What's the Deal with Germans and Hydrogen?

Generally, we don't like the 7-Series. iDrive sucks and it's a lot ugglier than the model it replaced. But we don't mind alternative fuels and BMW is eeking closer and closer to offering us a Hydrogen-powered 7-Series, which takes balls. At the moment, they're only being used for BMW's PR around the world. They loaned some to NASA for about eight weeks and now, it seems they just go around the world, loaning them out to high-profile VIPs, business folks and especially politicians.

The halo fleet of super green cars is mmm mmm good PR when you're the company that's known for gas guzzlers like the M5 - close 300 g/km of CO2 emissions. The 750hL spews nothing but water vapor when running on hydrogen. Since you can't buy hydrogen very readily, the thing also runs on gas - which is what most normal folks would end up using in this now-heavier, V12 big boy.

All the hydrogen fuel cell stuff adds an extra 550 pounds to the already massive 7 and according to this Ben Lage article, just the materials in each of the 100 or so examples of the 7-Series 750hL costs around $400 grand. With the research, they're about a mil-point-five a piece.

The not-at-all-pompous-sounding BMW hydrogen technology researcher, Dr. Frank Ochmann explains,"We have no price on the car. We regard this as an offer to society to show society where we stand on clean energy."

"We have no price on the car," said BMW hydrogen technology researcher Dr. Frank Ochmann. "We regard this as an offer to society to show society where we stand on clean energy."

I can't help but wonder - how much will gas prices have to go up for you to give up the truck? Take the poll below!

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The Electric Car We All Want.

- New-School technology, oLd sKool flAva.

There's just nothing quite like cruising yo six fo. Today, you can put Lambo doors on your Chrysler 300 - rim it up, drop in some amps - and you've got a pretty cool car, one that looks right in front of the club. If you trying to roll extra hard, you might spring for some airbags, remote-controlled ones - so you can drop it like it's hot as you walk away. Doing all this to the current breed of electric cars, what few there are, just wouldn't work.

However, there's West Coast tech-hippies (think Burning Man) that have been converting ordinary, pimpable cars to electric for years (some, decades). The article you can see by clicking on the title is from L.A. Weekly about an L.A. comedian who's had a '48 Oldsmobile, like the one pictured, converted to an all-electric, lowrider. Though the juice box takes up most of the backseat, it's a small price to pay for an electric car that can actually do burnouts - and, presumably, other stuff regular cars can do - like not making you look like a lamer to the ladies. You've just witnessed the future of sustainable motoring. Remember where you were at this moment.

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The General Takes a Golden-Yellow Shower....of Innovation

- GM are taking the lead as ethanol fuel innovators. Can hybrids leave us alone now?

I’m sick of hearing about hybrids. The super-dorky Prius and even GM’s new hybrid trucks. The electric motor in a hybrid only does the work at very low speeds and in reverse. Meanwhile, the added weight of the batteries, power control unit, planetary gear, generator and electric motor itself means you’re carrying a lot more junk in the trunk on the highway (and at highway speeds). Neither the Chevy nor GMC websites will reveal the weight difference between a standard and a hybrid Silverado - but it’s sure to be tremendous. Little hybrid cars are perfect for city centers where driving under 10 miles per hour is normal. Big trucks are meant for the highways, the backroads and the wild frontiers of the suburbs and the sub-suburbs. This means that a hybrid truck will rarely find itself running on electricity - especially if you’re one of those crazy critters that put stuff in the back. Sure, there’s traffic out there and you’ll sit in it with zero-emission smugness - but the added weight of hybrids, says a Ford dealer whose name we won’t reveal, means that the Escape Hybrid gets worse gas mileage overall than the 4-banger version.

General Motors is making yellow the new green with corn-powered cars! Just when I was getting cynical, GM launched their big E85 push with a nifty show truck (above) and partnerships with Shell and VeraSun Energy Corp! Ethanol is set to quickly become the new choice of performance-hungry tree huggers. GM’s already got a heart-warming website touting its benefits with tons of corny puns (stalk car racing game) and occasional free t-shirts. Corn, of course, has a few problems of its own. The corn used for ethanol is genetically modified and the government subsidises corn farmers - but, compared to hybrids which are a bit of a scam, corn’s great! We won’t ever need a war to get more cord and reducing our reliance on foreign oil will give America new political leverage (one day). Not only is corn great but GM is showing some surprising leadership by encouraging more ethanol stations (just in Chicago for now) and raising awareness.

There’s something inherently American about corn and ethanol’s performance-enhancing qualities and inherent patriotism should signal the eventual demise of deceptive, hugely overpriced and always wimpy hybrids. Compared to your standard, friendly Vortec V8 running E85 - the stuff under the hood of a Prius is more washing machine than car - and any performance mods are out of the question. General Motors might be onto a winner! With the 2007 Tahoe updates announced for the now great-looking 2007 Avalanche - it’s a good time to be touting why we shouldn’t feel guilty about driving the big truck - which, when costing only three grand more than a hybrid Accord - is looking better and better. Let’s hope it doesn’t end with a corny website and a couple dozen ethanol pumps in Illinois.