I could not help but share this article with everyone. After opening up my mind and realizing this is actually where we are headed. Welcome to smaller car world!

The linked article that I have chosen for today comes from Newsweek where they talk about the car of the future. Surprisingly we will not see many hydrogen powered cars on the road in the near future. Instead, we will all be downsizing utilizing new hybrid technologies such as found in the current Toyota Prius and the upcoming Chevy Volt. The Chevy Volt is a new and improved idea of the hybrid car where it does run just off of electricity but it has a very small engine that burns gas to charge the battery that powers the electric motor. Other developments will include simply making “better” hybrid vehicles and more economical “smaller” cars and cross-over SUV’s (CUV’s).

I encourage you to read the linked article below at Newsweek.com.

Newsweek Article: “The Car of the Future”

Today I am a bit off of the direct automotive topics but this does indirectly affect the automotive world because 99% of the cars, trucks, and SUV’s on the road today in America use some type of Gas fuel that comes from oil. I won’t bore you with restating the fact that some people propose that they lift the ban on offshore drilling (for oil)… you can read about that on cnn.com. The big question I have for you is do you really think they should lift this ban and will it really “help” us? Some say that this will not even affect the gas prices until 5 years later if the ban was eliminated NOW. That means they start drilling today and then maybe 5 years from today you may see the price of gas come down from $10 a gallon… yea, I am thinking in 5 years the price will be around $10 to $15 a gallon at the rate we are going now. If you don’t think this is an answer then let us know what should be done. If you think this is an answer then let us know why.

I can tell you my opinion but then again I don’t want to cause an argument over the internet… but since someone will eventually say it in the comments then why not. Here goes… I think the offshore drilling deal is not the answer. I think it is very risky in further harming our environment. I think we need to start NOW with rolling out more new alternatives so we have time to adapt. It will take America a long time to adapt to new technologies and alternatives not to mention lots of money on the part of investors, the government and consumers. We have taken too many small steps in the past. Just like hybrid cars, yes, they may be great and all but it is only a small step. We need bigger steps and more of our CURRENT technology to be utilized so that we may have some relief at the gas pump SOON. Not to mention, we need to clean up our act, in America we consume way too much and leave a very big dirty footprint on our environment.Let’s just face our reality right now head-on. It will be several years before we have any permanent relief at the gas pump. We need more car companies, government officials and consumers to consider moving to alternatives such as the new Honda FCX Clarity that is on its way to America to be sold eventually as a main-stream car. There are several other viable alternatives available as well. That in its self is a much bigger step than a Toyota Prius. Look at the facts, a Toyota Prius still uses gasoline, yet a smaller amount that any other gas burning car that you can buy at a dealership, but you are still paying $4 or more a gallon to fill its tank. Im not knocking the Toyota by any means, if I was able to purchase one right now and sell my SUV for a good price I would.

What about being GREEN? A lot of people want to become “green” all-off-a-sudden because they are paying almost $100 to fill their big SUV every week or so? Have we dug a bigger hole than we thought? Can we fill this hole in enough time so that we are able to keep our house and current lifestyle? What should America do? What have you done to cope? Let us know, we want to hear from you!

Feel free to post your comments below.

This post is open for discussion and the site editors will pop in their opinion at times.

Do you remember our post last year where were asked who would be the first to bring hydrogen fuel cell cars to the US market? Well, yea, Honda did it.

Over 50,000 people have signed up to lease the new Honda FCX Clarity vehicle which is due to come out in July 2008. The New Honda FCX Clarity is on its way to sunny California, home of the governornator where Honda expects to lease out a few dozen of these new innovative vehicles this year and increase it to around 200 units within a year.

This would be a monumental event only if everyone had access to one to replace the current gas guzzler in our driveway.

The first five customers are all based in southern California because of the proximity of hydrogen fuelling stations.

As well as author and actress Jamie Lee Curtis, first customers include ‘Cold Mountain’ film producer Ron Yerxa, business owner and car enthusiast Jim Salomon and ’24′ actress Laura Harris.

So what is the Honda FCX Clarity and what is all the hype about because I saw this on my local news station after they talked about gas being over $4 a gallon???? The Honda FCX Clarity is a new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car. It runs on hydrogen and electricity where it only emits water. It is claimed to be two times more efficient than a current hybrid car and three times that of a standard gasoline powered car.

Honda FCX Prototype:

This is the perfect solution to our high gas prices in the perfect world where we have just as many hydrogen stations as gas stations. This leaves us with the biggest hurdle for cars of this type. Although very efficient and it “does not use gas”, when was the last time you saw a hydrogen station… hmmm probably NEVER! Actually, California has a few spots for hydrogen with many more in the works once the “deals” and “investments” are made.

You must remember that this is a very slow process in rolling out new energy stations (hydrogen stations or others) as with the whole oil consumption deal will be something that will stick around for several more years to come. We need a LOT of time and money before we see thousands of cars like the Honda FCX Clarity on our American roads. Other car companies have hydrogen “hybrids” in the works and we should find out more about them in the next few years to come as gas prices reach $5 to $7 a gallon… yes folks, it’s coming!

It would be a dream if the future of our cars used water for power and actually cleaned the air as you drove it. No more high gas prices, no more pollutants, what a dream right? Well, this dream is not too far off because BMW already has a car that does exactly this.

Many people have heard about the BMW 7-Series Hydrogen powered car. Well, BMW is further developing this vehicle in preparation to actually sell it one day. They recently tested the output of emissions and could not get an actual reading thus stating that it cleans the air. Basically, the cars engine breaks down and converts carbon monoxide which in return cleans the air as you drive it.

The new-age six-liter hydrogen combustion engine acts as a power source and a legitimate air cleaner while giving this vehicle performance on par of its gas-guzzling counterpart. This is surely part of what we will see in our near future and more-than-likely very near due to the ever-so-fast rising gas prices. Now is the time to develop, test and sell vehicles just like this. Although the BMW 7-Series Hydrogen car is dubbed a hybrid because it actually burns gasoline in the alternate engine, it is part of our future that we must start seriously looking into so we can get back on track and boost our economy in the USA and worldwide.

AutomotiveAddicts found a video of a test drive of the BMW 7-Series Hydrogen. The video show shows you a little on how the vehicle works. They take it for a drive in the “real world”. Enjoy!

So how high will gas prices have to go before it is a breaking point for Americans in the USA? Many have already found a breaking point and have to resort to a different lifestyle. Many Americans are really worried and concerned about the steadily rising gas prices in the way that they are starting stay at home and not drive as much.

As our economy slows and the near future outlooks looks grim we all have been affected in some way with the record high gas prices. It is starting to trickle down to other items such as in the local grocery store. Stores are forced to raise prices due to the higher priced fuel for the trucks that transport the store items. Then you have other items for retail stores where the items are trucked over the US interstates and highways where the gas is at a national average of $3.50 a gallon. We are pretty sure that we will see $4.00 sometime this early summer… it is only inevitable with the track that we are on.

So what is your breaking point? Has it already occurred? I know one of the staff members at Automotive Addicts sold his SUV for a Toyota Camry Hybrid last week. Many people are making moves to change up their lifestyle and staring to think “green”. When some people think of “green” it does not necessarily mean hybrids or hydrogen powered cars, it means the new lack of money in their pockets due to the high gas prices.

How will you afford to get to work? How will you afford to take your family on the summer vacation this year? How will you afford to make a trip to see your sick family member in the neighboring city or town? Unfortunately we do not have an answer for you. Hopefully the stimulus package check will help out some middle-class Americans where they can maybe purchase a few tanks of gas. Otherwise, we will have to take out a loan in order to “fill up”.

Let us hear from you… Post your comments now and we will respond!

The Cadillac Provoq Hydrogen – Battery powered Vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show – Las Vegas, NV

Hydrogen fuel cell powered Cadillac gets about 300 miles to one tank of hydrogen. It is sort of a hybrid where it primarily runs on hydrogen but uses battery power for storing electricity for the duration of a long trip. The Cadillac Provoq should go up to 100 MPH and achieve a 0-60 tile of 8.5 seconds. Speculation is that this Caddy is based off of the Chevy Volt, an electric car with batteries changed by an ethanol or gas powered motor.

By: Jeffrey Ross
Autotropolis.com

When most manufacturers test their latest technologies and designs in real-world situations, they like to keep them shrouded in secrecy and black vinyl. When it comes to alternative fuel technologies, more manufacturers are putting the vehicles out in the open for everyone to see. General Motors has clean-diesel transit buses running around the country and Ford Motor Company has hybrid-electric Escapes replacing the iconic yellow taxi cabs in New York City.

Starting today, Ford will launch a small fleet of Ford E-450 shuttle buses in Orlando, Fla. that run off hydrogen fuel. Unlike other recent attempts at hydrogen vehicle technology, Ford’s version uses a conventional internal combustion engine that uses hydrogen as a fuel instead of gasoline. Other recent hydrogen vehicle prototypes convert the hydrogen into electricity for electric motors which, in turn, emits water as a byproduct.

The buses delivered to the Greater Orlando Airport Authority and the Orlando Convention Central District use a supercharged, 6.8-liter V10 that was modified to run the hydrogen fuel. The engines are highly efficient and can run in all-weather situations but most importantly emit lower levels of regulated pollutants and the dread carbon dioxide greenhouse gas. Ford claims that the hydrogen-fueled engines can be added to a hybrid system to further increase fuel efficiency. The modified V10s put out 235 horsepower and 310 foot-pounds of torque (down from the 305 horsepower and 420 lb-ft. of torque from the standard gasoline burner).

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was present to help launch the buses into service and was essentially put into place by former Gov. Jeb Bush’s H2Florida initiative. Four buses were initially unveiled, but four more will join the Orlando fleet this year. A special Chevron hydrogen fuelling station will make filling up the eight buses in Orlando more convenient. Ford plans to deliver 30 more of the buses nationwide by year’s end in addition to the five that were delivered in Canada last December.

In addition to the E-450 shuttle buses, Ford already has 30 hydrogen-powered Ford Focus Fuel Cell vehicles on the road.

So who will be the 1st to bring in the consumer ready hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to the

Honda will also be producing a type of home fueling station that will use natural gas to produce hydrogen fuel for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles while providing extra electricity for the home at the same time. Hydrogen fuel-cell cars have zero emissions, and the next generation FCX is said to have a range of 270 miles on a full tank, with an equivalent of 68 mpg when compared to gas. Honda claims it will hit 100 mph while others have managed to get it up to 75 mph with no problem in tests. Over-all performance is not much different from most low powered four cylinder engines. 

So will Honda beat everyone to the mainstream in introducing the first hydrogen car just like