Ford unveiled a concept car that uses lithium ion batteries that can be recharged by plugging it in, or can generate electricity from a hydrogen fuel cell.
The car gets a combined city/highway equivalent fuel economy of 41 miles per gallon, according to Ford, which is darn good for a crossover sedan/SUV. The company says the fuel cell system is "half the weight and cost of today’s fuel cells and can operate in the dead of winter," unlike other fuel cell systems that have been flaky when it gets below freezing.
By relying on batteries, the Airstream Concept will reduce the amount of hydrogen, but the same supporting infrastructure is still needed. Also, since RVs tend to go for long distances, the majority of miles might be spent consuming hydrogen.
Ford also put some innovations inside the passenger area of the vehicle that is meant for RV enthusiasts.
A Sharp dual-view screen centrally mounted on the instrument panel provides a camera view and secondary driver-oriented information, while allowing the front-seat passenger to view DVDs and post mobile blogs.
Ford calls the vehicle -- which has no combustion engine -- a plug-in hybrid, while GM calls its Chevrolet Volt -- which combines a battery pack with electric generator -- an electric car. The Volt could also be used with a fuel cell, so the basic premise of always running on electricity is the same. But now we have Ford and GM calling vehicles with remarkably similar technology by two different names.
I say Ford got the category naming correct -- if it uses batteries plus a fuel, it's a plug-in hybrid. Welcome to a confused marketplace.
