hydrogen
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Over the nine years this site has published daily news about green cars, the focus of our coverage has shifted significantly. In February 2009, when we started daily coverage, our most popular topics were hybrid cars and the Toyota Prius. With Prius sales in 2017 less than half what they were just four years ago, the times have clearly changed. DON'T MISS: What was our most important story of 2017? Twitter poll results We decided to poll our Twitter followers about what they'd like to see in our coverage going forward. Specifically, we asked what topic(s) we should spend less time covering...
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If electric semi tractors are real, their running-cost advantage could be huge
Emotions play a big role in purchases of passenger vehicles, but fleet decisions are generally driven by numbers, spreadsheets, and the almighty dollar. And it's in the equation of overall cost where early adopters of electric and other alternative-fuel semis could make a financial killing. Haulers...
Mark Stevenson -
What topic should we have covered less in 2017? Take our Twitter poll
No single definition exists for the idea of "green car," and very few shoppers set out to go buy a green car. Instead, car buyers look for vehicles that meet their needs—with fuel economy or energy efficiency somewhere in that list of needs, whether higher or lower. Certainly the definition...
John Voelcker -
Which alternative fuels will survive long-term? Twitter poll results
Building a fueling network turns out to be more of a challenge than many advocates, regulators, and drivers may have anticipated. The attempt to boost passenger vehicles fueled by cheap, abundant U.S. natural gas is now essentially over, with a mere 942 public natural-gas fueling stations...
John Voelcker -
Fiat Chrysler seeks Hyundai partnership for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles
Fiat Chrysler is looking to partner with Hyundai to develop hydrogen fuel-cell technology, its CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed on Saturday. The revelation came after a presentation on Alfa Romeo's planned return to Formula 1 racing, held at the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese, Italy. “There is the...
Mark Stevenson -
Which alternative fuels will survive long-term? Take our Twitter poll
You just don't hear the phrase "alternative fuels" as much as you did, say, 10 years ago. With a couple of million plug-in electric cars now on the world's roads, the idea of swapping in one hydrocarbon fuel for another may have passed its time. Admittedly biodiesel continues to make quiet inroads...
John Voelcker -
Toyota today is the world's most ardent proponent of using hydrogen fuel cells for zero-emission vehicles rather than large battery packs. The huge Japanese carmaker, one of the world's four largest, now sells its Toyota Mirai fuel-cell sedan around the world, and has more hydrogen-powered vehicles in development. As it has discussed over the last year, some of those may be heavy trucks as well as passenger cars. DON'T MISS: Toyota to study Mirai-derived fuel-cell tech for heavy-duty trucks Any fuel-cell vehicle, of whatever size, requires a hydrogen fueling infrastructure to operate...
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A Tesla Model S that runs on hydrogen fuel cells? Dutch firm claims it built one
Tesla has never built anything but battery-electric cars. Now a Dutch gasoline company believes it's improved upon the Silicon Valley automaker's design with a hydrogen fuel cell—so much so that it wants to sell its solution to the general public. The Holthausen Group, a Dutch gasoline...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota to study Mirai-derived fuel-cell tech for heavy-duty trucks
Toyota announced on Thursday that it will begin testing in two California ports a hydrogen fuel-cell heavy-duty truck adapted from the Toyota Mirai's powertrain for drayage use. Initially, Toyota is looking at how it can use hydrogen fuel-cell-powered vehicles to significantly reduce vehicle...
Andrew Ganz -
Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell EQ Power plug-in hydrogen crossover launches at Frankfurt
It's a plug-in hybrid crossover, but it doesn't have an engine. It's a hydrogen fuel-cell SUV, but it has a feature no other hydrogen-powered car offers. It's the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell EQ Power, launched Tuesday at the Frankfurt motor show. DON'T MISS: Mercedes-Benz GLC to offer world's first...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai Fuel Cell SUV concept: hydrogen crossover coming next year
Hyundai arrived first to market with the world's first production hydrogen fuel-cell crossover utility in 2013 with the Tucson Fuel Cell, and we have a good idea of what to expect from the brand's follow-up act. The Korean brand unveiled a lightly-disguised concept this week that previews its next...
Sean Szymkowski -
Hawaii to get hydrogen fueling station; Toyota Mirai leases to follow
Tropical islands are some of the best places on earth to pioneer carbon-free energy and zero-emission vehicles. Within the United States, the eight islands of Hawaii are blessed with a temperate climate, abundant sunshine, few high-speed highways, and a statewide speed limit of 60 mph, achievable...
John Voelcker -
Over the past century, gasoline-powered vehicles have gotten simultaneously more complex and more reliable. Service intervals have lengthened, drivers no longer check a car's fluids daily or weekly, and many new-car owners will never once open the hood. Reliability data shows that some of them won't visit a dealer service department except for regularly scheduled services over their first three to five years of ownership. DON'T MISS: Assessing the Honda Clarity range: how electric cars fit in, and why Hybrids added some new complexity—high-voltage battery packs and electronics—to...
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Chevrolet Colorado ZH2: first ride in hydrogen fuel-cell Army truck
Olive drab isn't the only green thing in the U.S. Army. Currently undergoing testing at Fort Carson in Colorado, the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle illustrates the unlikely intersection between eco-friendly powertrains and the demanding needs of a vehicle that may be deployed to...
Andrew Ganz -
Hyundai targets 1,400 units a year of next-gen fuel-cell vehicle: report
It's public knowledge that Hyundai plans to replace its aging Tucson Fuel Cell utility vehicle with an all-new hydrogen-powered vehicle, and that it has big plans for the future. The Korean automaker showcased the FE Fuel Cell concept in March to provide a glimpse of what to expect when the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota, Honda, Nissan, other Japan firms to fund hydrogen fueling
Earlier this year in Europe, 13 companies joined forces to create the Hydrogen Council, a global initiative to discuss and promote the use of hydrogen as a renewable source of energy. In the United States, GM and Honda have partnered up to build a production plant in Michigan that will roll out...
John Voelcker -
GM fuel-cell chief talks about military truck, Honda deal to build hydrogen powertrains
Innovation has no secret for GM and after tapping into hybrid and electric engine technologies, fuel-cell is its next target. In an interview with Trucks.com, GM’s global fuel-cell business director Charles Freese seemed confident that hydrogen will become a next big step in transportation...
Green Car Reports -
Assessing the Honda Clarity range: how electric cars fit in, and why
The 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the only model of Honda's newest sedan presently on sale, though an all-electric version will arrive later this year. The hydrogen-powered mid-size sedan with a rated 366 miles of range is the one that's gotten by far the most publicity from Honda, as its...
John Voelcker -
Large global automakers customarily pursue research into multiple types of technologies and future powertrains at the same time. Sometimes they pan out, sometimes they don't. German automakers have only really come around to devoting their efforts to plug-in electric cars in the last five or six years. DON'T MISS: Mercedes-Benz electric cars to arrive sooner as urgency increases Before that, zero-emission vehicles of the future were expected to operate on hydrogen fuel cells, for which networks of fueling stations to supply pure hydrogen at high pressures would have to be constructed...
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Energy use for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles: higher than electrics, even hybrids (analysis)
It's now clear that the zero-emission vehicles of the future will be powered by electric motors. The electricity to power those motors, however, will come from one of two competing technologies: high-capacity batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. The debate over which technology is superior, which has...
John Voelcker -
UPS electric van with fuel-cell range extender to be tested in California
Considerable skepticism remains that passenger vehicles powered by hydrogen will become a major part of U.S. sales any time soon—or ever. Quietly, however, analysts suggest that hydrogen may provide a solution to the different challenges of producing zero-emission heavy trucks and delivery...
John Voelcker -
Is Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell fervor foolish, or foresighted? (with charts)
Toyota's staunch, unswerving support for hydrogen fuel cells has astonished and aggravated many in the electric vehicle community. For some of them, the technology is at best an inferior solution—and at worst is fossil fuel-friendly vaporware, a Judas in Jesus's clothing, if you will. With...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Toyota 'Project Portal' hydrogen fuel-cell heavy-duty semi tractor as proof of concept
The challenges of building fueling infrastructure for passenger cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells are well known by now. Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai now lease low volumes of fuel-cell vehicles in selected areas of California where a few dozen hydrogen fueling stations are now up and running. The...
John Voelcker -
Genesis GV80 fuel-cell concept SUV at NY auto show
These days, it's all but de rigeur that concept cars from major global automakers be shown with some form of alternative propulsion. They may preview future production vehicles powered by plain old conventional gasoline engines, but a plug-in hybrid or other greener powertrain shows the automaker...
John Voelcker