Tiguan HyMotion Hydrogen Road Tour Travel Blog

On the road to Palm Desert…

2008-08-22T18:45:51-04:00

This morning started bright and early at the Gateway Community College in Phoenix, but we didn’t get as early a start as some of the event attendees. As we got to the location and began to set up the vehicles in race like positioning, we were greeted by a host of eager onlookers.

At 8:00 a.m., when the event actually was set to begin, I started to understand why people were there so early -- the temperature gauges in the vehicles were already reading 94 degrees.

We had about 250 people at the event. I’d guess almost 150 were either students or their instructors, as they generally came in waves as classes were letting out or before they were about to begin. Many of the instructors had questions about the technology and how they could incorporate the science behind this future fuel and these vehicles into their classrooms.

As we packed up for the end of the event, the temperature gauges were reading 103. A little word of advice from Phoenix. Don’t believe this dry heat myth: a dry heat is still VERY hot.

Fortunately the temperature wasn’t a real issue once we got in the cars and got the A.C. pumping. The hydrogen vehicles have excellent air conditioning systems. Electrically optimized air compressors are extremely efficient and cooled us all down very quickly -- something all of us in the car appreciated!

We are now driving 260 miles to Palm Desert. The drive was too far for the vehicles, without the fueling stations I’ve talked so much about. And, so we are once again in the rental cars.

We are just driving through Palm Springs now. Tomorrow morning we’ll be in 1000 Palms to visit SunLine Transit Agency. SunLine works with the Department of Energy on ways to advance hydrogen fuel commercialization and they have a permanent station on site as well as several hydrogen powered vehicles, including buses.

From there we will drive the vehicles 120 miles to the City of Angels for our closing event. It’s hard to believe this trip is almost behind us. I’ve got a lot of great memories and I’m looking forward to reflecting on the trip and sharing my thoughts once I head back home to Sacramento.

2 Days Left....

2008-08-21T18:45:27-04:00

Greetings from the Vegas airport.

If I was videoing this post, you’d hear the slot machines in the background, but not because I’m playing. Typing and gambling don’t mix.

We’re on our way to our next to last day of travel in lovely Phoenix, Arizona, but before I get ahead of myself let me tell you about Vegas.

We arrived late into Las Vegas last night and did some wandering around, but no vehicle caravan as we had hoped. Both last night and today the traffic was too intense on the strip and the risk was just too great to the cars. It’s not that they couldn’t cruise the strip, but as prototypes, they’re just a little too valuable to be exposed to that much traffic.

If you have never seen the fountain show at the Bellagio, check out the video I took.

Today we visited one of Las Vegas’ two permanent fueling stations. The city of Las Vegas is one of the most progressive environmentally. They power as much of the city’s systems as possible with green energy. In fact, the city generates three megawatts of solar electricity every day, some of which produces pure, green hydrogen fuel.

We had a large contingent of city and county officials at the event, along with representatives from state and federal offices. This was the first time many of the OEMs had ever fueled at these stations and the group was pleased to have the cars visit. We had our usual crowd of about 200 enthusiastic attendees, and I got some great videos.

Check out the first permanent fueling station.

Here's a glimpse of the second permanent fueling station.

After the ride and drive we actually had some issues that any car can face: a dead battery. Not the big hybrid batteries that our vehicles use, the small 12 volt that all cars have. Fortunately, we were prepared and we replaced it in about 20 minutes.

As I get ready to depart for Phoenix, I see a lot of tired faces on our merry band of drivers. It’s been a great trip but we are looking forward to the return to California and seeing our families.

Well, my flight’s getting ready to board. See you from Phoenix.

Vegas bound!

2008-08-20T19:13:28-04:00

We had just one event today in New Mexico near Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. Sandia is a government research and development laboratory that works closely with DOE and business partners on a host of issues, including hydrogen research. This was an excellent opportunity to show employees and the general public the vehicle in action, and about 250 people attended the event. While we got many of the same questions we always hear: “Why aren’t these vehicles on the road?” we also got more informed and technical questions from Sandia employees.

Check out the full road trip crew gearing up for the visit to Sandia National Laboratories.

But regardless of who was asking the questions, at some point my response would be, “because the infrastructure isn’t there yet.” The reality is, it’s not just the infrastructure – it’s also education. One of the reasons we aren’t taking the cars from Albuquerque to Las Vegas is due to permitting concerns. Permitting for mobile fueling stations was an issue at some of the places along the way. Believe it or not, some permitting groups don’t understand hydrogen and we need to do a better job communicating and educating on that front.

I’m getting ready to board a plane to Las Vegas, and looking forward to our event tomorrow at one of the largest permanent fueling station in the world. It’s a model for what we could do across the country and a good opportunity for us to educate the public on future possibilities.

Why are boarding a plane? This video will give you the answer.

I also have to admit I’m looking forward to a caravan down the Las Vegas strip, and if time permits, maybe a little time at the black jack table. Sorry I haven’t been able to post photos or videos. The internet connections have not been the best, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to upload some new media this evening.

Quiet day in Missouri

2008-08-19T18:42:51-04:00

Greetings from Missouri.

I’ve been trying to muster the enthusiasm from the early trip posts, but I have to admit it was a bit of a relief to wake up this morning and not have to consider another day of long drives and events.

Today was relatively quiet. We started off in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. It’s a U.S. Army Maneuver Center, and they use hydrogen powered vehicles at the base. It was a lightly attended event, but good to see the technology being put to use and hearing success stories about the vehicles.

From there we drove just about 30 miles to Rolla, Missouri, where we joined in the grand opening ceremonies for a hydrogen station. This station will likely be one of the hubs for future hydrogen infrastructure in the U.S., so it was a milestone event.

From here we head to New Mexico, and the break today was much welcomed by all involved. We’re expecting lots of press in New Mexico and in Las Vegas, and I’m hopeful my energy level will be back up after this rest.

Before I close, I wanted to share some reflections on this trip. This is a long term, real world road test for these vehicles. Most of those in the caravan have never been driven this far or this long. We’re learning a lot about them, each of us facing our own tests along the way, but this kind of data and experience is critical to the continued progression of the technology.

Take a look at where the idea for this successful hydrogen road tour began.

Have a good evening and stay tuned for more videos and photos.

A message from Congressman Wamp

2008-08-18T20:38:22-04:00

What a pleasure it was to be a part of the Hydrogen Road Tour as it rallied through my home town of Chattanooga! Driving a Volkswagen made it all the more special as VW is now Chattanooga’s top corporate citizen following the announcement of their North American Production Facility here in Chattanooga. Advanced Transportation is exciting and presents our nation with the greatest economic opportunity for manufacturing solutions for a cleaner, more efficient world. Thanks to all involved.

Heading West

2008-08-18T19:00:00-04:00

Sunday was not a day for rest, and I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to post a blog. I did capture some video in Augusta and in Cartersville, GA… including a rain storm in Georgia right after a small glitch with the HyMotion Tiguan. When it rains, it pours.

The bright side is, we are passed the halfway trip of the tour, and it’s getting easier to see the finish line in sight.

We left Cartersville, Georgia at around 7:30 and it was a bit of a mad dash for me to get on the road. No wakeup call this morning, but I made the caravan without too much trouble, and we actually arrived a bit early in Chattanooga.

As this is the location for Volkswagen’s production facility, I was excited to see the town and get to meet its residents. Congressman Zach Wamp, who is posting a guest blog on our site, drove the Touran into the staging area. He’s a huge proponent of the technology and encouraged us to build HyMotion powered vehicles at our new plant. Maybe someday…

We had an enthusiastic reception in Chattanooga, and I spent most of my time showing reporters our vehicle. About 150 people showed up, and the ride and drive lasted about 2 hours.

Chattanooga is known for its rolling hills, but when you get on I-24 heading to Nashville, those hills seem to resemble mountains. About a half mile from stop at the Nissan headquarters in Smyrna, we had another little issue. The 90+ degree heat and the constant grade caused a fuse to blow. German engineering won out and we were able to get the vehicle to the Smyrna event just a half hour late.

I’m on a bus right now heading to our next stop in Missouri. Because of the long distance and lack of fueling stations, we decided to put the cars on trucks rather than drive them for the next stop. Personally, it’s nice to have the break, but I’d rather the infrastructure was in place to allow us to make the drive.

Stay tuned to reports from the show-me-state.

Cars are showing their mettle

2008-08-17T12:03:45-04:00

With another 250+ mile day under our belts, the cars are really starting to show their mettle. In fact, waking up the past several mornings has been more than challenging for me, and I've thought more than once that the cars are holding up better than their drivers.

Our BMW colleagues were gracious hosts at the stop in Greer, South Carolina. Several hundred people attended, including a substantial number of BMW employees. The event really pointed out to me how this is a team effort and not about any one OEM. It's about the technology and the future potential of these vehicles and we all share the common goal of making them a consumer reality. That's how the education process should be and I'm honored to be a part.

Our stop in Columbia was equally rewarding. About 300 people participated in the ride and drives, but this was really the icing on the cake for the attendees. There was so much interest in the technology and the vehicle – at one point I had about 45 people listening in as I explained fuel cells and the larger technology and the infrastructure needs.

Take a look at the hydrogen mobile fueler.

Our last event of the day was at Bridgestone Firestone's Aiken plant. It was a work day at the facility, and employees came out to view the cars during breaks and shift changes. Hosting an event at a tire manufacturing facility underscores the point I made earlier – this is a team effort, not just with the OEMs but with everyone involved in the automotive industry.

Here are several photos of the visit to the Bridgestone Firestone Aiken plant.

Sunday's going to be a bit different than previous days. We are breaking into two teams, one heading to August the other to Atlanta. I'm on the Augustacaravan, but we'll have the Tourans in Atlanta.

We've got more photos posted on the site, and we'll be uploading more later today, so be sure to take a look!

A long push to the end of the day

2008-08-16T08:04:00-04:00

Friday was a long push to get to the end. Even with a 7:00 am departure from Fort Belvoir, we seemed to run behind schedule all day, forcing us to cut visits short. Our focus was on fueling and left us no time for ride and drives. Our first stop in Chester, VA was at a Hyundai dealership. There were a few static displays, but not the crowds of the past couple days. We were already behind, and so we left within 30 minutes.

Duke lived up to expectations as a beautiful campus, and it was a great place to stop and hold an event. Student orientation doesn't start until August 19, so there weren't too many co-eds around, but those who were on the Quad stopped by to ask about the vehicles.

I wouldn't have minded kicking back and enjoying some down time at Duke, but we were still running late and we had another 135 miles ahead of us before Charlotte.

Here we are at fuel stop at Duke.

Before we got to Charlotte we had a couple of issues, one from Mother Nature, the other technical. Before we reached the UNC campus, we had to pull one of the Touransover and run a few checks on the vehicle. Fortunately, everything seemed to be in order and we were able to quickly get back on the road and to the next event. The UNC fueling stop had its own share of problems. The location chosen for the mobile fueling wasn't the best, and it took some time to get the fueling trailer set up, which added to our delays. We've relied heavily on mobile fueling along the way, and this was the first time we've had a problem. Clearly, permanent stations are the way to go, and hopefully this tour will help make more of them a reality.

Of course I have to close on Mother Nature. She threw us another massive rain storm right before we ended for the evening. The Volkswagen crew and vehicles handled it all well, and we were definitely glad to call it a night.

By the way, we're posting videos of our travels every day. Make sure to scroll down and click on the more videos link on the left hand column to catch our adventures on Youtube.

Today was not as easy

2008-08-14T21:52:00-04:00

Day 5 -- only 113 miles. I was hoping it was going to be a bit of an easier day than the previous, but that was wishful thinking. For whatever reason, we had our share of gremlins in the car today, but everything worked out and we made it safely and on schedule to all the day's events.

We had an 8:00 a.m. start from Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware. Not the same crowds as the night before, but Paul Brubaker, from the U.S. DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration gave us a great send-off and then rode with the caravan the entire 85 miles to the Department of Energy in downtown DC.

Here we are on the road leaving Delaware.

There we were greeted by a host of dignitaries and media. It was so crowded I wasn't even able to get close enough to hear the speeches. I'll be sure to catch the sound bites on the evening news, as at least nine cameras were there. In fact, there may have been more media here than the entire attendance at the Delaware event in the morning.

Here's a glimpse at all the media cameras.

We took 38 people on a ride and drive with the our Touran HyMotion, the most so far this trip.

From there we headed out to a Shell station on Benning Road -- right in the District. It's one of only two places in the country where you can drive your hydrogen vehicle up to the pump and pay for fuel. We topped off half a tank for $10.70. Not bad!

Driving through a huge downpour on our way out of DC.

So, I'm at Fort Belvoir, about 20 miles from DC in Virginia. We're doing a final fuel for the night. We hit an incredible storm on the way here, hail, rain, the whole 9 yards -- make sure to check out the video. Even though the Tiguan is a prototype it made it through everything nature could throw at it with flying colors.

By the way, check out hydrogendiscoveries.wordpress.com/ . He's been giving our blog props and I wanted to do the same for him. He's got some good info on the site for anyone interested in hydrogen technology.

Tomorrow' s one of the longest days so far, 383 miles to UNC Charlotte. I'll see you in the Tar Heel State.

A long day, but a good one

2008-08-13T22:02:00-04:00

It's been a long day and I apologize if I don't post something too long for today. We were out of the hotel by 4:45 to get the Tiguan ready for its trip into Manhattan and the CBS Early Show interview. 4:45 am definitely puts the "Early" into the day.

We got the Tiguan outside the studio at about 5:30 a.m Parked right on 5th Avenue by the Central Park, the car drew attention from joggers, local law enforcement and the show's producers and on air talent, including the c-host, Harry Smith. Even if the cameras weren't on, there was definitely a crowd around the car, especially with the hood raised.

We had quite an adventure getting back to the Liberty Science Center for the ride and drive event. We had about 50 miles to go in the tank of hydrogen, but with some stop and go traffic in Manhattan and a longer route across the George Washington bridge (all total about an hour and a half of driving), we made it back to New Jersey with just about 5 percent of fuel left. I was prepared to turn on the battery power if we needed in the last few miles, but fortunately the Tiguan delivered.

About 100 people joined us at the Science Center. It was a pretty hot day, so once we had the Tiguan refueled, it was good to get the AC going and take some reporters and other participants on a drive. Make sure to check out the video below from the interview with Good Day New York. Their segment airs Thursday morning .

After the Science Center we caravanned out to Allentown, Penn., where about 900 people joined the caravan at a new hydrogen fueling station owned by Air Products. We were joined there by U.S. Congressman Charlie Dent and other elected officials.

Check out the crowd of people at the fueling station.

From there it was another 100 miles to Newark Delaware for a total of 205 daily miles, and about 12 + hours from start to finish. A long day, but a good one.