>> GM has also announced plans to start selling 100 Fuel-Cell versions of the Chevrolet Equinox.

It sems that car manufacturers are being dragged kicking and screaming into making alternative vehicles, rather than actually wanting to sell them., otherwise why would they make so few numbers and style them all to be so damn ugly?

See they are even now starting to change the hybrid version of the Civic to not look the same as the regular one. (read: it will be made more ugly).

[QUOTE]It sems that car manufacturers are being dragged kicking and screaming into making alternative vehicles, rather than actually wanting to sell them., otherwise why would they make so few numbers and style them all to be so damn ugly?[/QUOTE]

As businesses chasing the dollar, I would venture to guess that if they knew the market would support mass production the manufacturers would jump in. Starting new production lines is a massive expenditure, so setting up these lines without first testing the waters is extremely risky. Limited runs allow some market testing, real world data to examine from the early adopters, good publicity and host of other benefits.

The nature of the Honda corporation probably has them doing this as much just because they can as any other reason. They invest huge amounts of money into research, just for the sake of reseach. Honda's Asimo robot is one well publicized example. Other companies will probably jump in when they feel there is a profit to be had.

Awesome! I'd sure buy a hydrogen car if it was available!

"Hydrogen is mainly made from natural gas, that is abundant in North America."

This is UNacceptable. Note:
* Natural gas is a FOSSIL FUEL
* Natural gas is NON-RENEWABLE and will run out, even if it does take 200 years to do so.
* Natural gas combustion GENERATES GREENHOUSE GASES - sure, not as much as coal or oil, but it still does, so for fuel cell vehicles all you are doing is moving the pollution from the city streets to the generator location ... but gases move, and the effects are global.

We should be getting on the *truly renewables* bandwagon. My idea is to work harder on electricity generation by solar thermal stations which concentrate solar energy to generate steam to drive conventional turbines... then for HYDROGEN, we could use some of that CLEAN RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY to create HYDROGEN BY ELECTROLYSIS OF WATER, perhaps in the same location ... the other byproduct is oxygen.

"We should be getting on the *truly renewables* bandwagon. My idea is to work harder on electricity generation by solar thermal stations which concentrate solar energy to generate steam to drive conventional turbines... then for HYDROGEN, we could use some of that CLEAN RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY to create HYDROGEN BY ELECTROLYSIS OF WATER, perhaps in the same location ... the other byproduct is oxygen."

That sounds so nice and utopian. Yet, how will you convince someone to shell out the money for these electrolysis stations if there are no vehicles to use the hydrogen? If there are engines that already utilize fuel cells for power through easy to dispense natural gas, alternate forms of hydrogen can have a much easier time getting to market.

The low numbers are like Beta versions of software. They're getting people to help them work out the kinks in the system. I also bet the refueling stations cost $100K a piece right now, so it's a test investment on Honda's part, not a marketable product.

The way I understand it, the H2 from NG conversion does not include burning, it includes some type of chemical exchange where the H2 comes out of the gas and something else hops on. I don't understand it, but it's not burning. And the system they use to do the conversion is actually solar powered and can be used to provide backup power to the house it's attached to.

Though natural gas is non-renewable, extracting its energy in a way that doesn't include burning will reduce the CO2 in the air. Also, I bet this conversion could be made to run off other gasses, like the Methane they suck out of landfills... Hey maybe they could put collectors in public bathrooms Okay, maybe I'm going a bit too far..., but it is possible.

CO2 is not a pollutant. The "Greenhouse Gas" hype is a bunch of crap. Do your research on the ice core data. There is a correlation between CO2 levels and temperature, but the temperature goes up hundreds of years BEFORE the CO2 concentration goes up, and the temperature drops hundreds of years before CO2 concentration goes back down again. In other words, CO2 levels are a function of temperature, not the other way around. This completely undermines the greenhouse gas theory.

You can also look at CO2 levels vs. temperature in the past 200 years or so. The bulk of the (very small) temperature increase occurred prior to the industrial age. In the 30 years of industrial boom at the end of and after WWII global temperatures went DOWN! Because of this cooling many scientists in the early 1970s were predicting an ice age!

The theory of CO2 as a greenhouse gas is complete bunk! No economic and/or manufacturing decisions should be made based on it, period.

JustNiz are you a bad reader? B/c apparently the article says HOnda will release a new "hybrid" smaller than the civic....... btw the Civic is not ugly and neither is the FCX. You want an ugly veichle buy the Prius or the Pntiac Aztec or the Sion Xb or any of toyotas designs for that matter. This car's only bi-product is water so I don't know what everyone is whinning about.

JustNiz are you a bad reader? B/c apparently the article says HOnda will release a new "hybrid" smaller than the civic....... btw the Civic is not ugly and neither is the FCX. You want an ugly veichle buy the Prius or the Pontiac Aztec or the Sion Xb or any of toyotas designs for that matter. This car's only bi-product is water so I don't know what everyone is whinning about.

JustNiz are you a bad reader? B/c apparently the article says Honda will release a new "hybrid" smaller than the civic....... btw the Civic is not ugly and neither is the FCX. You want an ugly veichle buy the Prius or the Pontiac Aztec or the Sion Xb or any of toyotas designs for that matter. This car's only bi-product is water so I don't know what everyone is whinning about.

JustNiz are you a bad reader? B/c apparently the article says Honda will release a new "hybrid" smaller than the civic....... btw the Civic is not ugly and neither is the FCX. You want an ugly veichle buy the Prius or the Pontiac Aztec or the Sion Xb or any of toyotas designs for that matter. This car's only bi-product is water so I don't know what everyone is whinning about.

JustNiz are you a bad reader? B/c apparently the article says Honda will release a new "hybrid" smaller than the civic....... btw the Civic is not ugly and neither is the FCX. You want an ugly veichle buy the Prius or the Pontiac Aztec or the Sion Xb or any of toyotas designs for that matter. This car's only bi-product is water so I don't know what everyone is whinning about.

honda sucks and so does hydrogen butches

honda sucks and so does hydrogen butches

Jim I have a 6 year old Honda Accord that Ive had since new, its never failed to start and has only needed oil changes and new tires to keep it going like new. It handles great and is a real nice car to drive. I promise you,,,Hondas do not suck.

Chris, you're an idiot.

hi ı klow not do type-r ı don't fcx

[Quote} Dave Spreefelt: Chris, you're an idiot. [\Quote]

To Chris: How dare you use fact to debate global warming, just because other planets in our solar system are also warming up does not make difference either. I'm sure we are responsible for that too. The fact that this is all happening because the SUN is HOTTER, has nothing to do with others political agenda and thus should not be discussed because it makes the stupid hippies look, well, stupid. [\sarcasm]

To Everyone: This is not a hesitant move, there has been billions of dollars spent by seveal car companies to develope this technology. In fact, GM has the largest investment in it and has been working with BMW, Toyota and some others to get the tech right. Its all up to the companies that will supply the gas to find the best way to produce it. In fact GM has had a couple of Hydrogen powered trucks leased to the Army for several years now. (Google: GM Fuel Cell for more info)

I personally would love to see a fuel cell vehicle on the road. As I understand it they are quite powerful and thus would hopefully fun to drive. Just imagine a Hyrodren powered Corvette that can break 200 mph.

I would like to see this tech as it will make the air healthier (no smog) and Hydrogen is abundant, just have to find the best source and the best way to produce it.

Da Minority:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Carbon_History_and_Flux-2.png