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WGNNews.org Posted 3:48 P.M. October 01,
2005
By Kenneth Martin
Road rally hawks hydrogen cars BERKELEY,
Calif.--No more oil changes. No more pricey gas. No more trips
to the service station.
That is, unless your car needs its fuel-cell stack adjusted.
Most drivers would call this
crazy talk, but it's the sales pitch for hydrogen-powered cars
coming from big carmakers such as General Motors, Honda,
Volkswagen, Toyota and Nissan. From Thursday to Saturday, the
companies are driving $1 million-plus prototypes of fuel cell
cars, or the "car of the future" as they call it, throughout
Northern California, promoting the benefits of fuel cell
technology, which, among other things, if widely adopted would
remove U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
"We believe the long-term future is going to be hydrogen. And
this kind of vehicle will do to today's cars and trucks what
today's cars and trucks did to the horse and buggy of 150 years
ago," said Dave Barthmuss, manager of GM's public policy,
referring to the company's "Hydrogen 3" minivan on display.
All of the cars being showcased in the rally use hydrogen, with
fuel cells that bind oxygen and hydrogen to create an electrical
current that powers the motor. The natural byproduct emitted
from the tailpipe is water. The process reduces local air
pollution and reduces reliance on a depleting natural resource,
oil. However, the factories that produce the hydrogen emit
carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. As a
result, some researchers have proposed
powering future vehicles with solar panels.
GM's "Hydrogen 3," a compact minivan that seats five,
operates on liquid and compressed hydrogen. It can store the
hydrogen at up to 10,000 PSI; and at that pressure, it is a
liquid that can power the vehicle for 250 miles.
In April, the U.S. military began testing GM's modified
fuel-cell Chevrolet Silverado, which can generate 188 kilowatts
and 317 foot-pounds of torque, about the same motor torque
generated by GM's 5.3 liter V-8 engine.
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