Sumthin' for Nuthin'

No really. I've confirmed this. You can park your Mercedes F-Cell at LAX for FREEEEEEEEEE!

We've all known about Nissan Leaves and Tesla Roadsters parking for free at LAX because they are electric cars that need to be charged, but how about us hydrogen fuel cell types?  I was never really able to confirm this one way or another, especially because our cars don't ever need a charge.  But neither does the Hybrid Chevy Volt and it somehow gets to park for free under this rule, so I figured I had a pretty good argument if the parking attendants gave me any crap.  So I parked for a quick three day trip and after returning, I got in my car and slowly pulled up to the ticket booth.  I smugly stated "I'm one of those weirdos in an Electric Car!"  The attendant looked at me, looked at the car, looked back at me and asked "100% Electric?"  You Betcha!

I can gladly report that we hydrogen fuel cell cars can park for free.  Here are some tips, however, to expedite the process, as it is a process to parking at LAX for free:

1) You are only allowed to park in structure #1 and #6.  Or more technically, you must exit the structure at #1 or #6, meaning, for example, that lot #5 and #6 are connected, so I don't see why you couldn't actually park in lot #5 and proceed to the exit at #6.

2) You don't have to actually park in the designated spots for electric cars; you can park anywhere in lot #1 or #6.  I saw many Nissan Leaves parked all about in structure #6.  I suppose if you want to be smug and show off your hydrogen fuel cell car to all those poor saps who need to recharge, by all means park close by the electric charging parking spaces.  But I think proper etiquette would dictate that fuel cell cars don't actually occupy the spaces needed by these poor saps in Leaves who need to connect to an actual plug.

3) You can park up to 30 days in the lot.  At $30 a day, that is a $900 value! Though I would argue that if you do need to actually go on a trip for that long, let someone else drive your F-Cell, cuz miles not spent driving is hydrogen wasted, seeing how our lease allows for all the fuel we can drink, up to 15,000 miles per year.

4) When exiting the lot, I suggest preparing in advance a sheet of paper with the following information printed on it, because there is no "system" they can enter you into to speed up the exit process.  They need a) your name  b) your phone number  c) your make and model of car  d) your license plate number.  If you print this out and cut small cards you can hand them, it will save them time from actually having to look at your drivers license and walking out to look at your car's license plate.  They do this each and every time to each and every electric car that tries to exit.  People behind you start to get pissed and you get that feeling similar to not having any change on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Not just for the free parking, but I love this parking perk more for the fact that I no longer have to use cabs getting to and from my home near Marina del Rey.  Cabbies used to get pissed for such a short fare out of LAX and even more irate when I tried paying with a credit card.  But no more do I need to be annoyed by such trivial issues, as my F-Cell will be waiting for me front and center at LAX, welcoming me home like a trusty dog.

The City that is Culver

While I've been authorized to use the Culver City hydrogen refuel station for some time, I haven't really been to it very much even though my home is only a few miles away. I've usually stuck to the Torrance Shell station on 190th right off the 405 because it's along my daily commute to and from work.  I've used Culver City once before and that was for the initial training for that facility.

There are a few shortcomings with the station in Culver City in my humble opinion.  First, it seems like it's constantly out of service for one reason or another.  I can't rely on it, fearing that one day, I'll put up on vapors only see that it's down.  They closed it for weeks during the early summer for some updates, so I had to live without it for so long, having it there now just doesn't seem like a necessity anymore.  In addition, the station does not allow for a full fill-up, which cuts my fuel range by around 20 miles.  Now, that might not seem like much, but when your actual range on the F-Cell is looking around 170 miles on average, that's almost a 12% decrease in the total range, just by switching stations.  And seeing how I'm down in Torrance anyways, I'm not losing anything by driving down there.

The interface with the computer is also a bit more antiquated and involved at Culver City.  The transaction is more akin to an ATM withdrawal than pumping gas.  You have to wake up the screen, enter user names, passwords, pick the type of car you want to fill up, your mother's maiden name (OK, I jest about the maiden name).

Then there's the overall "atmosphere" of the station.  The Torrance facility looks no different than a normal gas station, with the exception of no quickie convenience mart (or a squeegie to wipe down the windows; hint hint).  The Culver City station is sandwiched behind a regular gas station, off a back alley facing a great retaining wall that holds up the 405 freeway.  You have to enter through a big automated security fence, which i'm not quite sure if it's designed to keep people out or to keep people in.  The overall facility looks more like a place one would fill up a BBQ propane tank than gas up your car.  There's no overhead awning so when it rains, and it occasionally does now in LA because of Al Gore, you're gonna be hating life.

It's just not a very user friendly facility and I use Culver City only when I have to, like on the weekends when I don't feel like schlepping all the way to Torrance.  Granted, it's an older facility compared to the ones popping up like mushrooms in Burbank, Harbor City and Newport Beach, and hopefully they will update it to be more "consumer" friendly in the future.  

Get the Volt Outta Here!

It's all about semantics but what is an Electric Car?  I ask this because I saw something today while eating lunch that raised this question.

I suppose this is open to interpretation and discussion, but I argue that the Chevy Volt, for all its hype, is in fact a Hybrid, and is no different in principle than a Toyota Prius.  And therefore, should not qualify to be treated on the same playing field as say a 100% electric car like the Nissan Leaf.

Today up in Malibu, I noticed a parking spot with an electric charging port front and center in a parking lot.  In it was a Hybrid Chevy Volt.  The Volt runs on both electricity as well as gasoline.  When the electric power runs out, the gasoline engine kicks in and produces electricity like a generator, recharging the batteries.  In addition, and I point out that General Motors has been very quiet about this, that same gasoline engine kicks in at higher speeds, delivering power to the drive wheels.  This mere fact makes the Chevy Volt a Hybrid car that switches power back and forth from electricity to gasoline, just like a normal Prius.  So why, I ask, is a Hybrid allowed to park in a parking space reserved for a pure electric car? 

As stated earlier, the Mercedes F-Cell doesn't need to be recharged as it creates electricity on board using hydrogen.  And I would never park in such a spot because a real electric battery powered car, with its need to be constantly recharged, has a greater pragmatic necessity for this plug.  Yet based on the mere fact that this silly Volt hybrid CAN ELECT to be recharged if it wants to, it is "allowed" to park in a space reserved for pure electric cars. If I was the driver of a Nissan Leaf or a Tesla Roadster, which are both bona fide 100% electric vehicles, I would be irate if I found this Volt sitting in my space, especially if I needed a recharge.  The hybrid Volt can get home so long as it's got gas to burn, but the Leaf is dependent upon electric charges. 

Volt drivers need to get over themselves and understand that they drive a plug in hybrid.  When you're at home or at your office and you have a dedicated plug in facility specific to your own car, plug away!  But when you're in a public space, leave these spaces for REAL electric cars that depend on them for mere survival.  Volt drivers need to learn this etiquette, something that I hope my fellow F-Cell and other Fuel Cell drivers also respect.  Part of the advantage of Fuel Cell technology means we don't have to plug in, and we should respect those poor bastards that do ;)