2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited on 2040-cars

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Surprise Costs Have A Cost: Why we turned down the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell

They say you can always tell the pioneers. They're the ones with the arrows in their backs. Unfortunately, that was our experience pursuing – and eventually rejecting – the new hydrogen fuel cell-powered Hyundai Tucson. I first heard about Hyundai's new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2013. As a tech buff, the thought of driving a new, clean technology vehicle sounded exciting. Best of all, Hyundai was wrapping the new vehicle in a smart, familiar package, as a loaded current-generation Tucson SUV. The FCV Tucson was billed as $499 a month with $2,999 down, with free fuel and free maintenance. Our family needed a new, small, fuel efficient SUV, so I signed up for information on the upcoming lease program. Someone has to go first. Why not us? In the spring of 2014, I learned more at a Clean Fuel Symposium, held on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The panel was packed with experts on alternative fuel vehicles. One spokesperson outlined the chicken or egg problem with alternative fuels like hydrogen: fuels first or vehicles? Another said something that I should have heard more clearly. "If the argument [to move to alternative fuel vehicles] has to start with a change of behavior from consumers, that's a hard row to hoe." I would soon to learn what an FCV would really cost, both in hours and in dollars. Nonetheless, I was ready to try jumping the hurdles and get an alternative fuel car. A low impact on the environment, plus free fuel and a solo car pool lane sticker? What could go wrong? My wife was a much harder nut to crack. My habit of jokingly calling it a "nuclear-powered" car probably didn't help much either. Our conversations went like this: "A what kind of car?" "Hydrogen fuel cell." "What?" "It's essentially an electric car." "Don't those things have a really short range?" "Yes. That's what the hydrogen is for. You fill it with hydrogen to fill the fuel cell, instead of charging it overnight like an electric car." "Where do you get hydrogen?" "Well..." It turned out the nearest hydrogen station was in Burbank, about 13 miles from our house. In LA traffic, that could be more than half an hour's drive each way. Since there's an excellent bakery in Burbank (Porto's), I told my wife I was fine with taking the time each week to fuel up every 200 miles or so.

Google poised to release Apple CarPlay rival this month

Apple and Google. They're the Michigan and Ohio State of the tech world. They're New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, Real Madrid and Barcelona, or whatever sports-based rivalry you want to cook up. Bottom line, if one company expands into a segment, it's only a matter of time before the other follows suit. And now, that rivalry is about to carry over to your car's dashboard.
Unnamed sources are reporting to Automotive News that Google will unveil its very own challenger to Apple's new CarPlay in-car operating system later this month at the Mountain View, CA company's annual developer conference. The system, allegedly called Google Auto Link, will be the first product to come from the Open Automotive Alliance, a partnership between Google, General Motors, Hyundai, Audi, Honda and hardware manufacturer NVIDIA.
The official announcement is expected to be made on either June 25 or 26, at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Expect to hear a lot more about Google Auto Link then.

Recharge Wrap-up: Infiniti PHEV, free biodiesel?

In certain cases, biodiesel is so inexpensive that it is essentially free to use. Thanks to the decline of crude oil prices, other fuels, including biodiesel, have been following the trend. After setting new renewable fuel mandates, Congress also reinstated a $1-per-gallon tax credit for refiners. With such low prices, Midwest refiners are paying as low as $0.645 per gallon. In California, however, additional incentives mean some customers could get money back on the biodiesel they use, depending on the deals between producers and blenders and whether or not they share the credits. Read more from Ag Web. Infiniti is considering adding plug-in hybrid technology to its vehicle lineup. Infiniti CEO Roland Krueger says that it will leverage the EV expertise from Nissan for the electrification of its cars. Don't hold out for a luxury version of the Leaf wearing an Infiniti badge, though. When asked if an all-electric Infiniti were out of the questions, Krueger says, "Performance and the range are very important in the premium segment, so we believe that for Infiniti a hybrid or plug-in hybrid is the right proposition at this time." Read more from Automotive News Europe. Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell drivers in California have logged a cumulative 1 million miles. With nearly 100 Tucson Fuel Cells sold so far in Southern California, these drivers have prevented some 385 tons of CO2 emissions. "Breaking the seven-figure consumer mileage barrier gives us new vision into the unlimited zero-emissions potential for Hyundai's fuel cell vehicles," says Hyundai's Mike O'Brien. "With our growing fleet of hydrogen-powered Tucson fuel cell vehicles accumulating one million miles this quickly, one can only imagine the unlimited potential for a zero-emissions hydrogen vehicle future." Read more in the press release below. Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell Drivers Accumulate More Than One Million Zero-Emission Miles Cumulative Zero-emissions Miles by Southern California Fuel Cell Drivers Breaches the Seven-Figure Mileage Barrier Fuel Cell clean H2O emissions effectively replaced approximately 385 Tons of CO2 emissions compared with gasoline vehicles of similar size FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Feb.