007's Ford Ka powered by hydrogen?
Click on the image above to enlarge
When Ford released pictures of the redesigned Ka that will be used in the upcoming action flick Quantum of Solace, the automaker neglected to mention that the car would be powered by hydrogen. From the press release:
The 'Quantum of Solace' Ka is unique with metallic gold paint and an exclusive exterior graphics and interior trim combination.
Yeah, we see the paint and graphics... but take a close look at the pictures of the car, as seen above, which will be driven by actress Olga Kurylenko as she plays Camille, a friend of our good buddy Mr. Bond - James Bond, and you'll notice that the front of the gold-colored Ka is emblazoned with stickers proclaiming that it's running on hydrogen. Interesting, eh? Additionally, on the sides of the vehicle are stickers which say "Greener Planet," whatever that means. Perhaps Ford will come clean (ha ha, get it?) and let us in on what all of this means - or doesn't mean - before the Ka makes its official debut October 2 in Paris.
[Source: Carscoop]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gorr 11:42AM (8/20/2008)
If they add a compressed hydrogen tank with associated fittings like the BMW 7 and the regular gasoline tank, it will add only 1 000$ to the production cost. It will take more space inside the car but maybe it can be remove by the owner when they need space to put some cargo. It's a possibility to save $$$ on fuel cost and it pollute zero , so goverment can give a tax credit. When there will be more hydrogen fueling stations we can get rid of the gasoline tank. It's a shame that no cars are sold with hydrogen tank because it's already proven that it work good and it can be adapted with few costs to actual car technologies. If they don't put hydrogen gas station, people can buy some machinery and made their hydrogen gas at home. We are rob by these petrol retailers, ford, toyota, tata, john deer, caterpillar, boeing, coleman, bic lighters, yamaha motorcycles, lawn boy, nissan, ferrari, nascar, mercury marine, doe,dot, epa, aaa car club, hess petroluem, opec, formula one, u.s army, exxon valdez, chavez,shell, dept of air quality, geologists, nyse, income tax, corn ethanol producers, deforestration workers, ammtrac, eco-fueler, etc.
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dausman 9:12AM (8/21/2008)
Very good thoughts...my wife and had some really good Hydrogen fuel education this past Saturday at Midlands Technical College in Columbia, SC.
The Hydrogen Tour 2008 made one of 33 stops offering education about hydrogen fueled power. They also provided 10 hydrogen fuel powered vehicles for inspection, rides and the opportunnity to drive one. The BMW 7 HICE was available
for inspection by the general public..believe only local officials rode in it.....the 12 cyl engine sounded no different..looked no differrent...the BMW rep was kind enough to answer any and every question as were the reps of Nissan, Hyundai, VW, Toyota, and M-B.
A research center in Aiken, SC provided a retro fitted Chevy PU truck for rides only...it worked quite well.
So what you have stated is very possible...we need the public fueling station infrastructure to be built and the vehicles to drive...construction on Columbia's first such station will be complete early 2009 in time for a national Hydrogen organizational meeting..believe it is in March 2009.
The fuel tank in the BMW took up some room in the trunk, but what the hey, this is a research vehicle. ...I would imagine when time comes the tank would be of another size and shape....I have no idea.
Any way...hopefully we will have many hydrogen fuel powered vehicle options in the near future including the Ford Ka.
Wonder if Ford has been being smart and has kept there research quiet?
Chris M 2:50AM (8/23/2008)
Quantum Technology converted a Prius to run on H2 for a mere $80,000, plus the cost of a Prius. Most of that cost was for the H2 storage tanks! A 10,000 psi tank costs a LOT more than $1,000 Sadly, the driving range on one tank of H2 was a mere 80 miles, even with hybrid efficiency! To make matters worse, 1 Kg of H2 (energy equivalent of a gallon of petrol) costs $8 to $10, so the fuel cost is doubled.
So, how many people want to spend $80 grand to cut driving range waaay down and double their fuel costs?
virgil 3:03PM (8/20/2008)
007 in a Ford in the last Bond movie was a joke... completely incredible and pure product placement. Putting Bond in a Ka is taking the pi$$
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Jeff 1:29PM (8/21/2008)
I hate to break this to you, Gorr but the BMW H7 is run on liquified hydrogen in a cryogenically controlled tank. It adds tens of thousands of dollars to the price of the car but BMW only offers leases on them. It might be feasable on a $100,000 car but not anything else. In addition to that, the tank must be assembled in a Class A Clean Room environment. It is a fantastic engineering feat and does not pollute but it is terribly inefficiant.
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Chris M 2:54AM (8/23/2008)
You should realize that this is a Hollywood special effects movie - the "daring escapes" are staged stunts, the guns fire blanks, the fights are carefully choreographed. And the "Ford Ka" doesn't really run on H2, they just pretend it does to put a green spin on the plot, much like the makebelieve solar power in "The Man with The Golden Gun".
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