when your paying almost $7 a gallon like drivers here are, then come and complain

Aye,here too.

Anyways, why don't you just buy a smaller car?

I think what were going to start seeing a lot more of is hybrid cars.  It seems like most people don't really want to go to electric cars because certain concerns (having to charge, unknown relability, ect...) and I doubt Hydrogen fuel cells will make a big impact in the forseeable future because of how much money and power the oil companies have.  

So, I expect to see hybrid cars becoming a much more common sight over the next several years (they have become much more common over the last couple already).  Plus, this won't result in a whole new fuel system having to be put in since the cars will still run on gasoline-they just won't need nearly as much.

Quote:

You know, I can't image someone needing to drive a Hummer.  I don't know what kind of mileage they get, but they just seem excessive.  I do see that some people need to drive SUVs (we need one in fact) but I feel the Hummer is a little overkill.

Quote:

quite true, i know of only a couple of people here who NEED SUV's, and those are the 4x4 offroad SUV's not the tanks (qx45, excursion, navigator, escalade ext, hummer, etc.). people who get suv's for non offroad purposes should either get mini suv's, wagons, or if they really need it trucks (imho)

Quote:


Correct, but the technology required for Hydrogen vehicles has not fully developed yet and what does exist is extremely expensive. Even if Hydrogen cars were available now hardly anyone would buy them since they would be so expensive.

And BTW:

Doctor Shoe, please check your facts.

The very simple balanced equation for Hydrogen combustion:

2h₂ + o₂ ---> 2h₂O + energy

Please note that the only byproduct of this reaction is water.

Quote:


[Bad excuse mode]
I'm tired and I've got my head full of physics stuff.
[/Bad excuse mode]

We've got enough water on this planet, so the hydrogen combustion is a very good idea.

wow, this thread lasted longer than I expected. You all make very good points. I would love to get a hybrid car, but they are still too expensive. The universal conversion kit offered on that website in my first post costs only $4,390. I am by no meas rich, but that isnt that much compared to $20,000 for a brand new hybrid.

Quote:


It would be if it didn't take a masive amount of electricity to split the water molecule. And where does all of this electric come from? A dirty power plant

One big problem is that most people (at least in the US) don't want electric cars even though the cost of gas is so high.  One of the biggest (in fact, I believe the biggest) car manufacture in the world, General Motors, just recently cancelled their EV1 car.  The EV1 was their first in a line of electric production cars that they were going to sell.  It was cancelled before even one year of production due to a lack of demand.  Despite the cost of fuel, many still don't want to switch.

Plus, a lot of people have figured out that driving their old "gas guzzler" is cheaper than buy a new car.  I know someone who doesn't have all that much money and he calculated it all out and found that he pays $200 per month for gas to drive his car, which he has had for a long time and dispite its age has kept it reliable.  According to him, it would be much more expensive to buy a new car and have a car payment than to just buy the gas his current vehicle requires.

Quote:


There aren't that many nuclear power plants in the world, and many people don't want them due to the risks.  I feel that they are a great souce of power, much better than daming rivers and burning coal, but there have been a couple accidents in the past that make them undesirable. 

Quote:


Well, that certainly isnt me. To tell you the truth, I hate gas engines. There loud, smelly, and too damn complicated. I would rather buy a new car, than pour my money into my gas tank. It may cost more, but at least it isnt a gas engine, and eventually it will be payed off. Unfortunately, I cant afford it. Maybe if I didnt have to buy gas, I could save up... Im stuck...

Quote:
i agree, loud=better

Quote:

I suppose it depends what kind of loud.  Some of those cars you see on the street are just annoying loud.  I'm talking about those little 4-cylinder cars with that stupid "fart pipe" at the end of their exhause that causes the car to make a loud ringing sound-I hate that.  That is the most annoying sound I have ever heard.  But, there is nothing that sounds better than an American V8 with dual exhaust.  They are a loud motor that has a really awesome sound.

Quote:

Thats true too.  The only thing I really hate is that ringing that those "fart pipes" (I don't know their real names) make.  You know, those things that people put on the tail pipe of a 4-cylinder Civic and they think it sounds good.

Quote:

Well in my case, I have a car that is pretty loud but its not my daily driver.  I only drive it on nice days when I want to, so I don't have to deal with a loud motor all that often.  Plus, its not annoyingly loud it just as a good rumble to it.  I wouldn't want a car that was loud to be daily driver.  For a daily driver, I want the motor to have a good sound but I would want it pretty quiet.

Hybrids make the most sense right now. To switch completely to hydrogen, a whole new distribution infrastructure would be required. Also, the easiest ways to get free hydrogen right now are: from petroleum products, or by building more nuke plants(or conventional power plants). Makes a lot more sense to stick with oil for cars for the time being- just use a hell of a lot less of it, with fewer emissions where the cars are operating.
  Pure electrics have their appeal (esp. now that people are experimenting with Lithium Ion cells for some real range), but you have to pay the piper somewhere. Producing electricity for those batteries requires pollution of some kind, unless you go solar or wind, which isn't practical everywhere.