Joseph Steig: Automobiles

Refueling devices

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 12:38:59 GMT

from The Car Connection GM, BMW LINK ON HYDROGEN General Motors Corp. and the BMW Group said Tuesday the two companies will jointly develop refueling devices for liquid hydrogen, and are looking for other automakers to join the effort to establish worldwide standards. GM is pursuing a hydrogen fuel cell strategy, while the German automaker has been pursuing a liquid hydrogen internal-combustion engine strategy for future vehicles. ?We want to accelerate the progress being made on the distribution and on-board storage of liquid hydrogen as the future fuel,? said Dr. Lawrence Burns, GM?s vice president of Research and Development and Planning. ?Both compressed and liquid hydrogen hold promise to be used in hydrogen vehicles. The density of hydrogen in a liquid state is especially attractive with respect to fuel distribution and vehicle range.? BMW is trying to spur development of a network of 10,000 hydrogen filling stations in Germany. The aim of the new effort is to make sure automakers and fuel providers use one system, including standardizing the refueling coupler. GM and BMW?s goal is to have affordable and compelling hydrogen vehicles for sale by 2010 and the companies need to concentrate on the storage and handling technology to achieve this goal. ?Jim Burt

Pacifica

Tue, 25 Mar 2003 11:56:38 GMT

It's saying nothing new to say that people buy SUV's because the engender a sense of personal security. I can personally testify to a longing for a Toyota Landcruiser for just this reason. And it's nothing new to say that it's a security of the individual that's at odds with the security of the country (increased fuel consumption) and at odds with the security of drivers of smaller vehicles. But is all this bunk and the reason people really like SUV's is because those are the vehicles that have been most effectively presented to them by advertising campaigns. It will be interesting to see the effect of the emerging "cross" vehicle category (Chrysler Pacifica, for example), based on a car platform, with some of the attributes of an SUV but more of the attributes of a station wagon. As security is to SUV's, what deep desires can be associated with these vehicles?

Hydrogen storage system solved?

Thu, 12 Sep 2002 01:37:39 GMT

From theCarConnection.com: "Peugeot will also launch an important concept car at the Paris shaw. The H2O has two functions: first it is a compact fire engine (based on the very successful 206) that can be very useful in urban areas and secondly, the H2O demonstrates a new system that Peugeot developed for producing hydrogen on board. On board the vehicle, there is never more than 2.5g of hydrogen, the equivalent of a glass full of petrol. Hydrogen is produced from a solution of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) and a catalyzer. The engine, fuel cell and hydrogen production are located in the front of the H2O, whereas the NaBH4-reservoir is in the rear. This reservoir is not bound to have a specific form, which is the case with the hydrogen tank, which always has to be cylindrical. With this system, PSA seems to have found the solution for storage and transportation of hydrogen under pressure."

Traction Avant

Sat, 07 Sep 2002 02:11:28 GMT

LE MONDE, LA FAMILLE, LA TRACTION. In mid-August we were greeted to the site of hundreds of French Citroen cars in our town, for the bi-annual Citroen club rally, first time in the USA. Seeing so many of those Citroen 2CV "snail" cars is quite a site. But the most interesting to me was the Traction Avants, the first popular front-wheel drive car. These low-slung, long-fendered vehicles were sold from the 30's to the 50's. Now there's a group of aficionados who rally these cars around Australia, through Asia and across America. LE MONDE, LA FAMILLE, LA TRACTION. For a few minutes I wanted to ditch my life and go off and join them--the limo versions of these vehicles are big enough to sleep in. As the hat I bought from them says, with a Jules Verne quote: "All the greatest achievements in life have been done in the name of exaggerated hopes."