April 28, 2005, 9:59PM
From the outside, it looks like the sport utility vehicle of today, but it's the car of tomorrow.
The Toyota FCHV, which stands for Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle, is billed by the manufacturer as the ultimate eco-car and requires no gasoline.
But consumers lamenting the high price of gas should not expect the vehicle to eliminate trips to the gas pump anytime soon. It probably won't be mass-produced for decades, said Bill Reinert, Toyota's national manager for advanced technology groups.
He was in Houston on Thursday demonstrating the prototype to the media at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
The fuel cells of the car make electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen from the air.
However, development of the fuel cell car still faces hurdles, Reinert said, and they include reducing production costs, creating infrastructure to store hydrogen fuel and solving technological problems such as the car's performance in freezing weather.
The prototype provides a smooth and silent ride. The air-conditioning system is about the only sound one hears.
Shorter-term relief from the high cost of fuel will come from other technologies. They include advances in diesel power and weight reduction, improved aerodynamics and greater degrees of hybridization, he said.
Also being previewed at the museum was the Toyota Highlander SUV gas-electric hybrid, which will arrive in Houston showrooms next month.