Questioning The Media

For my questioning the media post, I will be talking about an article found on autoblog, sourced from Automotive News. I'm choosing to question Autoblog's post, as it has more readers than Automotive News, and I feel that it is less based in fact.

The article talks about Toyota's announcement that its fuel cell vehicle in 2015 will cost less than a diesel hybrid. The head of e-drive and future mobility at Daimler, Herbert Kohler confirms this, saying that fuel cell vehicles will quickly decrease in price as the technology matures. The article also talks briefly about Mercedes-Benz's current and future fuel cell vehicles that are out or in the works.

I have a few issues with this article. While Mr. Kohler is a very credible source, my primary issue is the comparison with diesel hybrids, since there are currently NO diesel hybrids on the market. On top of that, there are very few fuel cell vehicles on the market, and I don't believe that there are any fuel cell vehicles that you can buy right now. While Daimler has there A-Class fuel cell vehicles up for lease right now, you cannot buy them.

I interpret this article as wishful thinking, but also as a bit of a hit to EV's. They are playing off of the expensive prices of batteries at the time being, and while stating that fuel cell vehicles are becoming much cheaper in the coming years, they don't give the same benefit of the doubt to EV's.

On the other hand, I've thought diesel hybrids would be incredibly efficient and often wondered why there are none on the market, but this article almost completely discounts them saying that they will quickly become obsolete. My question is where are all the diesel hybrids, and what is the opposition to them?

I'll be on the lookout for the diesel hybrid, fuel cell, and hopefully electric vehicles of the future, and continue to evaluate them, and hold them to the same standards as the rest. While I feel that this article was biased, and unfounded, it does come from a reliable source, and is an insider look into the future of the industry.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/31/daimler-fuel-cell-vehicles-to-cost-no-more-than-diesel-hybrids/