There Is A Method To BMWs FWD Madness

GRRRRRR, Angry Lexus fanboy.

I see BMW is back to the "Hydrogen As Auto Fuel" stupidity, and ignoring that we have yet to (a) find a cost-effective and environmentally sound way of converting abundant hydrogen into a state that can be used as fuel by cars, (b) the best scientists world-wide say they have no idea how to do this, and there is nothing in the foreseeable future to pull off this miracle, (c) we have no infrastructure for transporting, storing, and distributing this conceptual fuel.

In other words, "Hydrogen as auto fuel" = Unobtanium.

a) It takes electricity and water, it is plenty eco-friendly and will get cheaper to make while petroleum will become more expensive. When the two price points cross what will you say then?

b) "miracle" Such hyperbole! please list the scientists.

c) Since California actually HAS hydrogen filling stations throughout the state now, your whole claim seems to be pure BS that hydrogen is a "conceptual" fuel.

Are you getting paid by Arab oil producers to lie?

Agree, and it takes way more energy to produce hydrogen than what it produces as a fuel. Makes no business sense at all (now and the forseeable future). Not to mention infrastructure investment.

THis is BMWs way to stand out from the crowd by following a DEAD END.

"a) It takes electricity and water, it is plenty eco-friendly and will get cheaper to make while petroleum will become more expensive. When the two price points cross what will you say then?"

Almost all hydrogen is created with hydrocarbon cracking which tears the hydrogen off of fossil fuels and creates pure carbon dioxide with no water. 90% of the hydrogen produced through electrolysis is powered by plants using fossil fuels.

"c) Since California actually HAS hydrogen filling stations throughout the state now, your whole claim seems to be pure BS that hydrogen is a "conceptual" fuel."

I'm sorry, but 26 hydrogen stations throughout the entire state of California is hardly a network. The only ones that have them are mega fuel stations that get most of their profits from fuels that are more environmentally friendly then actual hydrogen.

re "a) It takes electricity and water, it is plenty eco-friendly and will get cheaper to make..."

That's the beauty of "hydrogen as auto fuel" and "plug-in electric cars" -- Fans look only at the final step, and decree it clean and cheap. So far, there are few places in the world that produce clean and cheap ELECTRICITY to power this fantasy, and there is nothing on the horizon to suggest that this dream will come true any time soon. The current electrical supply in industrialized nations is just barely enough to meet the *current* demand. There is no spare capacity. It takes enormous amounts of electrical energy to create hydrogen GAS via electrolysis, and still more electricity, enormous amounts, to convert that gas into a form that is usable as fuel by cars. And most of this electricity is created today by burning fossil fuels and incinerating garbage. To put this into laymen's terms, you have to burn a mountain of garbage to make a bucket of hydrogen auto-fuel, which supplies as much fuel-energy to the car as a quart of gasoline. So much for "clean" electricity use to make hydrogen fuel. Or to power plug-in cars, for that matter!

And all of you who have hydro bills with costs going DOWN, raise your hand... anyone? Hmmm. Looks like electricity isn't getting any cheaper, either. It hasn't for decades. But there is always the "dream" that some day, it will! For those readers who are too young to remember, that is exactly what the nuclear industry promised us in the 1950s: Cheap, clean, abundant electricity. 60 years later, that dream is still elusive.

As I have said before, so far, we have no "cost-effective and environmentally sound" way to make hydrogen fuel for cars. The world's scientists agree. Some list members don't. And that’s okay. You have the right to believe what you want.

For those who imagine "hydrogen as car fuel" and "plug-in electric cars" as a viable, environmentally sound replacement for what we have today, too bad your imagination stops before you see the Big Picture, the *complete* picture, with respect to where the electricity comes from, and what it costs in terms of dollars and environmental impact. That "clean" electricity coming from your wall plug has a filthy origin, hundreds or thousands of miles away.

I'm all for reducing our dependency on oil, and reducing (a lot) or eliminating greenhouse gases. But hydrogen as car fuel is a pipe dream. But the beauty of this dream, is you get to believe what you want.

I don't get the title...
As I mentioned on a similar article about the 1-series version of such an engine layout, the AWD Lexus RX 450h works just like that with only electric power in the rear wheels.

I can't remember BMW deriding any of these things you are mentioning. Please give references. Thanks!

here comes the excuse as to why it first stated that FWD are not luxury cars and are not worth the BMW name, now all of a sudden it makes sense... really?

I guess the competition was not wrong after all, huh?