Consumers picked to test hydrogen car prototypes

'Is it the engine noise that quiets the baby or the road noise?'

Its neither. Its the kid accepting his fate, being stuck again with dear old dad.

So it has one big electric motor and a powertrain?

Wouldn't it be cheaper, lighter, and better to have 4 small motors direct drive on each wheel?

Don't let big industry convince you that Hydrogen is the answer to anything. They only want to sell the very expensive equipment to consumers and the government.

Nature has shown that the best method of energy storage and transportation for our environment are hydrocarbons. In ten years most of our energy could come from renewable non-food competing crops, green waste, and algae hydroponics. The fuels produced would not require massive and wasteful infrastructure changes.

Hydrogen is toxic, artificial, and inefficient to produce. And as it leaks into the air (hydrogen is incredibly difficult to contain) it rises to the upper atmosphere where it depletes the ozone layer. The reaction also injects water into the upper atmosphere where it acts as a green house gas much more potent than CO2.

Hydrogen cars are just a distraction that keep us dependent on large supply companies for our fuel. It is far less energy efficient than gasoline or other hydrocarbons. It is costly to produce. It is physically impossible to store long-term as it leeches out. I'm totally not concerned for explosion risk in above-ground parking facilities, but that's kind of moot given the other factors.

If auto makers made any serious effort to make a full electric car, even with 50 year old tech, we'd have a fine, impressive, useful car. The EV-1 didn't have range or power delivery issues and could now be made with Li-Ion batts instead of NiMH. If anything needs work, it's just lengthening the life cycle of the battery packs because the rest is pretty laughable in terms of maintenance!