Here's another idea for close to zero emission transportation; HYDROGEN. There is a bit of controversy over this solution, as, today, hydrogen is produced using some amount of natural gas. I will address that point in a later post. Today, I simply want to alert people to an opportunity that is considered to be net zero emission by the state, and that might be relatively affordable.
Today, I will simply talk about the affordability issue.
There may have been others, but for sure, Toyota made a hydrogen car in 2017. Many of these were leased, and have now been returned. Toyota is now selling Certified used Mirai cars. I went to San Francisco and looked at them, and they are priced in the $10-12k range, which is not bad. But, even better, (a) they give you $15,000 card for prepaid hydrogen fuel, and (b) you can get an HOV sticker for them. So, they are basically paying you to take the cars. Also, they are offering 0% interest, so you can pay for it over time, at no interest. Its a pretty sweet deal - IF you can tolerate the hydrogen difficulties.
(I will mention the big one, since I want to be as responsible and transparent as possible - there is only ONE hydrogen fueling station in all of Marin; the Valero in Mill Valley; but, there are 49-ish around the state, and the state is investing a ton of money to get the number up to at least 200 by 2025. More on hydrogen next time).
There are also, for those who can afford them, new hydrogen cars, now. Toyota has a new one, as does Honda. Hyuandai has an SUV. I think you can only lease the Honda and Hyuandai, You can either buy the Toyota or lease it. When you buy or lease a new hydrogen car, you get (a) $8,000 Federal Tax Credit; (b) $4,500 California rebate; and (c) HOV sticker. If you get it from Toyota, you also get the $15,000 prepaid fuel, and three years of free service. Sometimes the dealers offer incentives on top of that.
Full disclosure - I just bought one of these things, and I hoping that others will too, so we can convince somebody to put a hydrogen station in Fairfax. That will be great; Novato gets Costco, we can get hydrogen (and EV charging).
One last thing about this. The original Mirai was planned to have a feature that allowed you to run your fuel cell car and plug it into your house to power it. They ultimately did not do that, but it can be done. Believe me, as the owner of one of these things now, I have a vested interest in figuring it out!
Whatever you do, Walk, Bike, ride the bus (after vaccination), telecommute instead of going to the office, and, when you are able to buy your next car; make it EV or Hydrogen; they are cheaper than gas cars and they will make you feel better!
Today, I will simply talk about the affordability issue.
There may have been others, but for sure, Toyota made a hydrogen car in 2017. Many of these were leased, and have now been returned. Toyota is now selling Certified used Mirai cars. I went to San Francisco and looked at them, and they are priced in the $10-12k range, which is not bad. But, even better, (a) they give you $15,000 card for prepaid hydrogen fuel, and (b) you can get an HOV sticker for them. So, they are basically paying you to take the cars. Also, they are offering 0% interest, so you can pay for it over time, at no interest. Its a pretty sweet deal - IF you can tolerate the hydrogen difficulties.
(I will mention the big one, since I want to be as responsible and transparent as possible - there is only ONE hydrogen fueling station in all of Marin; the Valero in Mill Valley; but, there are 49-ish around the state, and the state is investing a ton of money to get the number up to at least 200 by 2025. More on hydrogen next time).
There are also, for those who can afford them, new hydrogen cars, now. Toyota has a new one, as does Honda. Hyuandai has an SUV. I think you can only lease the Honda and Hyuandai, You can either buy the Toyota or lease it. When you buy or lease a new hydrogen car, you get (a) $8,000 Federal Tax Credit; (b) $4,500 California rebate; and (c) HOV sticker. If you get it from Toyota, you also get the $15,000 prepaid fuel, and three years of free service. Sometimes the dealers offer incentives on top of that.
Full disclosure - I just bought one of these things, and I hoping that others will too, so we can convince somebody to put a hydrogen station in Fairfax. That will be great; Novato gets Costco, we can get hydrogen (and EV charging).
One last thing about this. The original Mirai was planned to have a feature that allowed you to run your fuel cell car and plug it into your house to power it. They ultimately did not do that, but it can be done. Believe me, as the owner of one of these things now, I have a vested interest in figuring it out!
Whatever you do, Walk, Bike, ride the bus (after vaccination), telecommute instead of going to the office, and, when you are able to buy your next car; make it EV or Hydrogen; they are cheaper than gas cars and they will make you feel better!
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