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Why Toyota's fuel cell play is one big green gamble

Imagine going to the ballet on Saturday evening for an 8 pm performance. The orchestra begins warming up shortly before the show, but it turns out the star performer isn't ready at the appointed time. The orchestra keeps playing, doing its best to keep the audience engaged and, most importantly, in the building. It keeps this up until the star finally shows and is ready to dance ... which turns out to be ten years later. That's a Samuel Beckett play. It's also how many observers, analysts, alt-fuel fans and alt-fuel intenders feel about the arrival of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) – the few of them who are still in the building, that is. Toyota's hydrogen development timeline rivals that of the US space program. In fact, within the halls of Toyota alone, research on FCVs has been going on for nearly 22 years, meaning that one company's development timeline for FCVs rivals that of the US space program – it was 1945 when Werner von Braun's team began re-assembling Germany's World War II V2 rockets and figuring out how to launch them into space and it wasn't until 1969 when a man set landing gear down on that sunlit lunar quarry. The development of the atom bomb only took half as long, and that's if we go all the way back to when Leo Szilard patented the mere idea of it, in 1934. Carmakers didn't give up on hydrogen in spite of the public having given up on carmakers ever making something of it, so there was a good chance that hydrogen criers announcing the mass-market adoption of periodic chart element number two one would eventually be right. Now is that time. And Toyota, not alone in researching FCVs but arguably having done the most to keep FCVs in the news, isn't even going to be first to market. That honor will go to Hyundai, surprising just about everyone at the LA Auto Show with news of a hydrogen fuel cell Tucson going on sale in the spring. The other bit of thunder stolen: while Toyota's talking about trying to get the price of its offering down to something between $50,000 and $100,000, Hyundai is pitching its date with the future at a lease price of $499 per month ($250 more than the lease price of a conventional Tucson), free hydrogen and maintenance, and availability at Enterprise Rent-A-Car if you just want to try it out. We've seen and driven Toyota's offering and we all know its success doesn't depend on cross-shopping, showroom dealing and lease sweeteners.

Hyundai Sonata PHEV may be a game (and mind) changer

If you really, really want to consume volts instead of fuel on your way to work, school or shopping, you currently have just three options: pure EV, hydrogen fuel cell, or plug-in hybrid EV. Much as we love them, we all know the disadvantages of BEVs: high prices due to high battery cost (even though subsidized by their makers), limited range and long recharges. Yes, I know: six-figure (giant-battery) Teslas can deliver a couple hundred miles and Supercharge to ~80 percent in 10 minutes. But few of us can afford one of those, Tesla's high-voltage chargers are hardly as plentiful as gas stations, and even 10 minutes is a meaningful chunk out of a busy day. Also, good luck finding a Tesla dealership to fix whatever goes wrong (other than downloadable software updates) when it inevitably does. There still aren't any. Even more expensive, still rare as honest politicians, and much more challenging to refuel are FCEVs. You can lease one from Honda or Hyundai, and maybe soon Toyota, provided you live in Southern California and have ample disposable income. But you'd best limit your driving to within 100 miles or so of the small (but growing) number of hydrogen fueling stations in that state if you don't want to complete your trip on the back of a flatbed. That leaves PHEVs as the only reasonably affordable, practical choice. Yes, you can operate a conventional parallel hybrid in EV mode...for a mile or so at creep-along speeds. But if your mission is getting to work, school or the mall (and maybe back) most days without burning any fuel – while basking in the security of having a range-extender in reserve when you need it – your choices are extended-range EVs. That means the Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac ELR or a BMW i3 with the optional range-extender engine, and plug-in parallel hybrids. Regular readers know that, except for their high prices, I'm partial to EREVs. They are series hybrids whose small, fuel-efficient engines don't even start (except in certain rare, extreme conditions) until their batteries are spent. That means you can drive 30-40 (Volt, ELR) or 70-80 miles (i3) without consuming a drop of fuel. And until now, I've been fairly skeptical of plug-in versions of conventional parallel hybrids. Why?

Recharge Wrap-up: Tow-charging a Tesla, Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell taxis in Paris

Watch a Tesla charge another Tesla by towing it. Bjorn Nyland has found yet another way to explore what Teslas can do, this time by towing a Model S behind a Model X to recharge the sedan's battery. While it's not the most efficient method of charging, it's definitely one way you could help out a stranded electric motorist in a time of desperation. The single-motor S was couldn't quite hit its regen capacity of 60 kW because of the towing speed. Nyland suggests a dual-motor Tesla in tow might be able to capture more energy. Check out the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Paris-based taxi startup STEP (Societe du Taxi Electrique Parisien) will use 60 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cells in its fleet. These will replace internal combustion taxis on Paris roads. Hyundai says that its Tucson Fuel Cell taxi fleet presence in Paris will increase from five vehicles to up to several hundred in coming years. Read more from Hyundai. Montreal is installing 50 new EV chargers, with a goal of 1,000 by 2020. The new chargers are in addition to 50 built downtown in August. "Our administration has bet on the electrification of transportation, with a view to being the first electric metropolis in North America," says Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre. The 50 new stations are spread out throughout seven boroughs of the city. Read more at Green Car Congress, or from the City of Montreal (in French). Denver will add 200 electric vehicles to its city fleet by 2020. The city plans to save $800,000 over the next decade due to the switch, as it starts to replace aging vehicles with electric ones starting in 2018. "Both financially and from the environmental perspective, it puts the city in a leadership position," says Denver Energy and Transportation Administrator Tyler Svitak. The city currently employs three EVs in its fleet. Read more at Hybrid Cars, or from The Denver Post. Related Gallery Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell STEP Taxi Service News Source: Teslarati, YouTube: Bjorn Nyland, Hyundai, Green Car Congress, City of Montreal, Hybrid Cars, Denver Post Government/Legal Green Hyundai Tesla Green Automakers Electric Videos recharge wrapup