Not quite so ugly from this angle
Credit: Green Car Reports
In June of this year, I wrote of Toyota’s Mirai fuel cell vehicle, “So, how big is the market for a vehicle with all the disadvantages of a fuel cell, performance of a Prius & a price similar to a Tesla Model S?”
At that time, neither performance nor price were certain. Unfortunately, the speculation has largely proven to be accurate.
To quote the Green Car Reports article linked below:
“But what's it actually like to drive, as a car?”
“Perhaps not surprisingly, the answer turns out to be rather like a Prius, only quieter.”
“0-to-60-mph time of just under 10 seconds” – unfortunate similarity to a Prius too.
Price:
Arguably, this is Mirai’s strength. At $US57,500, it will undercut the cheapest Tesla Model S. However, there is reason to believe that this price is only possible because Toyota will lose $US60,000 to $US120,000 on every Mirai it sells.
Green Car Reports test drive:
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1095985_2016-toyota-mirai-first-drive-of-hydrogen-fuel-cell-sedan / 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car promotion attention very low numbers built Toyota Prius hybrid divisive design styling polarizing unappealing perceived cacophony of shapes accents curves swoops angles best view relatively small 16 inch wheels rear end styling aerodynamic purpose most extreme concept cars four seats comfortable weight range performance seating position fairly upright like a Prius interior materials hard plastic soft surfaces three separate color display screens dashboard slightly less Space Age vehicle information center Start it like a Prius three drive modes available Normal Eco Power powered by an electric motor gasoline engine under harder acceleration energy battery pack electric mode dominant sounds noise whine 4,056-pound Mirai feels heavy from behind the wheel electric motor driving the front wheels power electronics compressors plumbing hydrogen and oxygen fuel-cell stack under the front seats pair of hydrogen tanks hydrogen compressed to about 10,000 psi smooth comfortable ride relatively tall sidewalls of its tires electric power steering vague relatively numb little feedback from the road prototype fuel cells don't instantly spool their power output to match demand 1.6-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack maximum output of 114 kilowatts 153 horsepower 2-ton vehicle weigh more than a conventional gasoline car won't win any drag races noise aside /
Several years ago I had posted a list of dozens of serious disadvantages FC vehicles have compared to EVs.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most serious of problems is the utter dependence FCs have compared not only to EVs, but gasoline cars. Elon Musk has almost single-handedly made high-speed charging stations ubiquitous across the face of the U.S., as well as a growing number of other countries. To attempt to do anything similar for hydrogen fueling would outstrip the resources even of any of today's multi-billionaires... it would be equivalent to replacing the entirety of our roads and bridges.
An EV driver in the middle of the Mojave, Gobi, or Kalahari
Deserts, or the Brazilian Rain Forest, or his own tropical island, could drive for years separated from all civilization if all he had was a roll of commercially-available solar sheet, and some spare tires-- no oil changes, tune-ups, brake pads or tranny service.
Immersed in an urban society would be equally easy: solar panels on one's roof would be all one would need for transportation as well as the majority of one's other needs-- water can be easily and cheaply extracted from the air by commercially available units. Food and other resources are also available with just some water and electricity.
Almost all of the hydrogen used for fuel cells is derived from petroleum-- therefore, calling FCs "green" is entirely absurd unless they can be fueled inexpensively from some other source, which they cannot.
The petroleum we buy from OPEC is one of the most counter-productive activities we indulge in; Saudi Arabia is the source of funding for terrorism worldwide. It is hypocrisy beyond belief that Cuba had been on our list of countries for fifty years for "human rights abuses", when the Saudis in particular have arguably been among the worst on the planet in that regard, yet we have turned a blind eye to it-- recently in a single day, the Saudis executed 48 prisoners, many by beheading, for infractions which are not even against the law here in the U.S. or elsewhere-- homosexuality, adultery, non - violently protesting against the ruling class, heresy, and "apostasy"-- essentially, not following the rigid religious format they impose on all their citizens. As long as we buy petroleum from any source, we empower not only terrorism, but the kinds of insanity we have allowed here in the U.S., such as the massive earthquakes and contaminated groundwater in the Midwest, and the oil pipelines forced upon the Indians in North Dakota.
This is despite the fact that we routinely have hundreds of serious pipeline leaks throughout the country even today, as, well as other forms of horrendous loss of human life and environmental damage such as BP's Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2011, costing billions in damage that has yet to be fully repaired.
The oil and fracking industry are insidiously arrogant in its response to such disasters, and it will not end until we as a country wean ourselves off of the petroleum we buy from them.
Driving FC vehicles is nothing more than a shell game, allowing the petroleum industry to make people think we are driving clean, when we are not... it is no cleaner than driving with gasoline, and IT MUST STOP. EVs are a genuine answer-- FCs are nothing more than a sham designed to keep us on their umbilical cord.