Comments on: BMW Hydrogen 7 leads the 2008 Hydrogen Road Tour

By: lazybones

lazybones — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:18:03 +0000

“Hydrogen has more than 4 times the energy content compared to petrol!”

yes, its more explosive but it has a lower density so you need more to cover the same distance. Then there’s the supply and demand issue, producing hydrogen is expensive. There are some interesting technologies on the way which may help but the time to market maybe too long.

This car is an excellent concept and drive claimed it has been in development for 30 years!!. But the reality is electric cars not Hydrogen. They will be available quicker and once people get use to the idea of plug in who’s going to want to visit a petrol station again.

By: Gibbo

Gibbo — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:14:15 +0000

I think an internal comustion engine that runs on hydrogen seems like the way to the future. As it seems as though it will provide all the fun things conventional cars provide us with now, only we don’t have to worry about oil, although by the time it becomes main stream the last barrel of oil ever produced will probably be on display in a museum some where.

By: Mac

Mac — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:49:31 +0000

There has been huge break throughs in hydrogen storage in only the last few months and there is development of bio-hydrogen (produced by microbes – like biodiesels) currently being developed. It is a viable alternative – and potentially the best.

By: GTRmon

GTRmon — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:49:14 +0000

Mainwaring in the ideal hydrogen economy hydrogen is provided as a byproduct of several industrial processes. So hydrogen is a very good idea. The question is more this: is enough hydrogen produced as a byproduct to power everyone in the hydrogen economy, or just a few.
Hydrogen is a perfectly viable alternative, but for how many people?

By: acilk

acilk — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:41:39 +0000

Realcars the Hydrogen 7 is internal combustion on Hydrogen and can switch to petrol at the push of a button. It has separate tanks for hydrogen and fuel and it’s owners will probably still use petrol most of the time because there are very few filling stations in the world that are compatible with the Hydrogen 7.

By: B///M3

B///M3 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:49:13 +0000

Whats wrong with you Captain Mainwaring?? Hydrogen has more than 4 times the energy content compared to petrol!

By: Captain Mainwaring

Captain Mainwaring — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:33:49 +0000

BMW PR spin at its best. Hydrogen is straw-clutching technology. Might be emission-free out the tailpipe, but takes more fossil fuel to manufacture than what it saves, is too temperature-sensitive to store and reticulate effectively, and only has half the energy of petrol. Not to mention the cost. We’ll all be dead before this is a practical transport fuel alternative.

By: Naughtyius Maxiumus

Naughtyius Maxiumus — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:22:13 +0000

They could assess there car against others, gain feedback on what others are doing, see how others perform – where is FORD. AWOL as run by USA for USA and minimal input with designs that is only now changing with kinetic hot look. Ford should hang there heads and give up as they are RS!

By: Naughtyius Maxiumus

Naughtyius Maxiumus — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:20:16 +0000

Whatever Realcars…..fact is hydrogen is in this tour and Ford at sea doing SFA R&D as still at round table working out how to release designs and compete! No wonder Toyota are number 1!

By: alborz

alborz — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:03:18 +0000

The tour is from the US cities of Portland, Maine to Santa Monica, California

By: No Name

No Name — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:50:26 +0000

Hear Hear Maxi.
Q. where is the tour? Not that it matters just curious.

By: realcars

realcars — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:41:35 +0000

I thought they were developing an internal combustion engine to run on Hydrogen as opposed to the other method of producing electricity from stored hydrogen to power an electric motor.

Using Hydrogen with an internal combustion makes more sense to me and the driving experience should be the same as petrol or diesel.

By: Naughtyius Maxiumus

Naughtyius Maxiumus — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:39:54 +0000

To be blunt……is poor Ford have not shown up when they are embarking on Hydrogen road. Toyota are there and they embark on hybrids. Ford really is dumb as and very slow to make hard yards and get away from meetings around round tables! This is a fact and this is why Ford languishing in sales due to slow model releases and previously poor models in range. I sense this is changing as Ford has some hot designs!