dpeilow

May have also been due to someone posting her Dvorak post in the comments there...

vfx

There was a good comment on the ECOGEEK James May FCX video:

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telling
written by al , December 16, 2008
The telling think for me on the hydrogen front is that top gear already did this. About 3 years ago they had the GM hyline another prototype hydrogen car, they drove it around and it worked, yet you no closer to buying it know then 3 years ago. But you could buy a useable electric or plugin from a major manufactoring soon, I think that says it all

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So compare that to where Tesla was three years ago. Company size, cash flow, prototypes, etc...

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The world loves to be deceived.

graham

Ha! awesome!

For those not in on the joke from yesterdays post in the comments:

Top Gear Flogs A Tesla -- And Breaks It | Autopia from Wired.com
Thanks dpeilow -- you are my hero, too

dpeilow

shark2k

OK, so I just watched the segments on the Roadster and the FCX Clarity. I gotta say, while it was fun to watch the Roadster being driven, I really think they gave a really bad picture for the Roadster to the car enthusiasts who watch this show (and the casuals just flipping through). They did not make any mention of the faster charging at a higher amp(?) (of course I could have missed it, but I don't think I did). I know most of this was mentioned before, but I just need to rant :D. I also did not like how they made it seem like the car was not worthy for real road conditions by basing it off the way thy drove it on the track (I don't normally watch the show, so I'm not familiar with names). Obviously when The Stig was driving it, he was driving it to get a lap time so that would be expected to not perform well efficiency wise. The other guy though making it seem like it would only get 55 miles was crazy because he drove the car so hard.

I could say more about the Tesla segment but most has been said. The FCX Clarity segment though really got me. I'll admit that it would be nice to have an electric car where you fill up just like gas, except without the ICE. The problem I had with the segment was they really did not mention any of the negatives. Sure, they started to say how hard it was to extract the hydrogen, but they negated that fact by saying it is just as hard as drilling for oil. What? How can those be compared? I mean, it might be hard to find the oil, but I don't think drilling for it is comparable to separating hydrogen. If I'm not mistaken, I think I read that it takes quite a bit of power to be able to extract hydrogen. While it might be more efficient than gas or even refining gas, it is still more pollutant than charging an electric car.

Overall, I really think they put more of a negative "spin" on the Tesla segment and a positive "spin" on the FCX Clarity segment by not mentioning any negatives at all. A question for you in the know. Aren't hydrogen cars still just as expensive (if not more) to manufacture than battery powered electric cars?

-Shark2k

graham

Yes, current hydrogen powered cars are very expensive. Fuel cells are made from platinum. The high expense is one of the reasons no one yet sells a fuel cell car, they lease it instead.

TEG

First Generation:
Second Generation:
(OK, so $750K now)

Bit unfair for Top Gear to say that they like the $750K car more than the $109K car.


I bet the FCX is more comfortable and practical than the Roadster, but probably very uninspiring to drive in comparison. In any case I would much rather hook to a plug than to a hydrogen line.

shark2k

Thanks graham. I think I might have read that somewhere, but if I didn't now I know. Kind of funny cause my check engine light came on and it was caused by the catalytic converter. My mechanic said if it came back on the cat would need to be replaced. He asked me if I knew what that was and I said yeah. He said, yeah, the the things made of platinum so they are expensive

Edit: Thanks for the link TEG.

-Shark2k

dpeilow

dpeilow

Hopefully everyone who wanted to see the video on Youtube did, because after 63,203 views the BBC got it blocked!

It was today's 81st most viewed video on Youtube



Here is the episode's comments page on Topgear.com: http://transmission.blogs.topgear.co...most/#comments

As expected, the vast majority of 'normals' swallowed the FCX Clarity line, but there are also quite a few good posts on the hydrogen issue from people in the know. A small, but significant, minority seem to have 'got' the Tesla on the back of this test alone, an encouraging sign. By the way, #65 is not me, but I couldn't resist a comment later on.


James May's 20th Century

The irony...


(Also by the way, their site doesn't seem to work in Google Chrome, had to revert to IE for it.)