did you guys hear about the hydrogen powered 8? its going to couple the use of conventional gas injection and one touch direct hydrogen injection. this will solve the gasoline problem :D. i didn't know this myself, but Mazda actually worked on rotary/hydrogen technology since '91. they even made a hydrogen/rotary roadster in '95. the company plans to really go all out with this technology. its going to be so cool to have an 8 that is also environmentally friendly. i sure as hell will pick one up when they come out.

Mazda have been ready with this for years.

The problem is the infrastructure is lacking.

Oil companies have to much vested interest at this stage. Been that way for 50+ years & can't see it changing in a hurry

I was reading more about this, and these are the negatives of the system:

1. The hydrogen system takes up considerable luggage space in the trunk, thereby reducing or eliminating the use of a trunk.

and more importantly,

2. The engine specifications are not that impressive. The engine outputs something ike 189 hp with the automatic option and 203 hp with the 6 sp manual transmission. Considering the heat Mazda has been getting heat for producing "only" 238 hp from the gas-only RX-8, the hydrogen car owners will be even more frustrated at the power the H8 tuns out than the gas car owners.

I'll stick with the gasoline power 8 thanx.

My two cents.

The H version will probably cost more too... and the availability of H fuel is only reserved for super big cities.

Interesting tech, but the infrastructure isn´t there yet (for fill up
at every gas station). I wonder if the H-wankel would preform better than the petrol one in really cold weather?

Anywhere that has water and electricity can supply you with hydrogen. Hydrogen does not need to be shipped in from anywhere, all you need is a tank of water and a DC electrical source.

In addition to the heat, the hp is almost cut in half.

all these things may be true, but you must admit it would be nice if Mazda perfected the technology and went through with it. they need to make the mileage a little better. if not using the aid of hydrogen, then at least using an electric motor in conjunction.

At NASA Space Center Houston, there is a Mazda display with a hydrogen powered prototype car called the HR-X. It is kind of a weird looking car but there is a giant spinning rotor display hanging behind it.

Originally posted by Vern!
Anywhere that has water and electricity can supply you with hydrogen. Hydrogen does not need to be shipped in from anywhere, all you need is a tank of water and a DC electrical source.

Outer body in solar panels ... fill it up with water and it makes fuel all day.

Would I need to go "green" and stop eating meat???

Reminds me of a quote .. "If God didn't want us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?"

Wouldn't it be interesting to have a hydrogen powered mazda with a water tak and a power cord ... with nothing else to fill.

yea, i've read about the HR-X. its actually a fairly old prototype. it would definitly be interesting to have water as a fuel. it would solve our problem of fuel consumption and pollution. all that comes in is water, and all that goes out is water. imagine the possibilities...

I've got a couple of pictures of the HR-X that I took a couple of months ago at NASA. I need to find them and post them. I can't say that I like it but it is a rotary! It isn't a standard 13B size engine. It more resembles a 10A in displacement. If Steve Erkle (sp?) drove a rotary car that would be it.

Hahaha. yes, please do post pics :)

Would it be possible if mazda can make rotors run on electricity? Like maybe make magnetic rotor, and place where air and fuel mixture enters they could put a big magnet there, and you know how magnets like kick each other, the rotor would turn. So if you put more electricity in rotor it'll keep on kicking magnetic rotor faster and faster. Sounds crappy, but it could work. lol

actually, that would be an idea. opposing magnetic forces would never run out of energy. i mean, there are so many other solutions to a gasoline engine. they really suck. you lose like 60-70% of the energy in combustion. its rediculous