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.
