Jay Leno adds a BMW Hydrogen 7 to his mega-garage
The latest celebrity to get a set of keys to a BMW Hydrogen 7 is well-known car enthusiast Jay Leno (apparently he's on some TV show as well). Last year Leno worked with a GM design studio to build the biodiesel fueled, turbine-powered EcoJet. Leno claims to have transformed his 20,000 sq.ft garage into a "green garage" that provides its own power via 19th century steam and natural gas engines. He has been upgrading the garage with new more efficient shop equipment. Previously BMW gave one of the Hydrogen 7s to actor Will Ferrell.
[Source: BMW]
JAY LENO SET TO DRIVE THE BMW HYDROGEN 7 ON U.S. ROADWAYS
09/17/2007
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – September 17, 2007... BMW today announced that Jay Leno became the latest person to receive keys to a BMW Hydrogen 7 – the first hydrogen-powered luxury sedan. The Emmy-winning comedian and host of The Tonight Show received his BMW Hydrogen 7 at his famed car garage in Burbank, California, which is fittingly a "green garage" that receives a great deal of its energy from steam power.
"As an avid car enthusiast I'm always interested in the future of automotive technology. With the BMW Hydrogen 7 I can experience all the fun and great features of a performance car, yet know that I'm being environmentally friendly at the same time! I look forward to driving the Hydrogen 7 and learning more about hydrogen as a fuel for our future."
In his "green garage," Jay uses giant steam and natural gas engines from the 19th century to effectively reduce his energy needs – transforming his garage into a self-sufficient power station. According to Jay, there is no reason why a garage full of old cars can't be environmentally responsible, even if it means having to go back more than a century for the technology. Working with expert consultants in a variety of fields to analyze his garage's energy use and devise alternative energy systems, Jay is committed to upgrading his nearly 20,000-sq.-ft. garage with the latest environmentally friendly shop equipment and products – and driving the BMW Hydrogen 7 is his latest example of this.
Running in hydrogen mode, the BMW Hydrogen 7 essentially emits nothing but water vapor, representing a major step in reducing harmful CO2 emissions. It is not a concept car, but a production model vehicle that has successfully completed the entire Product Development Process. While the BMW Hydrogen 7 is not for sale, it is considered to be a milestone in bringing forward hydrogen as the sustainable fuel for individual transportation.
BMW believes that hydrogen will replace petroleum as the long-term alternative to fossil fuel, and hopes the Hydrogen 7 will play a pioneering role in driving forward the hydrogen technologies that will ensure our mobility in the future. Through a program dubbed the Hydrogen 7 Pioneers Program, BMW is giving industry leaders and prominent figures in entertainment, politics, business and more a BMW Hydrogen 7 for their daily use.
The hydrogen pioneers will be instrumental in helping people understand that hydrogen technology is here, it is now and it is what BMW Group believe holds the key to our future mobility. By harnessing the power and influence of individuals who, like Leno, are at the forefront of their respective disciplines, BMW hopes to continue to generate support of hydrogen-drive vehicles in the short term and stimulate demand for a viable hydrogen infrastructure in the long-term.
Leno is one of the first Americans who BMW plans to announce in the coming months that will help the company in its mission to build widespread support of hydrogen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
While Leno and BMW's hydrogen pioneers will be the first group to be given access to the BMW Hydrogen 7 in the U.S. for a longer period of use, a number of entertainers, politicians, business leaders and more have opted for a BMW Hydrogen 7 as their energy-efficient ride of choice. Those who have recently chosen the vehicle include Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the "Ocean's 13" premiere in Hollywood; Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori at the FOX All-Star Party in Santa Monica; Richard Gere and Sharon Stone at the Cinema for Peace Gala in Berlin; and "An Inconvenient Truth" producer Davis Guggenheim (Oscar® for the best Documentary Feature) and Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® winner, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck at the 2007 Academy Awards; among others. The vehicle has also made an impact oversees, with luminaries such as Michael Glos, German Federal Minister for Economy and Technology, and Günter Verheugen, Vice President of the European Commission, world renowned soprano Anna Netrebko and many others covering more than 1.3 million miles worldwide till now.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
FrankTheCrank 1:36PM (9/18/2007)
Jay, we get it, your a car guy...
Shut up already and go for a long drive!!!!
Letterman is funnier and he doesn't flaunt his cars all the time.
Has Jay discovered women yet? I'd rather be lubing up a Hollywood starlet than a 56 Mercury.
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GoodCheer 1:37PM (9/18/2007)
OK, we don't know exactly how his system is set up. That being said, how exactly do "giant steam and natural gas engines from the 19th century" make (presumably electric) power more greenly than the grid providers? (unless the grid uses coal). I would be more impressed if he had his 20,000 ft^2 roof covered in a photovoltaic array, which would be good for about 9000kWh/day, or roughly 3000amps of 220V during daylit hours. (unless I did my math wrong).
I also would change the phrase "to effectively reduce his energy needs" to "to MEET his energy needs". Only efficiency or reducing his projects would reduce his energy needs.
But that's just nit-picking I suppose.
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1985 Gripen 1:47PM (9/18/2007)
I'll join-in the nitpicking: wouldn't a natural gas and steam-generated power system be worse than many other power generation systems because water vapor is an effective greenhouse gas?
Also, this is a great PR event for BMW who apparently see the press from giving away expensive cars to celebrities as worth their while for the PR points, but where exactly are Jay Leno and Will Ferrell supposed to find the hydrogen fueling stations for their cars? Leno's will likely end-up as just another piece in his collection, but I think Ferrell's will probably just be useless. Unlike a car that runs on ethanol (such as SAAB's BioPower line) the BMW Hydrogen 7 will not run on regular gasoline, will it? So it's Hydrogen or you're SOL? Nice.
BTW, standing up for Jay Leno, I think he comes off as a really nice, genuine guy, who happens to love cars and it's his passion. What's wrong with that? He's not "flaunting" his cars. People come to HIM to learn about his cars.
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1985 Gripen 1:52PM (9/18/2007)
It's too bad all these entertainers aren't enlightened enough to realize it takes more energy to extract the hydrogen from water only to add it back to water to create the electricity to drive the car than it would have taken to simply charge batteries.
Hydrogen seems like such a great idea (it's abundant and the only thing out your tailpipe is pure water!) on the face, but when you go all the way back to the source it seems VERY wasteful ("well to wheels"). Too bad people in the entertainment industry (and television news, which one can argue is the "entertainment industry") don't dig deeper into the issue.
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regguy 2:12PM (9/18/2007)
1985 Gripen
You're in need on some information.
The H7 runs on both gasoline and liquid hydrogen as a means to demonstrate the transition from few H2 stations to a good infrastructure for refueling. By comparison, a fuel cell car needs H2 exclusively, or a ready plug outlet if battery equipped. The H7s are refueled at hydrogen stations owned by BMW and located near the cars.
The H7 is loaned to the people not donated to them.
Hydrogen power IS a great idea because it removes the carbon (pollution), foreign dependence, and hydrogen can be produced by sustainable green methods. In fact, an ICE running on H2 exhausts fewer pollutants than it intakes.
It is true that hydrogen is TODAY frequently produced by means that are not "green," but just like teaching kids to recycle, turn off lights and don't waste water, the future CAN deliver "green" hydrogen. It is technically and financially feasible, but conflicts with trillions of $ in oil exploration and production.
These entertainers are well informed of these points and choose to promote the idea. Now, thanks to Jay Leno, you are informed as well.
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Mik_Cal 2:58PM (9/18/2007)
Regguy,
Actually, current clean methods to produce hydrogen are incredibly wasteful: 60-75% of renewable electricity is wasted in electrolyzing water, compressing the hydrogen and then making electricity again through a fuel cell. So neither the present nor future means of making hydrogen stack up well to rechargeable batteries and ultra-capacitors.
And, actually, change-averse oil companies are delighted with hydrogen because:
A) it gives them a (small) market for the hydrogen they make as a byproduct of refining petroleum
B) it pushes into the indefinite future the day we will not be using petroleum, thereby allowing them to sell lots of petroleum for decades.
Jay Leno is a well meaning guy who is a sucker for all kinds of technology...on the "Living with Ed" show he showed Ed Begley (with delight) an old electric generator that he was going to refurbish and run using (presumably) natural gas to generate electricity. Nothing particularly green about it...just a piece of old technology that he had collected. I believe Leno doesn't really take the green thing that seriously especially if it means turning down a shiny toy.
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Mr Sexy 3:26PM (9/18/2007)
Hydrogen ICE’s… the 8-track of the Hydrogen economy…
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regguy 4:13PM (9/18/2007)
Mik Cal,
You may want to investigate the production of hydrogen by common bacteria stimulated by low voltage, or a host of other methods showing promise.
http://www.engr.psu.edu/h2e/Research/Researcher.htm
Oil companies know that oil will run out for the US when China revs up and they expect to deliver energy products even then.
Battery power will serve a purpose but recharging during long trips and off-peak storage by power plants are better served by hydrogen.
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Mik_Cal 6:09PM (9/18/2007)
Regguy,
Yes there are labs that are trying to get hydrogen this way and that...there are also people who say that they are developing aluminum batteries with 4 times the energy density of lithium ion batteries...but I don't start to believe them until they deliver a workable prototype. To build a hydrogen economy on the whispers of experimental stage hydrogen production technology is foolish to say the least.
Your arguments sound like: "anything but electric cars" which are now emerging as a real alternative. Some people prefer the fantasy to the reality (with current limitations which are diminishing by the year).
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howard 2:36AM (9/19/2007)
Frankthecrank, you know opinions are like assholes, everybody has one only yours speaks of plain old "LACK OF KNOWLEDGE"! JAY LENO IS MARRIED AND HAS A FAMILY! YOUR IGNORANT STATEMENT REEKS OF JEALOUSY! WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU GAVE ANYTHING OF VALUE TO CHARITY! JAY GIVES OVER A MILLION A YEAR TO WORTHY CHARITIES! SO PUT A SOCK IN IT SUCKA!
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