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.