Fuel Cell
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The biggest challenge to driving a fuel-cell car is finding fuel. Automakers who sell fuel-cell models—Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai for now—have made progress in getting 33 hydrogen fueling stations built around Los Angeles and San Francisco. It's not helping drivers this week though. According to a photo tweeted by user Paolo NonVTEC Acoba, the hydrogen pumps around LA are out of fuel. A large sign on a hydrogen pump in LA, dated last Thursday and addressed to Toyota Mirai owners, reads: "Be advised: Hydrogen delivery issues everywhere. Don't take chances, top off frequently...
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Nissan Leaf battery tech, hydrogen shortages, and Tesla Twitter wars get real: Today's Car NewsWe take a deep look into two phenomenon: new technology in the Nissan Leaf's 30-kwh battery, and the war of words online surrounding Tesla and its CEO. A hydrogen shortage strands fuel-cell drivers in Los Angeles, and a new study shows sales of electric cars surge when more models are available...
Eric C. Evarts -
Audi teams up with Hyundai to build fuel-cell vehiclesAutomakers are teaming up all over the world to prepare for the next big game in clean transportation, fuel cells. The latest partnership is between Audi and Hyundai, which announced yesterday that they will share resources to develop fuel-cell vehicles. The two said that the first fruit of this...
Eric C. Evarts -
South Korean government trims orders for Hyundai Nexo hydrogen-fuel carsNine months after announcing its intention to buy 10,000 Hyundai Nexo hydrogen-fueled cars, the South Korean government has halved its order. That's according to Business Korea, which said Tuesday that a report published by the government earlier this month indicated that the government plans to...
Andrew Ganz -
Budweiser-maker taps Nikola for up to 800 hydrogen-powered semi trucksAnheuser-Busch bet big on hydrogen fuel for its semitrailer trucks Thursday. The Budweiser beermaker announced it would buy up to 800 big rigs from Nikola Motor Company by 2025 and nearly replace its entire dedicated corporate fleet with trucks powered by renewable energy. The agreement is largely...
Aaron Cole -
Earth Day: 10 Questions On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars To Ask Toyota, Honda & HyundaiHydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are rolling out to California buyers in small numbers with two models on the market, and hydrogen stations slowly expanding outside a narrow slice of Los Angeles. The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle first went on sale in California at the end of 2016, and 2018 models...
John Voelcker -
The Clarity sedan will encompass three models: a battery electric with 114-mile range, a 42-mile plug-in hybrid, and a fuel-cell vehicle
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Nikola suggests it's no Tesla, refunds deposits on fuel-cell, electric semi trucksTesla's most direct competitor announced it would refund all deposits it has taken.
Eric C. Evarts -
California now has 33 hydrogen fueling stations for 4,200 fuel-cell cars so farHydrogen fuel first went on sale in California in January 2015, more than three years ago, though it had been dispensed free at a dozen or so prototype locations before that. Five years ago, the state set a goal of 100 hydrogen fueling stations throughout the state by 2020, a deadline that now...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai Nexo fuel-cell SUV verdicts: classy, zippier, still a "niche vehicle"The Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell SUV that debuted last month at the Consumer Electronics Show won't be seen on California roads for many months yet. It is expected to go on sale in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of this year, but now we have a few reports from outlets that have driven the one...
John Voelcker -
Germany's hydrogen stations exceed US; California beats Japan on densityAs of today, there are 39 hydrogen fueling stations in the U.S., all but four of them in the state of California. They serve roughly 39 million Californians, whereas 284 million Americans outside the state have no access to hydrogen fuel-cell cars nor stations at which to refill them. Germany, on...
John Voelcker -
This one 11-year-old chart explains the problem with hydrogen fuel-cell vehiclesToday, there are roughly 750,000 plug-in electric vehicles on U.S. roads and about 3,800 powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Proponents of each type of vehicle argue strenuously that their powertrain is a better way to produce vehicles with zero emissions from the tailpipe. Electric cars can be charged...
John Voelcker -
Fears that Congress would kill the federal tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric car were laid to rest in December when that incentive survived the $1.5 trillion tax-cut bill. Now Congress has added back a handful of other tax credits related to electric cars and greener transportation in the $400 billion budget bill it passed in the wee hours of Friday morning, quickly signed by the president. The 652-page Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (HR 1892) restores a tax credit for installation of alternative-vehicle fueling property that had expired at the end of 2016. DON'T MISS: Congress...
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Why a Fiat 500e driver got a Honda Clarity Fuel Cell as his next green car: low costWhen marketing executive Chris Baccus leased a 2015 Fiat 500e three years ago, he intended to keep his 2007 BMW 335i as a "fun car," and use the electric Fiat just for commuting. Within six months, he'd sold the BMW altogether. Part of his interest in the Fiat, he admitted, came from an article...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell prototype drives itself 118 miles without human inputAs it does in every other aspect of the auto industry, Korean carmaker Hyundai-Kia has set itself an aggressive goal and a fast pace for rollout of self-driving vehicles. The Korean carmaker has said it would offer a vehicle capable of Level 4 autonomy—meaning a car that can operate without...
John Voelcker -
GM suggests Congress fund EV charging, Toyota asks for hydrogen fueling supportIt's now abundantly clear that Tesla has created the roadmap on how to build a widespread DC fast-charging network that lets electric-car drivers travel long distances, even across the country. The Tesla Supercharger network can only be used by Tesla cars, however—and it remains entirely...
John Voelcker -
Electric cars will fail, but we'll build them anyway, say global auto execs: KPMGJuxtaposed against a growing electric-vehicle market in China and increasingly stringent global carbon-emission limits, a survey by KPMG has revealed a majority of global auto executives believe electric vehicles are a fool's errand. Those executives believe electric cars will eventually be...
Mark Stevenson -
Production Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell SUV appears at CESThe world of cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells is still small and low-volume, but Korean maker Hyundai unveiled its production entry into that group on Monday. The sprawling Consumer Electronics Show is increasingly a showcase for advanced-technology and zero-emission vehicles, and the Korean...
John Voelcker -
As electric charging stations continue to sprout across the country, hydrogen fueling stations haven't experienced the same rapid growth. That's an issue in California, where Assembly Bill 8 stipulates a goal of 100 functioning public hydrogen stations by 2020. The latest forecast predicts the state will come up short. DON'T MISS: California To Have Up To 70 Hydrogen Fueling Stations By 2016? (Apr 2013) According to a joint agency staff report on AB 8 published in November by the California Energy Commission and the California Air Resources Board, the state is home to 31 hydrogen retail...
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What topic should we have covered less in 2017? Twitter poll resultsOver 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...
John Voelcker -
If electric semi tractors are real, their running-cost advantage could be hugeEmotions 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 pollNo 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 -
Toyota plans 1 million zero-emission vehicles a year by 2030: our analysisSales of plug-in electric cars are rising steadily in North America, Europe, and Asia, with roughly 2 million now on the world's roads. China is debating when it will ban sales of new vehicles with combustion engines. Meanwhile, Toyota—one of the four largest global automakers—is only...
John Voelcker -
Four of Wards' Top 10 Engines are actually electric or electrified powertrainsThe industry trade journal WardsAuto has been giving out "Best Engine" awards for 24 years now, and this year's list includes some interesting choices. For starters, there are no engines from German manufacturers on the list: The sole luxury recipients this year are Infiniti and Jaguar. But more...
Mark Stevenson