Featured And then there were 6

never mind that many in China still directly heat their homes & cook their food with coal ovens - it's going to take a lot of work for China to clean up there fuel sources above 50% as the US is doing. Still, even a coal powered grid for charging cars goes a long way to reduce health problems caused from so much auto pollution as their market continues to grow.
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how are they doing with solar, wind and hydro? i would expect to see a lot of nuculer.

 

environmentaly friendly energy is definitely all on the increase. China for example recently brought on line the largest hydro generation project in the world .... nearly producing 100 terawatt hours per year;
Three Gorges Dam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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I would not call that project "enironmentally friendly". They took out 1000s of years of history, millions of people's livelihood, and 1000s of people family land... and this just the people part. How about the natural history destruction that comes with building a dam?

 

it's a motor and wheels, no big deal.

 

..... & controller - & charger - & traction pack - & thermal management - & lots of cup holders

EDIT;
I almost forgot . . . . a proprietary phone charger interface that won't work on android

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I HAVE A MERCEDES HYDROGEN CAR. It is all manner of suck:

- No pricetag at the pump, but the station engineer said it currently costs taxpayers $20/gallon-equivalent
- Derived from natural gas. Okay. So drive a CNG civic instead & it's the same difference (but cheaper).
- "5 minute refuels" - Toyota. That's a lie. It's 20 minutes.

I'd rather have one of those 250 mile EVs with 20 minute recharge (like Tesla)
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i'd see this one at Disney sometimes ....

anyone you know? It hasn't been there for a while - there's a Tesla in its parking spot, in stead. hmmmmmmm

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From all the lessons learned over the years, that's a trap none of us should be gullible enough to fall into anymore. We've seen many, many token gestures. Sure, the automaker delivered, but what's the point if the vehicle isn't something people actually buy?

GM had the 2 biggest disappointments, both were heavy hyped and neither panned out. Two-Mode was supposed to change the industry. Instead, it wasn't anywhere near as good as promised and it was very expensive. Volt ended up the same way. They were promoted as technology for the masses though.

What will these 200+ mile EVs be like? If they're small and expensive, who's going to be interested? Sure, it's nice having the choice, but the expectation of them attracting ordinary car buyers will go unfulfilled.

 

All depends upon your definition of "ordinary car buyers".

Most car buyers don't have efficiency as their highest priority.
To make a sizable impact, efficient cars have to attract people who don't normally care about efficiency.

BEVs and PHEVs do that, FCVs don't.

 

Will I have to upgrade my Apple Car every 18 months like my IPhone (4, 4S, 5, etc.)?

 

Each new thread shouldn't require restating that. We have already identified who... and when... and how much.

 

It really should be no big deal, except that product liability means lots of testing and reengineering. We don't need any failing ignition switches or uncommanded acceleration.

Apple has a new nut to crack. I've never heard of an IPhone killing someone (but it's probably happened somewhere).

Though I have several Apple products and want to buy an Apple watch some day, I don't have any desire to drive an Apple car for name sake. It would have to really wow me over the Prius.

Cheers!

 

All right, rather than arbitrary numbers, let's look at the ones that really matter.

The Prius is the king of hybrids. The most efficient and great amount of cargo/passenger space.
Yet, hybrids as a whole category peaked around 3% market share.
They cost a small amount more than comparable, non hybrids.

So, how do we break through that 4% ceiling?
What does the FCV offer people that makes it compelling compared to ICE vehicles?

Sure, they will get some early adopters, but what do they offer over standard ICE vehicles to get them past the ceiling?

 

Why are you using present-day criteria to measure a technology not intended for mass-rollout yet?

The mismatch isn't appropriate.

It's as bad as using battery-tech from a decade ago to judge the battery vehicles being rolled out next year.

 

I think it comes down to cost of ownership. If it's more cost effective to buy a FCV, EV, or hybrid it will become very popular. So long as there's no inconvenience like finding a fueling station, spending time fueling (charging), or high repair costs (fear of expensive battery replacement).

Most people don't care about ICE car pollution to the point of spending more money or time to prevent it. Look at how SUV and truck sales go up when gas prices fall.

I bought a Prius when my annual commuting mileage went up to near 20,000 miles per year. It was a no brainier compared to my 17 year old, 15 MPG 4x4 I drove 8,000 miles/year.

Make it cost effective to buy new and repair, easy to refuel, and they will buy them.

 

If you add in performance and number of cupholder, I agree 100%.
So, FCV are much more expensive to repair, cost more than ICE vehicles to repair and will cost at least as much as gas, if not more. Their performance is the same or worse as ICE vehicles, and they are limited in where they can go, and will be for at least 10 years.

I don't see how FCVs will help replace normal ICE vehicles.

EVs for some people, already offer a lower TCO, are more convenient, more fun to drive, and we are still in the first generation.

As improvements are made in both FCVs, BEVs and PHEVs, the number of people that find BEVs more convenient will continue to grow, the TCO will continue to get cheaper, and the performance will continue to improve.
The FCV TCO will also drop, although it will take at least two more generations before it drops to the TCO of ICE vehicles. The hassle of fueling will get slightly better, but still not as convenient as ICE vehicles even if hydrogen filling stations were magically everywhere.
The repair costs will remain higher than ICE.

I just don't see the attraction that will take FCVs beyond the market share of hybrids.