Hydrogen cars ready to roll — for a price

Intergalactic Hydrogen has converted the Hummer, at left, to run on nonpolluting hydrogen. And the Shelby Cobra, like the one at right, now has a hydrogen version courtesy of the Hydrogen Car Company. Both companies modified internal combustion engines to run the vehicles on straight hydrogen instead of gasoline.
If you can’t wait five, 10 or 20 years for the much-touted "hydrogen economy," then step right up: Several companies are ready to sell you vehicles that run on the fuel that's much cleaner and gets higher mileage than gasoline or diesel.

Like sports cars? There's a Shelby Cobra with a 351 engine that runs on hydrogen. How about a Nissan Frontier pickup powered by fuel cells and hydrogen? That will soon be available. Or hankering for a hydrogen Hummer? That, too, can be yours.

There are two significant catches, however. First is getting the hydrogen. Industrial gas suppliers sell hydrogen in cylinders but very few filling stations exist today. California has the most at 13 pilot stations run by utilities and carmakers, and plans some 170 commercial ones by 2010. The cost varies too, from $1 to $20 a kilo. A gallon of gasoline has the same energy content as a kilo of hydrogen, but vehicles using the latter get two to three times higher mileage.

Second is the price tag: The Shelby Cobras start at $149,000, the pickup is $99,995 and the Hummers run $60,000 for the conversion alone — you supply the Hummer.

A small price to pay for starting a green revolution, says Tai Robinson, who runs Intergalactic Hydrogen, a company converting Hummers and other cars. "It is time for the people to make a move, the vehicles they say they want to run on hydrogen are available now."