Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

[RJDiogenes]

It's every two to three weeks for me. Of course, I work from home, which has not only saved me a fortune but extended the life of my car quite a bit (not to mention my own life ).

[Gary]

Watch Toyota's Project Portal hydrogen fuel cell truck drag race a diesel semi

[RJDiogenes]

Wow, not even close. So what's the problem? If the new advanced batteries work for cars, why don't they work for trucks?

[Gary]

The YouTube embedded video won't post.

Buying a Pruis with a dead battery.

[RJDiogenes]

"I'm not an environmentalist."

That's kind of amazing that you can pick up a dead Prius and bring it back to life for less than two grand. I find it comforting that this new breed of electric car isn't going to put an end to people working on their jalopies in their driveways-- not that I have any interest in that, I just approve conceptually. And I got a big kick out of the domino effect.

[Gary]

"I'm not an environmentalist."

That's kind of amazing that you can pick up a dead Prius and bring it back to life for less than two grand. I find it comforting that this new breed of electric car isn't going to put an end to people working on their jalopies in their driveways-- not that I have any interest in that, I just approve conceptually. And I got a big kick out of the domino effect.

A friend of mine, who is a big time gear head, has a Chevy Volt and absolutely loves that car. His commute is similar to mine (35-miles one way) and says he fills the tank *maybe* once every six months. I've been intrigued by the Volt because it rocks the charts in reliability; however, I prefer a hatchback for the ease of carrying awkwardly large cargo. A Prius would be a good car, except my driving is mainly on the highway and the Prius excels in city mileage.

That being said, it doesn't surprise me one bit people can still tinker with vehicles like this. It's no different than the real old guys lamenting "Ya just can't work on cars these days". They're befuddled by the onboard computers and various sensors, yet there are discussion forums abound for how to work on vehicles since computers became more and more prevalent. Oddly enough, the guys on those forums are whining that no one will be able to work on fully electric vehicles People always find a way.

I know a couple of people who would benefit for having a Prius as a daily driver and am going to keep my eyes open. The presenter stated "These cars can easily hit 300K miles". That's darn good performance!

[RJDiogenes]

Yeah, people can hack anything. Computers, phones, electric cars. Before long, people will be tinkering with used SpaceX vehicles.

[Gary]

MEET THE TESLA SEMITRUCK, ELON MUSK'S MOST ELECTRIFYING GAMBLE YET

[RJDiogenes]

Interesting. He should go after the public transportation market, too. Considering all the high-tech bells and whistles on these things, I wonder why they don't include solar panels, too.

[Gary]

The battery revolution is really hitting its stride.

https://youtu.be/lATQEbd2Yh4

[RJDiogenes]

I love the scene of the guy gassing up his battery car with a giant USB cable. Very Sci Fi.

The battery revolution is going to have a wide-ranging impact beyond cars and electronics, I think. I wonder if these companies have done studies on how long the average household could run on similar capacity, and how efficiently they could be charged with solar panels or a windmill.