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Toyota to build long range hydrogen cell car

by flash11 on Tue Jun 24 18:24:17 PDT 2008

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday it has developed an advanced fuel-cell vehicle that can run for 830 km (516 miles) on a single tank of hydrogen and in temperatures as low as 30 degrees Celsius below freezing (-22 F). The zero-emission FCHV-adv will be leased to government agencies, among other possible users, in Japan starting later this year, a spokeswoman said. The new version of the fuel-cell car, which runs on hydrogen and emits only water, increased fuel efficiency by 25 percent with an improved fuel cell unit and other changes to its brake system and elsewhere. Combined with a slightly bigger fuel tank and a doubling of the maximum storage pressure, the FCHV-adv extended the cruising range from the previous FCHV's 330 km (205 miles), Toyota said in a statement. It has a maximum speed of 155 km per hour (97 mph). Fuel-cell vehicles are widely considered the ultimate longer-term alternative to today's conventional cars as they run on an inexhaustible and cheaper source of fuel -- hydrogen -- have no harmful tail-pipe emissions, and do not compromise driving performance. The main hurdles for their proliferation are a lack of fuelling stations and the high cost of development. Toyota and domestic rival Honda Motor Co became the world's first two automakers to put a fuel-cell vehicle on the road in December 2002, and have since been in a tight race to prepare them for mass-commercialization. Honda's latest FCX Clarity, a sporty-looking fuel-cell sedan, can run 620 km (385 miles) on a single fuelling as measured under Japan's fuel efficiency test method. It can go as fast as 160 km per hour (99 mph), uses a lithium-ion battery and can withstand temperatures from -30 to 95 degrees Celsius (-22F to 203F). Honda plans to begin leasing the car in the United States starting next month and in Japan later this year. It is targeting lease sales of about 200 FCX Clarity cars in the first three years in the two countries combined. Toyota's FCHV-adv, which uses a nickel-metal hydride battery, will be showcased as a test-ride vehicle at the Group of Eight rich nations' summit in Toyako, northern Japan, next month. It will also provide more than 70 hybrid cars and hydrogen-fuelled buses for use by summit participants.

My Story About My (Dad's) Truck

by justaveragejoe on Thu Apr 12 15:53:53 PDT 2007

My story? Can I tell you my loooonng story? The truck was purchased new for $2,700 by my dad in December 1968. He bought it from Roseville Oldsmobile/GMC. It’s a ½ ton long-bed with the 307ci V-8 and the three-speed column shifter. This truck came with absolutely no options. It did have a heater but no AC, radio, or cigarette lighter. Nothing automatic. Even the choke is manual. My dad installed the seatbelts for the driver and passenger seats. He also purchased the original service manual that has seen extensive use over the years. In its early days, the GMC saw typical duty as the family truck and a commute vehicle for my dad and his carpool. My mom has a fond memory of being pulled over by the CHP while they were driving the new pickup to Reno for a weekend get-away. She kinda likes to brag that they didn’t get a ticket after my dad pleaded ignorance to the fact that the larger, load-rated tires on the rear would make the speedometer indicate lower (good one, dad). Some of my memories as a kid include shoveling loads of aggregate out of the long fleetside bed and into an electric concrete mixer for our patio. I remember riding in the bed with a load of wine grapes from my uncle’s vineyard in Antioch. It was fun “splatting” the grapes on the road signs at 55 mph as we drove back home along the Sacramento River. I remember riding in the back of the truck along Highway 50 during camping vacations up to Union Valley Reservoir. I also recall many mountain rides during the 3 or 4 summers when my dad and his buddies built his cabin near Donner Summit. The GMC would be loaded with lumber and construction supplies and would strain up those long grades on Interstate 80. We also pulled a trailer up and down from there for a few years. By the time I was 14 years old, I had memorized that entire drive looking through the truck windshield. It must have been around 1974 when my brother started driving and would take my sisters and me to school in the pickup. By necessity, all of us kids learned how to use the clutch and the three-on-the-tree, and remember, no power steering or power brakes. Both of my older sisters drove the GMC through their high school days, and I started driving it in March 1981. I’m sure the other kids could add pages of events that happened in the truck. But hey, after 26 years together – this is my truck story. On spring and summer days when my dad didn’t take the truck to work, I would drive to my friend’s house to pull their boat to Folsom Lake for some water skiing. Since my brother had a Jetski at that time, but no truck, I also hauled his ski to the lake. I learned to ride a personal watercraft and water-ski thanks to that truck. In 1984, my dad purchased a new GMC S-15 4WD. I got the old truck. Well, after I graduated high school, I bought my own Kawasaki 550 and that bright-red Jetski, faded blue GMC and I were regular fixtures at Folsom Lake beach throughout my extended college career. Still today, the truck bed shows the unique wear pattern from hauling the Jetski, evidence to all those memorable days. The GMC was my regular daily driver through all those college days, and for quite a while after I graduated, got a new job, and got married. Like most trucks, the GMC and I have helped many friends and family members when they moved or needed to haul something sizable. Recently, it saw duty hauling gravel, bags of concrete, and lumber for projects at our family’s new house. Thinking about it, I have probably turned every single nut and bolt on that truck. As a kid, I’d watch my dad change the oil or replace the brakes (with that trusty service manual by his side). I learned how to hone a cylinder, hand-pack a wheel bearing, and bleed a brake system. When I was sixteen I got a job at the local gas station/repair shop and remained employed there all through my college years. We would put an old tire in front of the grill and push the broken-down cars into the service bays with the truck. The job allowed me to keep the GMC maintained during those high mileage years, although in the beginning I was pretty naive about listening to the signals that were indicating mechanical illnesses. Good thing this truck was tough and determined to run forever. At around 140,000 miles, it developed an oil leak from the timing chain that was swinging out into the cover and had sliced a hole in it. With a little piece of electrical tape and a couple quarts of oil, I limped the truck through another summer of jetskiing. We replaced the timing chain only to discover that the nylon-covered gear had disintegrated and been sucked into the oil pump. Lack of oil and improper timing damaged the No. 8 cylinder, which lost some compression. We replaced the oil pump and chugged the motor for another 25,000 before I pulled it out and had it rebuilt in 1986. I rebuilt the transmission and front end at around 200,000 miles and just like any young boy would do; I continued to drive hell out it. That stock little motor will still kick out an occasional third-gear scratch for me. About three years ago, my buddy convinced me to strip it, do some body work, and repaint it. The primer was showing through what was left of the original weather-beaten pigment. “Heck, we’ll have it done in a couple weekends!” he said. We worked together many days and many nights and after about 14 weekends; the truck was sprayed in his neighbor’s body shop. Holy Cow! All of the sudden the GMC looked great! But still, the truck continues to spend its life outside, bravely weathering the elements. I am giving some attention to the neglected interior where I discovered some rust at the typical locations. It pains me to see that I have been a bit naive in body maintenance too, but I sit here typing proudly to gain some recognition for my GMC, inspired by this truck and motivated by the passion and enthusiasm others have shared towards it. Now at 296,000 miles, the engine bay is the area that truly shows the age and dedicated service provided by this good-ol’ GMC. It reminds me of the older, simpler automobile era. I don’t think it needs much work done in there (although I drool when I see old trucks with nice engines) and I don’t want to modify the stock motor and spoil the unique character and the true heart and soul of my old GMC. It does make me smile when people tell me, “Hey, nice old truck, you should build a nice motor for it,” I can’t help but respond, “Yeah, but my story -- Can I tell you my story?” Maybe I will add another chapter someday. Found this photo from 30 years ago.

Re: Fuel Report [kdhspyder]

by devsienna on Fri Jun 16 17:44:56 PDT 2006

This doesn't directly relate to the TCH, but I once ran out of gas in my Prius while going up a hill. I was able to slowly go up the hill, steadily losing speed as the battery rapidly went from 6 bars down to 1. By the time I got to 1 bar, I could move no further. The car simply wouldn't let me drain the battery any further. I don't recall when powering off/on if it would go into ready mode, or just tell me I'm hosed and to go get some gas. But the point is that the car did everything it could to prevent me from draining the battery past that 1 bar level. A couple of gallons later via AAA, the car fired right up, recharged the battery back to normal, and I was fine. I imagine that if I was running the A/C at the time I was down to one bar, I might've been able to suck that last bar down, but that isn't an experiment I really want to try to do. I've certainly have managed to drain the battery down to 2 bars while sitting in traffic (or the drive-thru) with the A/C blasting, but as soon as it got down that low, it ran the engine to help recharge the battery. One other point of data is that while on a recent trip to Lake Tahoe, the battery got down to 1 bar as I approached Donner Summit (7200 feet), and stayed that way for about 5 minutes or so until I crested the summit and got into Truckee (about a 1200 foot drop over 5 miles), by which time the battery was fully charged up again (8 green bars, yum!). Half the time while on one bar, the computer would try to suck power out of the battery, and the other half the time it was trying to recharge it. At the time, I was doing about 60 to 65 MPH and the gas engine was definitely running at high RPMs to get up the hill with as little assistance from the battery. Again, my point being is that while I was down to one bar, the computer still did all that it could to protect the battery. So if the TCH's computer is anything like the Prius', running out of gas and then using the battery to get to a gas station shouldn't hurt the battery. Should you get down to 1 or 2 bars in that situation, you'll probably be on the side of the road waiting for AAA/spouse/neighbor/friend to bring you some gas. Just don't run the A/C too much while waiting. :-)

Test driving used is probably still possible

by starrow68 on Sat Dec 17 18:02:01 PST 2005

That seems to be the best way to get a good look at the C6. Looking is the only real input, opinions vary. FWIW on the winter driving, I was up running on a road course for a weekend last spring at Reno-Fernley Raceway and the weather was great, low 60's. Going back to SF area over Truckee I-80 pass it was snowing at the ag... inspection station and about 34 degrees at the summit. I'm on summer performance Kuhmo's and in heavy stop and go with some open areas I did 15/20 miles in slush, sometimes up to a few inches between lanes having to do lane changes over an ice berm. You have to remember, Active Handling, it's amazing I didn't push but it still came on a few times just enough to nudge me into straight course. The car can be driven in weather but with only 3.5"'s of clearance it isn't going to do well in much snow buildup.

Re: Minivan [ateixeira]

by navigator89 on Thu Jun 30 08:26:34 PDT 2005

Something MPV sized would do wonders for the handling because of less weight, however... If Subaru even wants a chance at competing, or even toppling the Odyssey/Sienna/Caravan from the minivan throne, it needs to be fullsized, offering fold flat third row seat, Nav, DVD entertainment, refined powertrain, and storage space. You can't do all this with something MPV sized. Mitsubishi makes the Space Wagon and Honda makes the Stream. Both are tall station wagons/minivans but they can't compete in North America because of their small size. Everyone's vacated that size segment because those vehicles dont sell (remember the Nissan Axxess, Eagle Summit?) A large minivan doesnt mean sloppy handling. The Odyssey/Caravan are large, yet they handle the best in the segment.

Re: snow storm over the summit? [bigmike5]

by starrow68 on Tue Apr 05 14:41:42 PDT 2005

Ah, snow beside the road, not bad, snow on the road but no chain requirements, not good. 36 degrees at the inspection station and then down to 27 degrees going down the hill to CA, not enough to freeze on the lanes but lots of slush between the lanes and too much crap being kicked up by the semi's. Ugly in a Vette!