A clean air filter and the right oil all contribute to better fuel economy. Take winter tires off when driving in good conditions they significantly increase fuel consumption.

8. Buy gasoline during coolest time of day – early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities.

I guess the best thing to do would be to cut down on your driving. Car pooling and planning your errands when your already out is a good way of reducing fuel emissions and saving yourself some money.

Cars That Run on Sunshine

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The electric car has been around for a long time. In the late 1930’s Robert Anderson (A Scottish inventor) built the first crude electric carriage. Over the years the car has been improved to a point where it could be a practical mode of transportation for many people. One of the main reasons we don’t see many on the roads is because charging a large number of electric cars will require huge upgrades to the nation’s infrastructure

SolarCity and Tesla Motors hope to change the amount of electric cars on the road by installing solar-powered car charging stations in Rabobank locations along California Route 101. These quick charging “gas stations” delivers up to 70 amps (240 volts) of electricity which would charge a Telsa Roadster in about 3.5 hours. SolarCity has also installed over 100 in home-charging stations throughout the state.

The Beautiful Earth Group, a solar and wind farms company started last year, has paired up with BMW and the mini, to build solar charging stations in the Red Hook, Brooklyn area. These stations are truly “green”. Built out of recycled shipping containers the station can provide enough energy to charge the Mini E in three hours. Lex Heslin, chief executive of Beautiful Earth, claims two firsts: He got the keys to the first electric version of the Mini Cooper in New York and his company is operating the city’s first solar E.V. charging station.

Silicon Valley based company, Coulomb Technologies, have been building charging stations around the world since 2007. Their recent partnership with Envision Solar has allowed them to integrate their ChargePoint technology into a “solar grove” at Dell headquarters in Round Rock, Tex. This system provided 131,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, and doubles as shade for 56 parking spaces.

With the environmental issues we face today, solar charging could become big business. Ideally, solar charging stations will be connected to the grid so they can feed electricity back when the power is not needed for car-charging. When the sun isn’t shining, cars can be charged on grid power.

Cash For Clunkers

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Cash for clunkers is a program set up earlier this year by the Senate in an attempt to get older less fuel efficient cars off the road and to boost the new car buying economy. Vehicles from 1984 or newer having a mpg (miles per gallon) rating of 18 or less are eligible. Owners of passenger cars could get $3,500 if they buy a vehicle that is rated at least 4 mpg better or $4,500 for 10 mpg or better than what they are driving. SUVs, trucks and van owners will get $3,500 for an improvement of 2 mpg and $4,500 for 5 mpg or more. The owner of the trade-in must have had the vehicle for at least a year, and it must be drivable.

The government programs, officially called the car allowance rebate system (CARS), has been so popular that one week after its launch the programs funding had been used up. The US transport secretary, Ray LaHood, is asking the senate to vote for an additional two billion in financing to continue the program. Germany, Italy, Britain, Romania, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain and Serbia have also introduced their own versions of cash for clunkers programs and have experienced stronger sales almost immediately.

What’s In Store For The Auto Industry In 2010?

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Happy New Year! I hope that everyone has had a safe and happy holiday season.

Even after the government pumped in more than $123 billion in support of the auto industry and its suppliers during the past year, 2009 still turned out to be a disastrous year with some of the lowest car sales since the 1970s. Companies have been selling their technologies and subsidiaries in an attempt to keep their heads above water and although there are some great deals to be had out there, it seems that in general, people just don’t have the money to spend. Sales increased towards the end of 2009, but this was mostly due to government incentives and a push for dealerships to get rid of their 2009 and discontinued models.

Overseas the car industry has faired a bit better. Car sales in China last year jumped almost 45% percent to 13.5 million vehicles, overtaking the U.S. market, according to analysts polled by Reuters. In Spain, December car sales were up 25 percent, the fourth consecutive monthly increase, supported by government subsidies and the French carmakers’ association said on Monday that new car sales in France surged 49 percent in December to 228,451 vehicles also supported by government incentives.

If you listen to the auto analysts you really don’t get a feel for what 2010 has in store. Some say 2010 will be a good year, while other say a bad one. So who can you believe? It seems to me that the auto industry is being backed by government incentives and subsidies and unless they want to continue pouring money into it, it could be a bleak year. I guess we will have to just wait and see.

Ford and Microsoft In ‘Sync’

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With concerns about distracted drivers causing automobile accidents, Microsoft has created Sync, a voice controlled in car system where there is no LCD screen distracting you from the road. Push a button on the steering wheel, tell the system what you want and your request is confirmed by a robotic female voice.

Sync is Ford’s voice-controlled in-car system for wireless hands-free operation of a cell phone and for playing music from a connected MP3 player. Automated calls for 911 assistance in the event of an air bag deployment are also part of the Sync package Ford has been adding features to Sync since its introduction. The latest version includes built-in GPS navigation with spoken turn-by-turn directions; traffic updates; recorded news and sports articles; and vehicle health reports.

There is no monthly fees for the first three years (Ford has not determined whether fees may be applicable after that), and drivers do not need to pay extra for a data cell phone plan. The system sends information over a voice channel of the driver’s phone.

Though the system is quite simple to use, drivers do need to learn Sync’s preset commands which means either reading the manual or waiting for prompts from the interactive voice menu. People who have tried the system say they are never 100% comfortable with only voice commands and having passengers in the vehicle make it difficult to have a conversation and follow directions at the same time. Like all new technology, Sync has it’s glitches but hopefully with more testing it can become a tool in making our roads a little safer.

Tax Credits For Batteries

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Automakers will be receiving $220 million in tax credits to help develop battery packs for hybrid and plug in hybrids vehicles. The credits, which include $100 million for battery manufacturers and $120 million for battery pack assembly, are designed to benefit Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Dow Chemical Co.

Ford plans to move production of battery packs from Mexico to southeastern Michigan and to invest up to $500 million to assemble hybrids and lithium ion batteries there. “This is huge,” said James McBride, vice president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. “This is the rebirth of the auto industry in this state.”

Despite the recent excitement over electric cars, the National Research Council thinks that it will be a few decades before we see hybrids in “meaningful numbers”.