AutoblogGreen drives the fuel cell Ford Focus
This morning I had the opportunity to experience a fuel cell powered car first hand. As part of the opening of a new hydrogen filling station in Taylor, MI, Ford brought along half a dozen Focus fuel cell sedans. The vehicles were available for the attendees to drive and evaluate. As soon as the speeches and ribbon cutting were over, I jumped at the chance to hop in to one of the cars with a Ford engineer and try out the future of transportation.
My drive was only a short introductory exposure to the car. A more thorough evaluation will be coming soon. The only part of the driving experience that is significantly different from driving a standard Focus is the startup procedure. You insert the key and turn it to the first detent, and wait a few seconds. At this point a faint whirring sound comes from somewhere below as the pumps move the hydrogen into the fuel cell stack. Once the light goes out, you turn key to the start position and then release. The fuel cell is now running and producing electricity. The future of driving continues after the jump.
The only indication that the fuel cell is running is a faint hum from below the seat. Shift the lever into Drive or Reverse and then press down on the accelerator pedal and you're off. If feels just like driving a regular automatic Focus, except there's no sound from the engine (since there isn't one), and you never feel a shift since there's only one gear. A precise seat-of-the-pants performance evaluation shows acceleration that feels respectable for a car of this type.
The brakes are a completely fluid free electro-mechanical calipers from ContiTeves. The pedal feel is is good in basic driving, if a little grabby at first. The range on a full tank of hydrogen gas is between 175-225 miles depending on driving conditions. The Focus has a battery pack comprised of NiMH D cells that are used to run the pump for starting the fuel cell. I only got about 15 minutes at the wheel of the fuel cell Focus but if all goes as planned a more thorough review should be available in the very near future.
The fuel cells are mounted under the front seats of the Focus
The trunk is pretty much consumed by the 5000 psi gaseous hydrogen tank
$6 Million worth of Focuses
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Richard Ellis 11:16AM (10/18/2006)
Is this an honest attempt by auto companies to subplant oil dependency or just another subversion to placate goverment and public opinion?
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KC 11:46AM (10/18/2006)
Honda FCX Concept please.
-Better looking then an old styled focus
-Much better range on a tank of Hydrogen
-Better LiON battery then this car
-Roomier interior (at least in the front
-Has a usable trunk
This car is not even as far along the hydrogen trail as GMs sequel or fleet of Hydrogen Equinoxes.
Well, at least Ford is trying
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John V 12:45PM (10/18/2006)
Sam: Nice piece! See link attached to my name for my GM Sequel drive. The significant difference between the two is that the Sequel has a major battery pack that is used to recapture energy via regenerative braking. Does the H2 Focus have this? Doesn't sound like it ....
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Sam Abuelsamid 1:14PM (10/18/2006)
Thanks for the comments. I'm waiting for a response back from Ford with answers to some of these questions and I'll put a follow-up post as soon as I get them. The press material indicates that the Focus does have regen braking, although I'm not sure at this point how big the battery is. The fuel cell Focus has actually been running internally at Ford for at least two years. It's only been this year that they've started to put them into the hands of regular people. A next generation fuel cell vehicle is in development right now and should include a lot the advances that have come along since the Focus originally came together like LiIon batteries.
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Efrem 2:44PM (10/18/2006)
Thanks for this article, Sam.
In life there are those who do, and those who don't. It's refreshing to see Taylor breaking ground to do something--even at a small level like this--to try to break from the same old, tired energy models.
Do something positive to affect change. Don't complain about those who contribute, if you don't.
-Modern Proverb
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maryd 7:15PM (10/18/2006)
Such a nice little car, I wish I had one! I guess Ford is trying.
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Sebastian 1:58AM (10/19/2006)
No kidding, Sam. Good work on this. Can't wait for further posts.
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The Big Franco 11:35AM (10/19/2006)
Great such a nicely packaged car. When can I buy one? Can we also drive them? I wish our government would support more H2 Vehicle development instead of the war in Iraq!
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