Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell

[DaveinOlyWA]

Road and Track called it the ugliest car ever and I agree.

Agreed. Reminds me of some of the Chrysler products from the 90's...

[GlennD]

My father purchased the cheapest cars in the paper for me. It was far better than the auto union DKW it replaced. I REALLY DO NOT MISS THE CARS OF THE SIXTIES!

[GRA]

[ liked my 59 karman ghia, Compared to a regular VW it was tons better. It was 6V and my 2 way radio turned the headlights orange when I keyed up.

But the topic was aesthetics, not function. I always felt ghias look like VW beetles that got left out in the sun to melt.

I am offering this link to move the discussion very slightly less OT than it already is:

1971 Karmann Ghia electric car conversion



Here's a kit for someone who wants to do it yourself: Karmann Ghia EV Conversion Kit, AC Motor, Regen Braking, 1955-1974
(Of course you could purchase a used LEAF for less money than that kit.)

Sorry, GRA, I couldn't find an H2 FCV conversion kit for a Karmann Ghia.

OT. Oddly enough, the first BEV conversion I ever saw was a red Karmann Ghia, back in the early '90s when I was selling off-grid systems. One of my customers had it and had done the conversion, so I asked him all about it. He used it for his daily commutes in the Bay Area, I think 25 miles but I don't remember if that was one-way or round trip. IIRR it was a hardtop so probably this isn't the same car, but Karmann Ghias were popular BEV conversions owing to the space front and rear for batteries; ISTR Corvairs (and 914s) were popular for the same reason. I don't remember for sure, but think he may have worked at Lawrence Livermore or Sandia (one of whose boundary streets is Tesla Rd.).

Re aesthetics, while some of the '60s and '70s cars were really bad (I personally loathe the Rover sedans and their side overhangs, and the Mirai's jowls remind me of them), I maintain that the ugliest car currently available in the U.S. is a Nissan Juke. I thought the Karmann Ghia was okay (certainly better looking than the 914).

[GRA]

Per IEVS, January U.S. sales of the Mirai were 213, up 146.4% YoY from 83 in 2017.

[JasonA]

Geez, look what’s happening in diamond bar live right now!! A hydrogen fuel transport truck EXPLODED and they had to evacuate the whole surrounding area.

Sounds pretty safe to me

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-diamond-bar-hydrogen-leak-20180211-story.html

http://abc7.com/hydrogen-tank-explosion-on-truck-prompts-evacuations-in-diamond-bar/3068078/

https://patch.com/california/diamondbar-walnut/traffic-alert-possible-explosion-la-freeway

[Zythryn]

Geez, look what’s happening in diamond bar live right now!! A hydrogen fuel transport truck EXPLODED and they had to evacuate the whole surrounding area.

Sounds pretty safe to me

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-diamond-bar-hydrogen-leak-20180211-story.html

http://abc7.com/hydrogen-tank-explosion-on-truck-prompts-evacuations-in-diamond-bar/3068078/

https://patch.com/california/diamondbar-walnut/traffic-alert-possible-explosion-la-freeway

Jason, while I agree Hydrogen is foolish in terms of passenger vehicles, your use of “EXPLODED” is click bait.
According to the first link, there was no explosion.

That said, there are transportation, storage, energy inefficiencies, and other factors with hydrogen that do need to be addressed.

[JasonA]

It did explode and catch fire. Witnesses say it rocked homes many blocks away.

So take it as it is

“I was sitting on my patio about 1/2 mile away,” he wrote. “I heard two loud booms and then a hissing sound for about 30 seconds. Scary.”

Yeah... nothing happened..

http://abc7.com/evacuation-lifted-after-hydrogen-tank-explosion-on-semi-truck/3068078/.

https://www.sgvtribune.com/2018/02/11/hydrogen-truck-explosion-prompts-evacuations-in-diamond-bar/

[DaveinOlyWA]

So Hazmat did their job VERY well which means fuel cells are ok?

Fuel cells are the future. That is if you want your future to resemble the past...

[GRA]

Right, H2 is uniquely dangerous as a transportation fuel when transported in bulk: https://www.google.com/search?q=tanker+truck+fires&rlz=1CASMAD_enUS784US784&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwikw9zSjqTZAhVS3GMKHWxdA6sQsAQIOA&biw=1280&bih=686

https://www.google.com/search?q=rail+tanker+car+fires&rlz=1CASMAD_enUS784US784&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjW3eqFj6TZAhUR0WMKHfIBB0kQ_AUIDSgE&biw=1280&bih=686

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex ... fe-n516121

Oh, wait.

[Oils4AsphaultOnly]

Right, H2 is uniquely dangerous as a transportation fuel when transported in bulk: https://www.google.com/search?q=tanker+truck+fires&rlz=1CASMAD_enUS784US784&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwikw9zSjqTZAhVS3GMKHWxdA6sQsAQIOA&biw=1280&bih=686

https://www.google.com/search?q=rail+tanker+car+fires&rlz=1CASMAD_enUS784US784&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjW3eqFj6TZAhUR0WMKHfIBB0kQ_AUIDSgE&biw=1280&bih=686

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex ... fe-n516121

Oh, wait.

All those tankers simply caught on fire. They're only dangerous to the immediate vicinity. That's why firefighters can deal with them.

Things under high-compression though are EXPLOSIVE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQrVXEPQrM

Besides, we're trying to move to safer fuels, not "just as bad".