Retro Green: Video of Jack Nicholson's 1978 Hydrogen Car
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 07.30.08
Jack Nicholson's Hydrogen Chevy
Not exactly news anymore, but this CBC video from 1978 is pretty cool in a retro-green way. It shows a young Jack Nicholson driving a Chevy powered by hydrogen that was made with solar power. He even does the classic move of breathing in the water-vapor exhaust. I wonder what Jack is driving these days?
Current Hydrogen Cars
The latest on the hydrogen front is the news that Honda has delivered its first FCX Clarity, only about a month after production of the fuel cell car began. But there will only be a small number, they will only be available for leasing in California, and we still don't know how to produce hydrogen from clean sources on a large scale (or rather, if we had all that clean energy, why not use it in electric cars with batteries and hypercapacitors directly?).
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He sounds like he's stoned or drunk, should he be driving :)
I find it incredible that 30 years ago a news segment was able to highlight a very attainable segment of "future" cars and yet here we are today still not fully at that point in the marketplace.
AMAZING! Just amazing!
Funny how these people in 1978 were able to produce hydrogen for a fraction of the cost of gasoline in 1978.
Now, when oil is scarce/prices are high..... and there is better technology out there to harness the sun and create hydrogen - the price of hydrogen fuel is higher than gasoline. That is ridiculous.
Politicians and big business will never let Americans escape. They will milk the Americans for every penny they can get. It doesn't matter if it's gasoline, electricity, hydrogen, biodiesel or ethanol.
That being said, I truly believe hydrogen is the worst option. Hydrogen gas leaks result in potential water leaving the Earth's atmosphere. I am much more excited about cellulosic ethanol, algae biodiesel and COMPRESSED AIR vehicles.
The best option in the World is the Bicycle. Every City should have expert bicycle and sustainable planner's hired to Create a Bicycle Masterplan with safe networks connecting neighborhoods to schools , grocery stores and market and along every park. We need to Simplify , Re-think what we've been taught and told , the whole You need a car son, listen. I have been telling my dad for years they are not necessary. And people spend their lives and time working to pay for these very things they don't really need. If every City was forward thinking they would have efficient public transit and a master bike plan so you could have the option to bike or bus or walk or carpool lane. You can create green jobs through this through Bike Mechanics to Bike Builders and Designers to Bicycle Safety Educators to Urban Sustainability Planers and Green City Council. What a breath of fresh air
Didn't someone have an electric car back in the 1950s, it is just a shame that we are tied like a ball and chain to the petroleum industry.
Wonder what Jack (who is a fantastic person) is driving now? Probably a Prius
"Didn't someone have an electric car back in the 1950s"
Slightly earlier than that :)
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-timeline.html
I like the "explosion-resistant" part!