Petroleum dependence. Air pollution. Resource depletion. Global warming.
These are not problems that have snuck up and hit us all of a sudden. We've been warned about this for decades, and Californians have been so concerned about these issues over the years that our state environmental standards are usually tougher than the EPA's. And now we are being followed by other states, too (which has been the subject of lawsuits and countersuits).
So I was excited several years ago when I first learned of a new technology that could bring in an age of clean, environmentally friendly energy. Fuel cells could power automobiles by converting hydrogen into electrical energy, and instead of smokey, smoggy pollution, your only byproduct would be clean water vapor. Suddenly, I imagined a world where we could have our SUV'S and drive them, too -- without harming the environment.
Of course, I know that hydrogen fuel cells are not a panacea to our global warming ills. Even if the powers that be work out the issues of inventing and mass producing reliable batteries and building an infrastructure for delivering the hydrogen fuel -- whenever someone comes up with a "solution" to a problem, there are usually unintended consequences. How do we create the hydrogen fuel? How do we distribute it? How do we make sure we're not creating new environmental problems in the process?
There are plenty of critics who believe that the technology will never be cost-effective, but that has not deterred research on these types of vehicles. And now, some of them are almost ready for prime time.
That's why I was delighted last week to receive a media pass to attend the 23rd annual Electric Vehicle Symposium, an international conference that was being held in Anaheim. Once again, I was a guest of General Motors, which is readying "Project Driveway," a huge test of their entry into hydrogen.
But, as I learned from GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, all of the major automakers have fuel cell vehicles in various stages of development. As I reported after attending the LA Auto Show, Honda even plans to begin leasing its new fuel cell-powered Clarity to some lucky SoCal residents in 2008. It's a gorgeous car, and I was hoping to get an opportunity to test drive one.
Unfortunately, Honda was just about the only major automaker without a vehicle in the Drive and Ride lot behind the Anaheim Convention Center. (They did, however, have a Clarity in the exhibit hall, leaving me to wonder if the model is as close to completion as they have indicated.)
Even without Honda, there were still plenty of other hybrid, plug-in and hydrogen powered vehicles to play with - from cute little scooters and electric motor-assisted bicycles on to fuel celled SUV's.
My motto for the event was "So Many Cars, So Little Time." I wasn't able to get to the Kia, Hyundai or Nissan vehicles - but did manage to drive a Lexus, a couple of Toyotas, a Mercedes and two Chevrolets.
I decided to start small, with a car that I'm likely to want to try when the lease is up on my Volvo in a couple of years: the hybrid version of the Toyota Camry. It also was the only car that didn't have a line of people waiting to try it. (I guess hybrids like the Prius and the Camry are just so 2005 now.)
The Camry had a smooth, quiet ride, which was to be expected. I was surprised to learn from the Toyota rep who rode with me that it does not have more interior space than the Prius, which means I'm going to have to give that another look, too.
From there, I was ready to hit the big time and test drive a gorgeous green Lexus 400h hybrid SUV. It was just as quiet as the Camry and as luxurious you would expect from the Lexus brand. It's my new dream car. They practically had to pry my hands off the steering wheel when my test was over. Too bad it's so damned expensive. I won't ever own one without lottery winnings.
"I think it's a mistake to compute the cost savings in miles per gallon," the Lexus rep opined. "Instead, you should look at the emissions reduction. The 400h puts out 70% fewer emissions than its non-hybrid version."
Yes, from the environmental standpoint, any emissions reduction is a good thing. But I still need to be able to afford the car, and this one is out of my price range. But one can always dream.
But even my dreams have their limits. I opted not to join the throng of folks (mostly guys) waiting patiently for a turn at the wheel of the new Lexus 600h luxury hybrid. I couldn't blame them. After all, how often do you get to drive a car that sells for over $100,000?
But my time was limited, and I could already see that I was notgoing to get to try out a lot of the vehicles on my list. I decided to go straight for the nearest hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle: a 2002 Toyota Highlander FCHV (fuel cell hydrogen vehicle).
"Well, you can tell all of them that THIS car is worth a million," huffed the Toyota rep, when I pointed out the long line for the Lexus.
The most notable thing about my first hydrogen-fueled ride was that driving the Highlander didn't feel any different from the internal combustion powered vehicles I'm used to, except that it was a lot quieter. The Toyota rep urged me to put the pedal to the metal (as much as was possible on a busy Anaheim street) to demonstrate the power of the engine. The FCHV did indeed have the same kind of power as the V6 on my husband's Honda Pilot.
While we drove the Highlander around the Convention Center, we chatted about the vehicle and Toyota's plans for the technology.
While the Lexus rep had been proud of the fact that the 400h had 70% fewer emissions, the number for the fuel cell vehicles is 0. No harmful chemicals spewing into the air; just water vapor. And it can go 300 miles without refueling (which is about the same range as the gas-powered Volvo I drive now). It drove beautifully. If I could buy one today, I would. But it's not going to come on the market any time soon.
"The problem with mass producing these vehicles is that the catalyst for converting the hydrogen into energy is platinum."
Ah. Now I get it. The technology is here, and it works. But there can be no economy of scale as long as a key component of the engine is a metal as precious as platinum. The Toyota rep assured me that the company is working on trying to find a cheaper, alternate catalyst that will work as well, but so far, they have nothing to announce on that front.
The next car I tried was Daimler's hydrogen-powered F-Cell, which the company touts is part of "the largest fleet [of such vehicles] with over 100 vehicles in service worldwide." But the car, based on the Mercedes A-class (which is not currently marketed in the U.S.), was a disappointment. For one thing, the interior bore a striking resemblance to the stripped-down Datsun B210 Honeybee I drove in college, which is not what you'd expect from a Mercedes.
The car drove like my old Honeybee, too, and either didn't have air conditioning or the Daimler rep chose not to run it (perhaps it's a drain on the battery?). It felt flimsy and light.
But the really surprising thing about this car was how NOISY it was. After driving the F-Cell, I had to cross out the part of my notes where I'd made the assumption that all hybrids and fuel-cell powered vehicles were extremely quiet.
I had to wait a long time to drive Chevy's hydrogen powered Equinox. That's because Alain, the GM engineer turned marketing rep who was showing the car, took his time with each driver, explaining how the fuel cell turned hydrogen into energy. The Equinox had a helpful screen on its dashboard, which illustrated the process.
Alain and I talked at length about Project Driveway, GM's answer to Daimler's worldwide fleet of F-Cell vehicles. In 2008, one hundred fuel cell Equinoxes will be delivered to ordinary drivers living in parts of Southern California and New York (near some of the few existing hydrogen fueling stations). These lucky folks will be part of GM's testing process. They get to drive the cars and report back to the company their thoughts, problems, suggestions, etc.
It's a program I would love to participate in, but I live about 15 miles away from the nearest fueling station, and GM has decided that's too far. (If you live in Southern California or New York, you can apply for the program by clicking on the link above.) Alain was sympathetic, as he lives in the same part of the city. He suggested that the company might be widening the field and told me I should just keep applying.
As for the vehicle itself, its drive was a lot closer to the Highlander than the F-Cell. In fact, I thought it felt a lot smoother and more powerful than the conventional Equinox I rented several months ago while my Volvo was in the shop.
"That's very perceptive," Alain said. I felt like we made a connection. Too bad he's not the guy making the Project Driveway decisions.
I loved the Fuel Cell Equinox - but without being part of their big test, it will be a very long time before I can drive one again. There are still lots of hurdles to getting these babies mass-produced; the biggest ones being the lack of infrastructure and the fact that platinum is such a key component of the engines.
There were more cars available on the Ride and Drive, but I needed to get back on the road in my own little car before traffic started piling up on Interstate 5.
(For more pictures and commentary on the Electric Vehicle Symposium, see my Flickr set here.)
As a Southern Californian who cannot get by without using a car (everything out here is too widespread and public transportation in my neck of the woods is spotty and unreliable), I will continue to look for progress in alternate fuel technologies. But I understand that alone, this is not an answer to our problems of global warming and resource depletion, which are a complex puzzle. And hybrids, electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel are only a few of the pieces.
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