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2019 Hyundai Nexo First Drive Review | Promise for fuel cells

According to the Kardashev scale of measuring advanced civilizations, a Type I civilization is able to harness all the power available on its home planet, including solar, wind and geothermal. A Type II civilization harnesses all the power generated by its sun. A Type III civilization harnesses all the energy of its home galaxy. Humanity, as physicist Michio Kaku is fond of saying, is a Type 0: We derive all our energy from burning dead plants and animals. And humanity being what it is, we still prefer crossovers by a vast margin. Fine, says Hyundai. We'll give you what you want, but we're going to nudge you toward Type I in the process. For 2019, the Korean automaker is launching a double-pronged attack on the internal-combustion engine with a pair of crossovers — a pure-electric version of the Kona and the hydrogen-powered Nexo. Hyundai is taking this approach because it believes electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles actually serve two different purposes. According to Dr. BoKi Hong of the company's fuel cell R&D division, the future won't see a one-solution-fits-all revolution in post-internal-combustion-engine (ICE) propulsion. Smaller vehicles — cars, motorcycles, Bird scooters — will be able to run solely on electricity, but Dr. Hong says that larger vehicles — cargo trucks, buses — will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The reason? Scalability. The larger the vehicle, the less sense it makes to equip it with a battery pack. Weight, cost and refueling time all increase along with the size of the conveyance. The longer the distance they have to travel — think cargo haulers or cross-country buses — the less sense it makes to use a battery electric vehicle (BEV). Hydrogen, on the other hand, offers a much more efficient way of storing and transporting energy. A fuel cell drivetrain can be scaled up to fit larger vehicles, but it doesn't require the same proportion of material as a battery. Plus, filling up your hydrogen tanks is as quick as a gasoline top-off, an advantage for long-distance haulers. Hyundai believes there's room for fuel cell vehicle (FCV) passenger cars as well, and the Nexo is Hyundai's latest take on a hydrogen car. Its first was introduced in 2000, based on a Santa Fe. That was followed in 2013 by a Tucson-based FCV. Unlike those, the Nexo arrives on an all-new platform not shared with an existing ICE-powered car. As it did with the Kona EV, Hyundai is offering a crossover in a segment where one doesn't really exist.

2015 Australian Grand Prix all about grooves and trenches [spoilers]

We can't remember the last time 90 percent of the action in Formula One had nothing to do with cars setting timed laps. Yet that's was the situation at the Australian Grand Prix, continuing the antics from a scarcely believable off-season with blow-ups, driver and team absences, a lawsuit, and a clear need for some teams to get down and give us 50 pit stops. Nothing much has changed from a regulation standpoint, and at the front of the field nothing has changed at all. Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas claimed the first position on the grid like someone put a sign on it that read, "Reserved for Mr. Hamilton;" teammate Nico Rosberg was 0.6 behind in second, Felipe Massa in the Williams was 1.4 seconds back in third. Sebastian Vettel proved that Ferrari didn't do another Groundhog Day routine this off-season, slotting into fourth. His teammate Kimi Raikkonen was not even four-hundredths of a second behind, ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the second Williams, Daniel Ricciardo in the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing, and rookie Carlos Sainz, Jr. in the first Toro Rosso. Lotus, now powered by Mercedes, got both cars into the top ten with Romain Grosjean in ninth, Pastor Maldonado in the final spot. However, even though the regulations are almost all carryover, in actual fact, everything has changed this year. Mercedes is even faster. Renault is even worse. Ferrari and Lotus are a lot better. Toro Rosso is looking like anything but a junior team. And McLaren is – well, let's not even get into that yet. Furthermore, this weekend was shambles: 15 cars started the race, the smallest naturally-occurring grid since 1963. Manor couldn't get its cars ready before qualifying. Bottas had to pull out after qualifying when he tore a disc in his back and couldn't pass the medical clearance tests. The gearbox in Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull gave out on the lap from the pit to the grid, and to give misery some company, the Honda in Kevin Magnussen's McLaren blew up on the same lap. When the lights went out, Hamilton ran away and was more than a second ahead of his teammate at the end of Lap 1. The advantage disappeared, though, because behind him, at the first corner, we got our first pile-up. As Raikkonen drove around the outside of Vettel at the right-hand Turn 1 it looked like Vettel, going over the kerbing, hopped to his left and bounced into Raikkonen.

2015 Honda Civic Type R revealed [w/video]

Earlier today, we told you how Honda has revealed a trio of new turbocharged VTEC engines, including the one that will be used in the 2015 Civic Type R. That's the winged, Batmobile-esque creature seen here. Ahead of a formal introduction at the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda is flaunting its new Civic Type R with images of the car testing at the Tochigi test track and video of the front-wheel drive hot hatch being put through its paces on the Nürburgring.
While the US is getting revamped Civic sedans and coupes, European customers will soon be able to opt for the 2015 Type R with its new Earth Dreams 2.0-liter turbo engine producing more than 276 horsepower. Honda has also made sure to give the car a styling that matches its powerful engine with a more aggressive front end, massive fender flares and a liftgate wing with unusual airplane-like canards. Honda is still withholding the Type R's official specs until the unveiling, but we can tell that the bigger wheels make room for beefier brakes.
The Civic Type R won't launch until 2015, but Honda has released the video posted below showing WTCC driver Gabriele Tarquini working the car around the 'Nürburgring, along with a brief press release. Check 'em both out and be sure to let us know what you think of this matte-black hot hatch in Comments.