Jim Kenzie at it again!

[Buggle]

Kenzie penned another dubious pro-hydrogen article.

Hyundai still leading in future technology | The Star

Let's start with the title. How can offering a limited number of hydrogen vehicles equate to now leading in anything?
And, when, if ever, was hydrogen leading in anything other than sucking up government grants?


“Hydrogen vehicles are the most promising type of alternative powertrain transportation in existence today,” says Don Romano, president and CEO of Hyundai Auto Canada Corp.

Gee, I guess the head of Hyundai Canada doesn't think much of the Kona or Ioniq electric vehicles.

Hydrogen is abundant everywhere on earth

Really, Jim? Where on earth does hydrogen exist outside of compounds?

Powering an electric motor with a fuel cell also has many advantages over batteries, prime among which is that refuelling takes no longer than a gasoline vehicle

Even Hyundai doesn't claim faster than five minutes for refueling, which is slower than gas vehicles when there is no wait at the pump. When Hyundai leased a handful of Tucson FCEV in BC in 2015, owners reported their refueling time was closer to ten minutes.


[charging] about a hundred times faster than using normal household current.

Good comparison, Jim. While you're off the local, convenient hydrogen station, everyone with an EV is slave to their 120V household receptacle.


A hydrogen NEXO has a range of some 570 km, which is about 45 per cent greater than a comparable battery-powered electric.

That is about 45% greater range than the smaller and less expensive Kona and Niro electric vehicles, but only 20% more than the Model X Long-range. The Nexo lists for $59,000 in the States, but if it's like the Mirai it will only be worth about $16,000 after three years. The X starts at $80,000 but will likely be worth over $40,000 after three years, so it's not really more expensive than the Nexo.

What’s more, fuel cell performance does not drop precipitously as the ambient temperature does. Not a big issue in Vancouver perhaps, but a problem in most of Canada where summer is defined as two weeks of bad skiing.

Naturally, he doesn't provide numbers to define "precipitously," but apparently fuel-cell vehicles defy the laws of physics. A big issue in most of Canada that he doesn't mention is that Hyundai doesn't appear to certify the Nexo to start when it's below -30C.

I'll stop there, but there's an unsupported claim in most paragraphs.

I wonder if he read about the recent summit between VW, Daimler, and BMW where they agreed on a common way forward for EV's, and as part of this agreed that all other solutions including hydrogen, were a waste of time and they would not be allocating any resources towards them.
The ‘Tesla Effect’ hits Germany as VW, Daimler, and BMW fully commit to EVs

 

[Struja]

The biggest problem with Kenzie is that he seems to think there can only be one solution, which is patently ridiculous. For many of us Tesla owners, we like the idea of reducing fossil fuel emissions. We like that it is a "cleaner" car.

I don't care if Hydrogen becomes a better option or if they co-exist, or if someone can get my car to run on salt water. I care about the end result... less environmental impact. So, I am not cheering against Hydrogen or any other clean alternative... I am for them all. Right now, I don't see a better one than EV's so I drive an EV.

 

[Switzch]

A few months ago I was at a Starbucks and Jim Kenzie was there. He was test driving an BMW i8. I overheard him say he needs to hear the motor make a noise when he hits the petal. It was at that point I lost all respect.

 

[sakimano]

Folks this was in the Toronto Star paper today and online. I don't even know where to start.
Those of you that are more articulate than me please respond. We need to email both him and the Star and point out all the
Inaccuracies.
Electric cars are a short circuit | Toronto Star

there's a pay wall on the article/Toronto Star website.

That should ensure nobody sane reads it so I wouldn't worry about it .

 

[Vawlkus]

The biggest problem with Kenzie is that he seems to think there can only be one solution, which is patently ridiculous. For many of us Tesla owners, we like the idea of reducing fossil fuel emissions. We like that it is a "cleaner" car.

I don't care if Hydrogen becomes a better option or if they co-exist, or if someone can get my car to run on salt water. I care about the end result... less environmental impact. So, I am not cheering against Hydrogen or any other clean alternative... I am for them all. Right now, I don't see a better one than EV's so I drive an EV.

Somebody needs to challenge him to a race. His Hydrogen car against any of our EVs. We win by default since there isn’t one for him to own.

 

[Casmium]

Just the convenience of leaving every morning with a full charge and not having to ever stop and fill up on your regular commute is pure bliss. I typically drive between 40-80Km daily and have had my model 3 LR for 5 months, so i have a great buffer for the odd time that i forget to plug it in at night.

I find the first thing people ask me about the car is how long do you have to wait while it's charging and the simple answer is i just charge while i sleep, which i think is the main concept that most people haven't caught onto when it comes to having an EV. It's just fantastic to always leave home with a full(or 90%) tank and through 97% of your driving never worry about having to fill up.

Until they make a light weight roof mounted solar hydrogen producing station that comes with the car i'm not interested in fuel cells.

For the odd trip I've either found hotels that had a tesla wall plug and supercharged once for 5 minutes.

 

[sakimano]

Just the convenience of leaving every morning with a full charge and not having to ever stop and fill up on your regular commute is pure bliss. I typically drive between 40-80Km daily and have had my model 3 LR for 5 months, so i have a great buffer for the odd time that i forget to plug it in at night.

I've had this argument (friendly) a few times with people who bemoan the concept of having to stop to charge on a long trip. The response is pretty consistent from me:.

"I drive about 20,000 kms a year. About 10 times a year I go on a super long (400km+) trip where I will have to supercharge for 30 minutes. Total time supercharging about 300 minutes a year. Most of those times I would be stopping to eat anyway, so really it's maybe an inconvenience about 100 minutes a year. The rest of the year I charge the car in my house overnight.

As compensation for that 100 minutes of inconvenience, my car looks better than yours, is quieter than yours, is bigger inside than yours, has way better interior tech than yours, doesn't need fluid service and barely goes through brakes. It also depreciates slower than yours. Oh and it will blow your doors clean off in a race.

Further, you have to fill up with gas 40 times a year. Guess how long filling up with gas 40x takes? About 200 minutes at 5 min each time. So in fact, your gas car is less time convenient (and worse for all the other reasons mentioned above).

 

[tlr1000]

According to Kenzie's article (written in 2017), the world is "not a heck of a lot farther along" in battery technology since 1914. Wonder what a P100D would look like with 1914 battery technology?

 

[RiverBrick]

the world is "not a heck of a lot farther along" in battery technology since 1914.

Yeah, that's a falsehood that he latched onto years ago and will not let go. iirc, his reasoning was a 2011 LEAF only having 30% more range than a 1914 EV. However, one of the many problems with his comparison was that the 1914 car's cruising speed was probably around 20 kph.

 

[dwharrison]

According to Kenzie's article (written in 2017), the world is "not a heck of a lot farther along" in battery technology since 1914. Wonder what a P100D would look like with 1914 battery technology?

I wonder what Kenzie's smartphone would look like with 1914 battery technology. One of the most ridiculous aspects of this assertion is that he was almost certainly carrying the counter proof in his pocket when he wrote it.

 

[RiverBrick]

The biggest problem with Kenzie is that he seems to think there can only be one solution, which is patently ridiculous.

That's a good point. He seems to admit hydrogen is a long way off when he mentions it will be the fuel of your children or grandchildren.

If he can imagine low-cost solutions to problems with hydrogen will be invented in the future, why doesn't he think perceived problems with batteries will be solved as well?

 

[Buggle]

The problem with Kenzie & EV's is analogous to asking a CEO to suddenly become an aid worker in Afghanistan. It's simply not his skill set, experience, belief structure, value system. He's a gearhead at the end of the day, Just unfortunate his editors aren't wise enough to not let him open his mouth as regards EV's.

 

[dwharrison]

The problem with Kenzie & EV's is analogous to asking a CEO to suddenly become an aid worker in Afghanistan. It's simply not his skill set, experience, belief structure, value system. He's a gearhead at the end of the day, Just unfortunate his editors aren't wise enough to not let him open his mouth as regards EV's.

I'm not a gearhead and I have to admit that my just-delivered (yesterday) Model 3 is making me a bit anxious, because I haven't quite adjusted to it yet (e.g. getting really good at modulating regen, etc). I can only imagine the reactions that a hardcore gearhead who has made his living writing about (mostly) gas cars would feel..

The problem isn't that he might feel that way, but that unlike other writers, he seems to be unable to recognize that his feelings are just his feelings.

 

[TrevTremaine]

The problem with Kenzie & EV's is analogous to asking a CEO to suddenly become an aid worker in Afghanistan. It's simply not his skill set, experience, belief structure, value system. He's a gearhead at the end of the day, Just unfortunate his editors aren't wise enough to not let him open his mouth as regards EV's.

Unfortunately, I disagree. Given his time spent driving and reviewing all kinds of vehicles, through many years of a slowly evolving industry, Kenzie has an obligation to be viewing change in all of it's aspects. He self-proclaims that he is "Canada's foremost automotive journalist". Here we are finally achieving a technological change that has both pros and cons, but instead of embracing the change, he embraces the status quo. Why? His favorite drive is what? A 1977 AM Hornet. Now, his compatriot on Motoring TV, Bill Gardener, doesn't like that his job is at risk but at least he's capable of seeing how it's progress for it's value.

It's time for Kenzie to retire because he certainly can't see through those beer bottle goggles of his. He should listen to his own advice:

 

[Buggle]

Unfortunately, I disagree. Given his time spent driving and reviewing all kinds of vehicles, through many years of a slowly evolving industry, Kenzie has an obligation to be viewing change in all of it's aspects. He self-proclaims that he is "Canada's foremost automotive journalist". Here we are finally achieving a technological change that has both pros and cons, but instead of embracing the change, he embraces the status quo. Why? His favorite drive is what? A 1977 AM Hornet. Now, his compatriot on Motoring TV, Bill Gardener, doesn't like that his job is at risk but at least he's capable of seeing how it's progress for it's value.

It's time for Kenzie to retire because he certainly can't see through those beer bottle goggles of his. He should listen to his own advice:

What are you disagreeing with lol? Sounds like you agreed with everything I said.

 

[Buggle]

I'm not a gearhead and I have to admit that my just-delivered (yesterday) Model 3 is making me a bit anxious, because I haven't quite adjusted to it yet (e.g. getting really good at modulating regen, etc). I can only imagine the reactions that a hardcore gearhead who has made his living writing about (mostly) gas cars would feel..

The problem isn't that he might feel that way, but that unlike other writers, he seems to be unable to recognize that his feelings are just his feelings.

When I first got mine I put the regen on light cause it took so much getting used to. After a week I put it on heavy & haven't looked back. You'll get used to it. Not having to do your brakes regularly is a huge plus.

 

[TrevTremaine]

What are you disagreeing with lol? Sounds like you agreed with everything I said.

The analogy is wrong. The guy has worked as a reporter with the car industry for decades, so he *should* understand it by now - he's not stepping into this from a completely different line of work. If anything I'd say the upkeep of his credentials has failed and now tarnished his credibility. Gearhead, maybe - but I certainly wouldn't call an AMC Hornet the epitome of a classic car or something I'd align to be a gearhead's choice. Ironically, there was an EV version of the 1971 Hornet too.

 

[Buggle]

The analogy is wrong. The guy has worked as a reporter with the car industry for decades, so he *should* understand it by now - he's not stepping into this from a completely different line of work. If anything I'd say the upkeep of his credentials has failed and now tarnished his credibility. Gearhead, maybe - but I certainly wouldn't call an AMC Hornet the epitome of a classic car or something I'd align to be a gearhead's choice. Ironically, there was an EV version of the 1971 Hornet too.

Car industry means loyalty to existing players, including their partners in the oil and gas industry and government. It also means loyalty to their priorities, including the ICE. I think the analogy is apt. EV's are the outlier here.

 

[sakimano]

I'm not a gearhead and I have to admit that my just-delivered (yesterday) Model 3 is making me a bit anxious, because I haven't quite adjusted to it yet (e.g. getting really good at modulating regen, etc). I can only imagine the reactions that a hardcore gearhead who has made his living writing about (mostly) gas cars would feel..

The problem isn't that he might feel that way, but that unlike other writers, he seems to be unable to recognize that his feelings are just his feelings.

Range anxiety takes 2-3 weeks to go away if you're good at math and maybe a bit longer if you're not.

Regen will probably make you or your passengers sick the first 2 times you drive the car, then you'll figure it out quick and be just fine with it. In fact you'll grow to love not having to shuffle your right leg from pedal to pedal constantly when slowing and accelerating. One pedal 99% of the time with the brakes being used to basically stop you from 5kmh to 0 kmh and that's about it (other than serious braking situations of course which are pretty rare).

Enjoy it, you'll grow to love the 'future' of driving in short order, and within a month or so you'll feel like you can get rid of your other fossil cars and wonder how you lived without electric.

 

[dwharrison]

Regen will probably make you or your passengers sick the first 2 times you drive the car, then you'll figure it out quick and be just fine with it. In fact you'll grow to love not having to shuffle your right leg from pedal to pedal constantly when slowing and accelerating. One pedal 99% of the time with the brakes being used to basically stop you from 5kmh to 0 kmh and that's about it (other than serious braking situations of course which are pretty rare)..

Thanks. I’m getting smoother and definitely enjoying using one pedal. I’m getting limited Regen in short trips at our current 10-ish Celsius temps. That’s normal, right? How long a trip would it take for full Regen to come back assuming I don’t preheat?