KY drives

After years of waiting and billions poured into research, the first fuel cell car is on the market… find one at the toy store, that is. There’s no commercial fuel cell car that can fit a person yet, however, the introduction of the first hydrogen-powered fuel cell toy car is still a very exciting news.

The little car from Shanghai’s Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies comes with it’s own solar-powered station that generates hydrogen from tap water. The water and sun combination replaces the battery for the toy car, instead a baloon is used in the car to store the generated hydrogen. A full tank can lasts about 4 minutes of running time for the little car. In the case of cloudy day, battery power can be used instead of the solar panel to power the hydrogen generation.

Unlike conventional engines, the only byproduct from a fuel cell powered car is heat and water. No carbon dioxcide, carbon monoxide, or any other harmful particles from the familiar engine smoke. This toy car is the first step of getting us to a hydrogen economy, for around US$80 ($40 for car and $40 for charging station), you too can get a glimpse of the future.

No word on the top speed or how the car is controlled though..

More information:

* CNN article

* Hamilton Spectator

Last weekend I went to GT Auto at Sunway to join the gang on the dyno session organised by Mickey. There were about a dozen cars at the place, made up of mostly SW20 MR2s, Altezzas, and a Celica.

A red Toyota MR2 doing the spin

As my car is still having a problem at maintaining the stock boost at 0.7 bar (ECU limiting to the “safe” 0.4 bar) , I decided not to participate until I get the problem sorted out. I did not stay till the end, but saw an MR2 registering a very good 235 hp at the wheel and an Altezza getting around 160 hp at the wheel.

the gorgeous black Altezza properly secured on the dyno

There are a bunch of pictures posted on the Gallery

Not too long ago my Toyota MR2 was having a weird problem. The car would be able to start, but after running for a while it would stall, and have very bad air fuel mixture, black smoke and all. After consulting with several owners, one suggested that I check for leaked capacitors on the ECU as that might be one of the causes.

ECU located at the rear boot

The ECU on second generation Toyota MR2, in this case a 1991 3S-GTE version, is located at the rear boot wall that is seperating the boot from the engine, just behind the carpet. You will need a Philip screw driver and if I remember correctly, a 9 or 10 mm wrench to undo the mounting.

look at the 3 connectors at the bottom of the ECU

There are 3 connecting sockets located at the bottom part of the ECU. You should be able to disconnect them without much effort. The 3 connectors are of different sizes, you can’t go wrong when putting the thing back together. Do note that you should always disconnect the car battery and properly ground yourself before diving into such endeavour.

the 3 connectors

The ECU consists of two PCB boards, take off the 2 screws connecting both and you will be able to expose the innerds. In my case, I did not find any leaking capacitors. The problem was later found out to be caused by a faulty airflow sensor.

the capacitors on the ECU

More technical info on MR2 can be found on this page, including the Engine error code and how to diagnose them.

Mazda 6 is the Japanese car maker’s flagship sedan going head to head in the market dominated by Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. I was fortunate to test drive the 2.3 liter Mazda 6 a couple weeks ago at the Mazda showroom in Petaling Jaya during their launching of the long awaited Mazda 3 in this country.

the handsome Mazda 6

The 2.3 liter powertrain is good for around 166 hp, similar to the 2.4 liter iVTEC engine from Honda Accord. The Mazda, however, feels a lot more zippy during acceleration (8.9s to 100km/h). This might due to the curb weight of 1390kg, some 60 kg lighter than the Accord. As I floored the accelerator while in the fully automatic mode, the engine revved up to almost 7,000 rpm before switching gear, I guess the 6 does deliver some zoom zoom spirits.

a nice driver’s car

The 6 speed triptonic gives you the flexibility to change gears when you feel like having some spirited drive, and it is intelligent enough to not let the driver over-rev or bog down the engine. As I found out when putting the car on 2nd gear driving up hill, when the I stopped the car, it automatically dropped to 1st. Very nice. The car feels pretty good around the bend too, does not have too much body roll for a car it’s size.

the cockpit of Mazda 6

The car looks great on the outside, the interior does not dissapoint either. The 2.3 liter version comes with full leather interior, including all the seats, door panels, and even the shifter and handbrake. In dash 6 CD changer comes standard with a pretty decent in car steroe system.

6 speed automatic with tiptronic

The cockpit backlight is red in color and are pretty driver oriented. Other than the standard speed, techo, water temperature and fuel, the gear is also displayed, very useful while on tiptronic mode. Stereo and auto cruise controls are conviniently placed on the steering wheel.

the center console

Instead of the usual 2 air conditioning vents in the middle, the 6 comes with 3, this is pretty good for the rear passanger. However, there is no individual climate control like the one found in the 2.4 Honda Accord. There is only one single temperature control.

2.3 mazda 6, side view

Priced at around RM 160-170 thousands, the Mazda 6 2.3 is in direct competition with the 2.4 Toyota Camryand Honda Accord. While 2nd hand value of Mazdas might be lower in this country as compared to the other two Japanese brands, the Mazda 6 does offer a very good alternatives for it’s performance and arguebly higher asthetics. If only they offer the 2.3 turbo version that puts out 273 HP..

Extra: video of Mazda 6 on the mazda malaysia website here.