perm filename CAR.NS[1,JMC] blob
sn#885495 filedate 1990-07-05 generic text, type T, neo UTF8
su-etc,jmc@go4
car of the future
Unlike all the solar powered cars that have gotten a lot of publicity,
this liquid hydrogen powered car is a serious contender to replace
gasoline powered vehicles. Of course, it requires electricity to
split water, and this will have to come from nuclear energy. However,
the Japanese are serious about this also.
a082 0757 05 Jul 90
PM-Hydrogen Car,0296
Japanese Professor Demonstrates Hydrogen-Powered Car
LaserPhoto TOK4
By DAVID GROSS
Associated Press Writer
YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) - A Japanese professor who has built a car
powered by highly volatile liquid hydrogen demonstrated the vehicle
today and said it causes almost no air pollution.
Industry officials said, however, it may take 10 years to produce a
commercial version of the car, developed by Shoichi Furuhama,
president of the Musashi Institute of Technology.
The car's liquid hydrogen fuel is made from water and costs $22.80 a
gallon in Japan, officials said.
In a test drive today, the car, known as the Musashi 8, reached a
speed of 82 mph. Test drivers at Nissan's Oppama factory, near Tokyo,
said they believed the Musashi 8 could reach a speed of 94 mph.
The car does not backfire before combustion, a defect that has
slowed previous research on hydrogen-fueled cars, Furuhama said. I
has computer-run pumps and valves that keep the liquid hydrogen at
minus 453 degrees.
Furuhama said the car creates almost no air pollution.
The engine is in a Nissan Fairlady Z body. Nissan has provided
financial support and technical assistance to Furuhama's research
team.
But the new vehicle still has many problems, its developers said.
Liquid hydrogen is exremely volatile and engineers are concerned
about the dangers of explosion in a crash. Furuhama said the
difficulty of obtaining liquid hydrogen has prevented scientists from
thoroughly studying its safety.
A researcher working with Furuhama said on condition of anonymity
the car also must carry a large volume of fuel. Hydrogen cars
sometimes have been jokingly referred to as ''cars which carry fuel
and not passengers,'' he said.
Yasuhiko Nakagawa, a researcher at Nissan's Central Engineering
Laboratories, said the fuel mileage is also not as high as for
conventional vehicles.
AP-NY-07-05-90 1051EDT
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