Well, I think hydrogen fuel cells are officially the next big thing, since every business magazine seems to have an article about them, including the latest issue of Fortune. Of course, the creators of the EEstor would probably disagree, since they are promoting their battery-type device rather than the fuel cell. Yet, there is no mistaking that the gasoline-powered vehicle may someday be something kids hear about from their grandparents but can't conceptualize--kind of like explaining a black and white T.V. or a record player (or better yet, an 8-track player--remember those?) to a kid today.

In Fortune this month, Alex Taylor III (ataylor@fortunemail.com) wrote an article entitled, "The New Fuel Thing." The article discusses GM's entrance into the field of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with its Chevy Sequel. The only problem: the red engine light flashed on, on a test drive and the car stalled nine times on a 20-mile circuit, according to the article. However, these appear to be glitches that can be fixed fairly readily. GM has gone beyond what other automakers are doing with hydrogen fuel cells; GM has developed a vehicle with no gas and no harmful emissions. Despite all of its financial woes, GM has invested $1 billion in this program, with plans to invest lots more. Mr. Taylor then writes that GM plans to install the fuel cell in its Equinox. Given California's recent adoption of limits on greenhouse gas emissions and other countries' committment to the same, automobile makers appear to be banking on a switch from the internal combustion engine according to this article. Some of the challenges include increasing the storage capacity for hydrogen in these vehicles and increasing the number of hydrogen pumps available around the nation. It seems to me that if consumers like the look of the vehicles, like the drive (hence, eliminating the Sequel's clitches seems key) and like the price of the vehicles and the hydrogen fuel, GM may really be onto something. Perhaps this is just what GM needs to reinvigorate itself. One thing the article does not address is the safety of hydrogen, which was raised in one of my prior blogs and the comments posted to it. Gasoline can cause an explosion, so is hydrogen's explosive potential really that much more of a risk? This is one question/concern I still have. I might have to e-mail Mr. Tayor regarding this.