Forget hybrids, America; diesels will provide economy, performance

[Ktulu]

Originally posted by: infestedgh0st
Getting the v6 twin turbo diesel is the same thing as taking your mother to a strip club and ask her to strip for you. "I mean, she's a woman too, right?

:Q

 

[imported_Pablo]

Originally posted by: GeneValgene

Originally posted by: Pablo

Originally posted by: GeneValgene

Originally posted by: Pablo
I went up to washington a couple of weeks ago for a conference, got to speak with several Senators and Reps about the future of fuel. For some reason, among those leaders, its unanimous that Hydrogen is the where we are aiming in the next 15-20 years, but in the meantime, fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel will probably be getting a good deal of funding from the Federal government.

they are politicians, not researchers. with current technology, a hydrogen economy is not feasible - i.e. the production, transport, and delivery of hydrogen is very inefficient. this has been modeled extensively already in Europe, most notably examining the use of renewables (e.g. wind) to produce hydrogen.

as of right now, the majority of hydrogen is produced by hydrocarbon reforming...so we will still need oil. with currently cycles, you end up expending more energy than what you end up recovering.

Yes, these are politicians, looking at studies from the National Science Foundation and other private testing.. They're not talking about hydrogen feasibility in the next ten years, we're talking 15-20 years at the shortest. What you're failing to realize is that the government is currently spending a lot of money researching and subsidizing research for alternative fuels (hydrogen), and even though right now it costs more energy than it produces, I have a feeling that's where the investment money (grants) are being spent, and its probably where we are headed.

my worry is that i feel like the US has 'missile lock' on hydrogen and fuel cells as the answer...but there are fundamental flaws, that will require some revolutionary break through to overcome. the investment is huge, and the payoff is uncertain. i just hope we don't overlook something else because we are so set on forcing hydrogen to be our energy savior

I have that same concern, GeneValgene. Most of the talk in DC was about hydrogen and its research, but what are we missing in the meantime?