Story by Charlie Singleton

We’d like to extend a warm welcome to “Charlie Singleton”, a scientist and auto enthusiast who will be sharing his unique perspective with our readers on a semi-frequent basis. No, that’s not his real name — jb

The hydrogen car, once a promising alternative fuel technology, died after a long, courageous struggle against logic and evidence in Washington DC on May 7, aged 43. It is survived by two brothers, the plug-in hybrid and the gasoline-electric hybrid, and by its father, the electric car.

Its death was announced by Dr. Stephen Chu, Secretary of Energy, in a dispassionate statement delivered after ceasing heroic life support measures. “We asked ourselves, ‘is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen car economy?’ The answer, we felt, was ‘no.’”

So it goes.

Continue reading I Speak For The Trees: Who Killed The Hydrogen Car?

This morning, GM will reveal “a revolutionary vehicle to help people move through crowded cities and alleviate the significant issues of congestion, safety, parking, affordability, and energy concerns.” This vehicle may be the next evolution of the “Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility” collaboration with Segway. We’re liveblogging the details as they surface.

Continue reading Liveblog: GM, Segway Announce Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility Concept

Hopefully, one day far into the future, I’ll be able to sit my grandchild on my knee and say, “Old Pappy was there.” There on the day that the first real, intended for mass consumption electric car (or rough draft prototype of the first) was unveiled to the public. There’s a couple of reasons why this dream sequence might not come to fruition. First, I’m not exactly a paragon of health (though my blogger’s physic is quite impressive). Second, selling an all electric car that gets to 60 mph in under 6 seconds, goes for 300 miles between charges (in top battery trim), seats seven (yeah, seven) and is built right here in Southern California for just $50,000 is, um, tenuous. But then again, you haven’t met Elon Musk.

Continue reading Tesla Model S Concept Debuts

In the foothills of Tucson’s Mount Lemmon, Toyota’s public relations staff delivered Utterli tragic news: a driving impression embargo would preclude live video microblogging coverage of the 2010 Prius. Crushed, I resolved to hike the mountain in the Prius anyway. Now that the embargo has passed, here are a few excerpts from my notes.

Continue reading Speed:Sport:Life First Drive: 2010 Toyota Prius