::Griffblog::

I’ve long been interested in alternative fuel solutions for vehicles.  Good as LPG was at reducing running costs, it was never a truly practical alternative with the bulky and inconvenient tanks, the need to start on petrol and switch over to LPG on some systems and the scarcity of LPG equipped stations.

Electrically driven vehicles powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells, with their only by products being electricity and clean water, seem to be the perfect solution.  But they are still some way off being a practical option.  The necessary infrastructure to supply hydrogen and the difficulty in actually producing it in the first place mean there a still some large hurdles to overcome.

Continue reading…

The time has come for us to choose a new family car.  Our current Mercedes Cabriolet which we’ve had for 5 years is proving very thirsty as it’s primarily used for school runs and short trips into town.

Being a 3.2 litre V6 Auto this is the worst possible driving cycle and we’re now seeing MPG figures in the late teens and if lucky, early 20’s which makes it very expensive and gives us about 270 miles from a full tank.

Last year we were a two car family. But my Discovery, being rather impractical, was being used less and less.  Though I loved that car, it’s 4-litre V8 Auto would struggle to pass 16MPG even if driven very carefully.  This was mainly due to the kit that it had fitted, it was an ex-G4 Challenge competitor vehicle complete with full rack, snorkel, front winch and under body armour which all weighed it down.

Continue reading…