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Author	Topic: 2011 Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell Test Drive	Post a Reply Back to Topics

mastermariner Champion Author Texas Posts:4,247 Points:493,010 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 1:56:24 PM Ignore mastermariner Report Abuse Laguna Beach, Calif.—As Mercedes-Benz's Dr. Christian Mohrdieck, responsible for fuel-cell development, says of the new B-Class F-Cell, "The most spectacular thing about it is how unspectacular it is." What he means is that the new fuel-cell-powered electric vehicle is so simple to use and so much like the cars we are accustomed to that one soon stops thinking about the flow of hydrogen and oxygen, the proton-exchange process and all of the sci-fi stuff going on in the compartment below the rear-floor section. For the 200 folks who lease one of these pilot-program cars in California and Europe, the most challenging aspect will be finding hydrogen fueling stations. You just get in and drive. Actually, you have to insert the familiar Mercedes key plug into a slot first and turn it to powe Visit Popular mechanics for full article

mastermariner

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Message Posted: May 13, 2012 1:56:24 PM

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Laguna Beach, Calif.—As Mercedes-Benz's Dr. Christian Mohrdieck, responsible for fuel-cell development, says of the new B-Class F-Cell, "The most spectacular thing about it is how unspectacular it is."

What he means is that the new fuel-cell-powered electric vehicle is so simple to use and so much like the cars we are accustomed to that one soon stops thinking about the flow of hydrogen and oxygen, the proton-exchange process and all of the sci-fi stuff going on in the compartment below the rear-floor section. For the 200 folks who lease one of these pilot-program cars in California and Europe, the most challenging aspect will be finding hydrogen fueling stations.

You just get in and drive. Actually, you have to insert the familiar Mercedes key plug into a slot first and turn it to powe
Visit Popular mechanics for full article

REPLIES (newest first)Ignore Short Messages

Eliano Champion Author Baltimore Posts:1,412 Points:388,100 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: May 14, 2012 6:54:12 PM Ignore Eliano Report Abuse sounds good
MetroSexual Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:3,004 Points:316,380 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: May 14, 2012 3:59:27 AM Ignore MetroSexual Report Abuse When I can fill my tank with water and go, then I will buy into this. Otherwise, it is just another resource that Big Oil will exploit by having us pay at a pump -- a hydrogen one.
MusicalMan7 All-Star Author Ohio Posts:597 Points:93,330 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: May 14, 2012 1:31:17 AM Ignore MusicalMan7 Report Abuse I think this is the best bet for alternative fuel, if the price of the hardware drops to competitive levels and if they can devise a safe way to dispense Hydrogen at fuel stations.
36_ACRES_4_SALE All-Star Author Appleton Posts:999 Points:338,815 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 11:31:41 PM Ignore 36_ACRES_4_SALE Report Abuse :)
cheapchickKY Champion Author Lexington Posts:4,012 Points:795,315 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 11:27:38 PM Ignore cheapchickKY Report Abuse Okay.
kkimes Champion Author Illinois Posts:1,596 Points:1,504,735 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 11:14:00 PM Ignore kkimes Report Abuse But realisticly, who can afford to own or even lease one? I just bought a new 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid and that was stretching my budget as far as I could go.
amerk73 Champion Author Dallas Posts:7,040 Points:1,619,130 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 10:57:28 PM Ignore amerk73 Report Abuse nice car
NHLiveFree Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:11,083 Points:1,621,355 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 10:46:18 PM Ignore NHLiveFree Report Abuse Fuel cells are the future for automotive power. It is about time Daimler joined the bandwagon with Honda leading the way.
jwkycola All-Star Author Columbia Posts:817 Points:531,650 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 9:20:23 PM Ignore jwkycola Report Abuse Interesting. We'll see later.
northeast2 Champion Author New York Posts:3,849 Points:1,007,200 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 9:16:42 PM Ignore northeast2 Report Abuse orphancarguyPE: Many thanks for your comments.
1tallford Sophomore Author Rhode Island Posts:128 Points:22,225 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 9:11:55 PM Ignore 1tallford Report Abuse How do do we "rod" this thing?
buckets42 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:1,690 Points:329,550 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 8:55:47 PM Ignore buckets42 Report Abuse Pass
bandannaman Champion Author New Jersey Posts:1,849 Points:365,610 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 8:53:13 PM Ignore bandannaman Report Abuse No thanks - not reliable.
amoshins Champion Author Trenton Posts:2,185 Points:639,595 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 8:44:26 PM Ignore amoshins Report Abuse I'll pass for now
orphancarguyPE Champion Author PEI Posts:3,838 Points:733,040 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 7:11:20 PM Ignore orphancarguyPE Report Abuse 200 cars lease only, that no-one could ever afford to 'buy' at end of lease, and building a lot of them won't make a huge difference. Priced a fuel cell lately? Yes, I'm sure it is a joy to drive, but.... Ballard has sucked hundreds of millions of dollars trying to make fuel cells for the masses. Fuel Cells are always spoken of as something that will be perfected in about 15 years time. Fuel cells are not any closer now than they were in 1970, in realistic terms. About as realistic as the 50s atomic-powered car idea, or the great 60s idea, the turbine engined car. You can almost always make working models of anything if you have to. Even the rotary engine is a 'failed' type of technology, never as robust or as efficient as hoped. Hydrogen is never going to work as a general replacement for liquid fuels of any sort. This all a 'jam tomorrow' promise than for very sound reasons just will never happen at any sort of affordable level. It keeps the EPA and CARB happy to keep Yes, it sounds great, but.... -It isn't freely available in the atmosphere. It is always found in a combined form, and must be expensively split up from compounds -You can create it by electrolyzing water at a huge NEGATIVE benefit from what work the electricity could do even as far as charging electric cars directly. Yeah, that sounds doable and sensible too. -You could create it from say natural gas, at a fairly steep expense, to end up with a fuel with even fewer BTUs than using natural gas as a fuel--which is not good at all (BTUs...energy, mpg, power--however you want to consider it) Thats also sounds reasonable and doable...NOT -Hydrogen is the lowest BTU fuel going. Sure it burns clean, or works clean in a fuel cell, but think how often you'd have to refuel! -Hydrogen in gas form just doesn't have enough power to move a vehicle very far--you have to compress it at great expense. Hydrogen resists being compressed. NASA knows how expensive each launch is. -You can't contain hydrogen well or for long, it leaks out of everything because it it the smallest atom. Some metal compounds can hold hydrogen for awhile, but hydrogen has a nasty effect on metals, making them brittle over time. Do you have to change out your gasoline or diesel tank many times over the life of your car? Nope! -Extreme disasters can happen if a tank ruptures in a crash, or because the high pressure tank is brittle. Remember the Hindenberg? That was LOW pressure. There goes the neighbourhood...literally. Hydrogen as an individual vehicle fuel? Safe, and affordable? Never. [Edited by: orphancarguyPE at 5/13/2012 8:11:56 PM EST]
graceman Champion Author Baltimore Posts:4,968 Points:1,158,725 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 6:18:59 PM Ignore graceman Report Abuse Not going to work til more refuel stations are available.
kag2010 Champion Author Winnipeg Posts:5,249 Points:1,018,785 Joined:Apr 2010	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 4:28:29 PM Ignore kag2010 Report Abuse ok,,
knutzAL Champion Author Alabama Posts:2,248 Points:372,680 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 3:53:56 PM Ignore knutzAL Report Abuse ok
Bussman Champion Author Dallas Posts:5,508 Points:1,358,010 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 3:49:27 PM Ignore Bussman Report Abuse Can't wait for this technology to go mainstream.
Amplion Champion Author Oregon Posts:6,756 Points:1,862,360 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 3:31:41 PM Ignore Amplion Report Abuse BETTER THAN GM OR TOYOTA !!!!
Ahking Champion Author Orange County Posts:3,497 Points:601,520 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 3:25:50 PM Ignore Ahking Report Abuse fuel cell is a great idea.
bruin19MD Champion Author Maryland Posts:1,062 Points:163,560 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 3:22:37 PM Ignore bruin19MD Report Abuse interesting
mike1881 Champion Author Fayetteville Posts:1,285 Points:562,475 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 3:12:09 PM Ignore mike1881 Report Abuse Isn't hydrogen what caused the Hindenberg to blow up.
HorizonChaser Champion Author Montgomery Posts:1,973 Points:453,860 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 3:10:33 PM Ignore HorizonChaser Report Abuse still don't believe it will be available and affordable in my lifetime
humblepie Champion Author Toledo Posts:34,147 Points:2,369,420 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 2:35:41 PM Ignore humblepie Report Abuse just junk to me
fedupMN Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,944 Points:571,505 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 2:18:48 PM Ignore fedupMN Report Abuse another perk for the rich...
cwashi3324 Champion Author Cincinnati Posts:2,792 Points:571,340 Joined:May 2009	Message Posted: May 13, 2012 2:14:47 PM Ignore cwashi3324 Report Abuse wow!