Take a Spin in a Billion Dollar Hydrogen Car

WASHINGTON DC (WUSA) -- Thumb your nose at a Maserati, give a big raspberry to that Aston Martin -- today was a chance for dozens of people from our area to drive the hydrogen cars of the future.

Nearly a dozen manufacturers are throwing down billion dollar bets on hydrogen cars. And now they're on a Hydrogen Road Show.

"Ok, one driver, and one passenger!" yelled an organizer outside the US Energy Department on Independence Ave. Dozens of people lined up to take a spin in hydrogen-fueled cars from Mercedes, GM, KW, even Kia.

"What do you say, Christian, should I take it home now?" Casimiro Izquierdo asked a BMW worker after taking a hydrogen 7 Series BMW for a ride.

The test drive let a lucky few drive just around the block. But the Hydrogen Road Show takes the cars on a two week trip across the country, hoping to show off the progress that's been made on a fuel that promises zero emissions other than water.

"We're going to see thousands on the road by 2015, and it's going to be cost competitive," says Jeff Serfass of the National Hydrogen Association.

The BMW is actually a standard internal combustion engine that can switch between hydrogen and gasoline. "If they get to the point where they know they're running low on hydrogen, they can switch it over to gasoline and make it home," says Dave Buchko of BMW.

One thing about the Hydrogen Road Show, not all the cars are spending all their time on the road. Some are spending some of it on the back of a car carrier, when they can't find a hydrogen fueling station close enough.

But not Honda's FCX Clarity. "We came all the way from Portland, Maine all the way here driving every mile on hydrogen from hydrogen stations along the route," says Ryan Harty of Honda Research and Development.

The Clarity's the first fuel cell vehicle built on a standard factory production line. And if you live in Southern California, you can lease one for $600 a month.

There is already a hydrogen fueling station on Benning Road in Northeast D-C, and about 60 others around the country. Supporters are betting that hydrogen stations and hydrogen cars will develop hand in hand.