Secretary Chu Changes Mind on Fuel Cells - Autoline Daily 917

When U.S. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu first took office in 2009 he was not a very big fan of hydrogen fuel cells but things have changed, including the secretary's stance on hydrogen. Volvo says it's looking for a partner in North America within the next five to six years to produce vehicles. Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn is considering retirement before the company's next mid-term review, which is five years away. All that and more, plus we head down to Smyrna, Tennessee to pay a visit to Nissan's sprawling manufacturing campus in this week's Autoline This Week preview.

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  Autos & Vehicles

[cuddles6938]

As usual the USA is 5 years behind Europe.I remember when I went to Germany in 1997, seeing all the Ford cars that took another 3 to 5 years before they sold over here in the states.

[EatmyDust1311]

They lose a lot of money on each one, and they have only leased 1 (one) this year. The hydrogen revolution might take a while at that rate.

[1bentley4ever]

@cuddles6938 Would you please clarify on what you mean by "come and go"?

[cuddles6938]

Thats why Honda is leasing hydrogen cars the FCX and putting your own hydrogen making machine in front of your garage.

[cuddles6938]

We have an abandoned Nuke plant in Satsop, WA, it never was finished built. It's a big eyesore when you drive by. There trying to drill for Natural Gas down there now, doesn't mean its going to help anything if they come and go.

[cuddles6938]

We've been paying 4.25 a gallon in Washington State for the last few months while everyone else was paying 3.56, then our Senator threatens a review of the price gouging and all of a sudden our gas price drops to 3.59 a gallon in under a week!

[1bentley4ever]

@EatmyDust1311 True, but building an electric charging infrastructure will not be cheap either. New technology will always be expensive. But if it is beneficial in the long term, then it is a price worth paying. In this economy though, restructuring isn't necessarily the most economically wise move.

[EatmyDust1311]

But while every home in the US has the ability to run a charge station, putting hydrogen refilling stations on every corner will take years and billions of dollars. Lots of +s and -s to every fuel type, including gas.

[revampted]

What about the Nissan Titan will it ever get a new version?

[323alex11]

It would be awesome to see Mitsubishi and Volvo teaming up! Maybe that way Mitsubishi will learn from Volvo and improve its quality :) Also, I'm really happy to hear those news about gas prices! Let's just hope it's true