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The advertising this summer is focused on electric cars. The Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt and agnate models assume like the next footfall in the change of the auto – and the aboriginal austere blackmail to Toyota’s aura as the greenest automaker. But Toyota has a plan to accost pole position in the blooming car race, and it depends on a new fuel: hydrogen.

Edmunds Inside Line reports, “Toyota has arise that it has ample out how to cut the bulk of hydrogen fuel-cell cars by 90 percent in the accomplished several years — acceptation it can advertise a hydrogen-powered car for about $50,000 starting at mid-decade.” Toyota Managing Director Yoshiko Masuda told a affair of the National Hydrogen Association endure anniversary that “the aboriginal hydrogen-powered Toyota will be a auto that has the aforementioned active ambit as a commensurable gasoline-powered car,” with a ambition bulk tag of $50K.

Earlier estimates, Bloomberg notes, “ran as top as $1 actor a car” for hydrogen prototypes. Honda and BMW acquire put a scattering of alive hydrogen prototypes into the easily of U.S. customers, with the Honda FCX Clarity and BMW Hydrogen 7. But neither automaker has been able to bulk out how to aftermath the cars at a profit. Masuda told admirers at the meeting, “Our ambition is, we don’t lose money with addition of the vehicle.”

Hydrogen could be the ultimate ecology fuel. While abounding accede electric cars an important footfall to abbreviation our assurance on ever-shrinking petroleum supplies, electricity isn’t necessarily the greenest antecedent of fuel. Much of America’s electricity, afterwards all, comes from deposit ammunition sources – so while the car may assume to aftermath little pollution, that’s alone because electric ability bulb that answerable it seems distant. Bloomberg notes, “The alone bankrupt from [hydrogen-powered] cars is baptize vapor.” California Governor Arnold Scwarzenegger told the affair that Hydrogen “is the a lot of abounding aspect in the universe, and we can acquire it forever.”

There are cogent hurdles, still, to authoritative Hydrogen practical. An basement of fueling stations to acquiesce drivers to refill, for instance, doesn’t exist. That’s allotment of what makes Autoblog skeptical. “Even if Toyota can be assisting at the $50,000 price, there are still added issues to be anxious with such as the actuality that the Nissan Leaf will advertise for bisected that bulk and $50k is a heck of a lot of chef to absorb on ambiguous technology,” they note. “Will buyers be accommodating to bottom this added cost? We don’t anticipate so, but we should acquisition out in a few years.”

But not anybody in the automotive columnist expects the activity to fail. Edmunds speculates, “In the aforementioned way as the claimed computer, it wouldn’t be hasty to see this technology alpha out acutely big-ticket and rare, and plan its way to acceptable all-over and affordable.”

If you’re in the bazaar for a new car, analysis out the U.S. Account rankings of this year’s best cars as able-bodied as this month’s best car deals.