Category Archives: Uncategorized

My wife and I bought (ok, leased) our 2016 Toyota Mirai on May 19, 2016.  A year and nine thousand miles later is a good time to reflect on the wisdom or otherwise of this acquisition. The first thing I … Continue reading →

To date I haven’t been kind to BEVs.  With the appearance three weeks ago of the Chevy Bolt on dealer floors I’ve come to realize that my objections to BEVs were based on the fact that every production model BEV … Continue reading →

 Green hydrogen production via low-temperature alkane cracking (The following distinguishes renewable and green energy.  Renewable energy does not entail consumption of fossil fuels, for example wind, solar, hydro, biofuels, etc. In contrast green energy does not entail emission of CO2, … Continue reading →

THE TROUBLE WITH COMBUSTION Internal combustion engine vehicles, ICEVs, are powered by burning hydrocarbons like gasoline, diesel, ethanol, compressed natural gas, propane, and mixtures thereof. They pollute by emitting byproducts of the combustion, mainly CO2 as the principal cause of … Continue reading →

If a Mirai ran on liquid hydrogen, how many miles per gallon would it get? The shocking answer is 18. But wait. The EPA says the Mirai has a fuel economy of 67 MPGe. How could being liquid make that … Continue reading →

I believe the technology for home hydrogen fueling that will win out in the end will be a 1-5 cubic foot unit operating overnight, taking as inputs natural gas and electricity, and outputting hydrogen at a rate of 1-5 kg … Continue reading →

1. 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐬 As with any car with air conditioning, the Mirai’s ac needs fuel to operate. How much fuel does it consume? This question is of interest to fuel economy: what hit does the MPGe take with the ac on? … Continue reading →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated the combined city/highway miles-per-gallon-equivalent (MPGe) of the Toyota Mirai at 67 MPGe, and the range of its 5 kg tank as 312 miles.  Since neither of these numbers are terribly useful without … Continue reading →

California awards Zero Emission Vehicles or ZEVs its coveted white sticker, entitling its solo driver to drive in the high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) or carpool lane.  The state’s rationale is that CO2-emitting vehicles are contributing to a gradual rise in temperature over … Continue reading →

Joe Romm has been arguing that fuel cell vehicles are a lost cause since even before he published his 2004 book The Hype about Hydrogen. On April 8, 2015 he published Tesla Trumps Toyota: The Seven Reasons Hydrogen Fuel Cell … Continue reading →