Get Energy Smart! NOW!

The multi-million dollar hydrogen concept cars getting, well, a little boring to me. Wonderful EcoGeek material but, well, not something I expect to be a common part of the driving scene within my lifetime (and I don’t plan on dying tomorrow).

The Ford Airstream, however, goes beyond hydrogen to some interesting features:

Hat to DSnodgrass at Celsias and to Hydrogen Cars.

• HySeries Drive plug-in hybrid.  Electricity only for 25 miles (with a 336-volt lithium-ion battery pack).
• Serial hybrid, with the fuel cell (or think biofuel system) recharging the battery pack, not directly driving the wheels.
• A ‘floating’ instrument panel, with touch-sensitive driving controls;  
• Innovative interior design, with swivel front seats, a ‘lounge’-like back seat (with a 360-degree entertainment screen which even has lava lamp settings), and a passenger screen (for watching DVDs or blogging); and,
• Asymmetrical doors for hatchback.

While not ready to buy into hydrogen, a serial plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) would have me in line at the dealer (ready to take out, for the first time ever, a loan to buy a car).  And, well, the innovative interior and door design features definitely catch my eye, even if the 360-degree screen seems, well, a little overboard for that back seat.  It would, however, give an entirely new definition to automobiles and theater, no longer drive-in theater, but surround sound/surround vision driving theater.