But there have been few specifics about what kind of vehicles the automakers were considering. Ford said the Focus FCV fuel cell car it unveiled in Las Vegas Monday was a production prototype of the car it hopes to build in four years. Fuel cells use hydrogen to create electricity with no pollution. As built today, the FCV has a range of about 100 miles and power that's comparable to a current Focus, Kopf said. A road test there is scheduled to start in November.
Fuel cells have several problems that have to be worked out before they're ready for widespread use.
Today's fuel cell prototypes would be far more expensive than regular cars, even in mass production. Kopf said the production Focus FCV will likely be sold mostly for use in business fleets that can install equipment for handling hydrogen. He said reducing the cost of fuel cell power was the biggest technical challenge, one that Ford won't likely solve before 2010. 2001 Knight Ridder Inc. and may not be republished without permission.