Ford was so impressed with New Jersey's success in last year's tour that when it came time to build Genesis the auto maker donated a prototype aluminum body that it has been developing. Many of the parts of the car also are made of aluminum, titanium, or magnesium. Close the door of Genesis and the sound is thin, not the resonant thud of a door full of steel. In fact, Genesis is 47 percent lighter than a conventional Sable, but equally strong, its designers say. But the real marvel of the car is under the hood.
Genesis runs on something called a fuel cell.
While a conventional engine is powered by millions of finely timed explosions of a gas and oxygen mixture, a fuel cell produces electricity through a chemical reaction of air and hydrogen. The only emission is water. The gadget itself resembles a radiator. The only battery in the car is solar, which helps produce electrical power to boost acceleration. In the automotive world, the fuel cell is widely seen as the likely successor to the internal combustion engine, although the cost of a cell is still too high for mass production.