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A comment on Seeing Future in Fuel Cells, Toyota Ends Tesla Deal. Parent comment

Re:Seeing Future in Fuel Cells, Toyota Ends Tesla Deal by the_real_bto on Tuesday May 13, 2014 @04:06PM (#7740372)
I think you are a bit harsh on Toyota here. I can't resist playing devil's advocate. Some googling turned up Toyota has fleets of fuel cell vehicles already [1], this includes some buses. [2] Seen any battery powered buses lately?

2. Batteries suck. They are heavy and don't hold much energy. Advancements seem to come very slowly despite the fact that everyone wants them to be better!

3. Complexity isn't always bad. Hybrids are much more complex than a traditional drivetrain, yet they manage to deliver improvements in fuel economy.

/devil's advocate off

I do love Tesla, and wish them all the success in the world. Their cars are really heavy though, that is a pretty serious drawback to overcome.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_FCHV

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell_bus

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Re:Seeing Future in Fuel Cells, Toyota Ends Tesla Deal by greglindahl on Tuesday May 13, 2014 @05:20PM (#7740778)
There are a couple of vendors of battery-powered buses. One is a Kleiner Perkins backed startup (http://proterra.com/) that sells buses and overhead fast-charging stations.

BTW the Model S is of a similar weight to other large sedans -- BMW 7-series cars weigh between 4,310 and 5,100 pounds.

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Re:Seeing Future in Fuel Cells, Toyota Ends Tesla Deal by cam_l on Tuesday May 13, 2014 @05:59PM (#7740934)
Speaking of 7 series.. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Hydrogen_7
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