HYDROGEN NOW: FUEL CARS WITH A NEW KIND OF GAS

摘要

Like jetpacks or robot butlers, hydrogen vehicles have historically been high on promise and low on delivery. Matt McClory, an engineer at Toyota, says he can change that. On a scalding day on the outskirts of Los Angeles, he leads me across an even more scalding parking lot to the new Toyota Mirai. The hydrogen-powered car is a first for Toyota, and it represents more than two decades of research and development. When it hits streets this fall, it will be the biggest hydrogen-vehicle launch in history (think hundreds, not dozens). That means it carries more heft than the tiny hydrogen-vehicle launches of the past. Like Toyota's Prius nearly 20 years ago, the Mirai is more than a curiosity. It has the potential to reshape the automotive landscape.