The reality of fuel cells drives hybrid vehicles

There is an interesting AutomotiveNews article, Honda continues work on cold start, range issues with its fuel-cell vehicles, that demonstrates the great importance of hybrid cars.

"If all goes well, Honda hopes to sell 50,000 fuel cell vehicles a year in the United States by 2020. Toyota wants to sell 12,000 fuel cell vehicles annually in the United States in the early 2010s," the article states.

Why so few vehicles?

One of the biggest problems, aside from extreme cost, is that fuel cell vehicles cannot operate in cold weather. While significant gains are being made, the necessary gains are at least a decade or two away.

Quite simply, fuel cell vehicles will not take over the automotive market for at least two decades. Can America continue its SUV love affair amidst foreign oil dependency and global warming for another two decades?

Not with current technology.

Imagine a Toyota Prius that is significantly more powerful and twice as efficient as today's model. Such a vehicle is possible within a decade or less, and that technology will also be available for SUVs, such as the Ford Escape hybrid, or the Toyota Highlander hybrid.

Hybrid technology is simply the best automotive investment any American can make if you don't believe in supporting foreign oil dependency, high gas prices, or destroying the environment.

Demand nothing less than hybrid vehicle efficiency.