Cars : Toyota Mirai

Cars : Toyota Mirai

Toyota is trying to do for fuel cell vehicles what Tesla did for electric cars: It revealed its hydrogen-powered Mirai on Monday and also announced a network of refueling stations across the northeastern United States.

The Mirai, which means “future” in Japanese, can travel 300 miles on a tank of hydrogen, refuels in less than five minutes and only emits water vapor, according to Toyota.

Toyota partnered with industrial gas supplier Air Liquide on the stations. A network of 12 is planned for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Toyota says the locations have been selected to “provide the backbone of a hydrogen highway for the Northeast corridor.”

The company already announced a $7.3-million loan to FirstElement Fuels to support the operation of 19 fueling stations in California. So at least Toyota is putting its money where its mouth is.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda made the announcement in a video, noting that “we are at a turning point in automotive history.”

“As a test driver, I knew this new fuel cell vehicle had to be truly fun to drive -- and believe me, it is. It has a low center of gravity, which gives it very dynamic handling. After surviving millions of miles on the test track and 10 years of testing on public roads in freezing cold and scorching heat, after passing extensive crash tests, and after working with local governments and researchers around the world to help make sure it is easy and convenient to refuel, we are ready to deliver.”

The car officially launches tomorrow night, Nov. 18. We’ll get more information at that time, and probably at the LA Auto Show as well.

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Sources : ZE Toyota Mirai Photo | ZE Toyota Mirai Article