The Economist: The car of the perpetual future

Posted by Kendall Harmon

DURING a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, the boss of General Motors (GM), Rick Wagoner, unveiled the Cadillac Provoq, a new hydrogen fuel-cell concept car. With a drivetrain emitting only water vapour, a 300-mile range and a top speed of 160kph (100mph), the vehicle, said Mr Wagoner, represented “the promise of truly sustainable transportation”. It was a promise that sounded vaguely familiar.

A decade earlier, in 1998, Mr Wagoner’s predecessor, Jack Smith, told the Detroit auto show that GM had a plan to produce a production-ready fuel-cell vehicle “by 2004 or sooner”. That same year, Ford’s incoming boss, Jacques Nasser, said that he saw fuel-cell cars as being a viable alternative to petrol cars for many people during the course of his career (he was replaced in 2001). And as recently as 2004 California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, rhapsodised about “hydrogen highways” all across the state by 2010.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Science & Technology • * Economics, Politics • Energy, Natural Resources

7 Comments
Posted September 7, 2008 at 5:00 pm [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. Jeffersonian wrote:

Like Brazil as a country, it’s the car of the future…and always will be.

September 7, 6:04 pm | [comment link]
2. DonGander wrote:

Where does the Hydrogen come from?

If you didn’t read all the way to the end, or, just skip to “The trouble with hydrogen” at the end and note the vast quantities of Carbon Dioxide that would be produced to produce the Hydrogen to run our cars! It is so! so funny!

Don

September 7, 9:08 pm | [comment link]
3. libraryjim wrote:

I still say the government should contract with Disney Corp and construct a nation-wide mono-rail system.  At the very least, Florida should do so for travel within the state.

September 7, 10:18 pm | [comment link]
4. Cennydd wrote:

If you want high-speed train service, monorail is the way to go.  Easier and quicker to build and maintain, but should be used for passenger service only.

September 8, 10:57 am | [comment link]
5. CanaAnglican wrote:

#2. Don,  Hydrogen production does indeed require electricity.  However that electricity, if nuclear-produced, can have low carbon footprint.

September 8, 10:09 pm | [comment link]
6. DonGander wrote:

“However that electricity, if nuclear-produced, can have low carbon footprint.”

I agree. But there isn’t even any hope for such plans as of now.

Nuclear would solve several problems - I just doubt that the conversion losses would allow a use of nuclear for motive use.

Don

September 8, 10:22 pm | [comment link]
7. libraryjim wrote:

I’m still waiting for the Jetson’s style air car that was promised to us 1/2 a century ago.

September 9, 8:31 pm | [comment link]
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