From RVbookstore.com
It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's an Airstream car!
Ford has joined with Airstream to further expand its lineup of expressive crossover vehicles with the Ford Airstream Concept.
The concept, first debuted in early 2007, is powered by a plug-in hydrogen hybrid fuel cell drivetrain called HySeries Drive that operates under electric power at all times. This advanced fuel cell system is half the weight and cost of today's fuel cells and can operate in the dead of winter. That's a major step forward because today's fuel cells don’t do well when the mercury dips below freezing.
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OF THE AIRSTREAM CONCEPT
Both Ford and Airstream are influenced by economic and demographic trends -- chiefly baby boomers approaching retirement age. These consumers are starting to downsize their lives and their vehicles, opting for more nimble and fuel-efficient models. With their children leaving home and some retiring, they also have more time for travel.
For Ford, that trend -- plus younger couples starting families later -- is fueling a shift to crossover vehicles. The crossover segment, Ford reports, is expected to hit three million units by the end of the decade, making it potentially the largest U.S. vehicle segment.
For Airstream, these demographic changes are meaningful as well. RV ownership is highest among retirement-age consumers, and by the end of the decade, 50- to 64-year-old consumers will tally 57 million -- a 38 percent increase versus 2000, according to University of Michigan studies. And the number of RV-owning households is expected to grow to 8.5 million during the same period.
Growing Ford's crossover share means breaking through the competitive and fragmenting segment, and the company is leveraging bold designs to win customers. The concept's bold, futuristic front-end explores a new look for Ford, encapsulating the single-surface grille and headlamps into the same graphic. Each of the concept’s bold orange-trimmed window graphics is a unique shape.
Its doors are asymmetric as well, allowing for easy loading of passengers and cargo. In addition to the driver’s side hatch, the passenger side features a power clamshell door that runs two-thirds the length of the vehicle. A three-door hatch finishes the rear of the crossover.
The Ford Airstream Concept features a floating instrument panel with flush-mounted, touch-sensitive controls and a multi-function single gauge display provides the driver all primary information.
A Sharp dual-view screen centrally mounted on the instrument panel provides a camera view and secondary driver-oriented information, while allowing the front-seat passenger to view DVDs and post mobile blogs. The driver and front-seat passenger will navigate in style in modern, pod-shaped swiveling captain’s chairs that also rotate so they can easily socialize.
In the rear, lounge-like seating is sculptural, creating a continuous cocoon-like environment wrapped in bold red B&B Italia fabric. The focal point of the rear seating area is a 360-degree screen for entertainment and games. The unique screen also creates ambient mood settings, including a modern lava lamp and virtual fire, as well as a live camera feed.
The new HySeries Drive plug-in hydrogen fuel cell featured in the Ford Airstream Concept is more than a concept.
This powertrain is already on the road and driving in a Ford Edge prototype. Ford scientists and engineers created this vehicle with partial funding from the United States Department of Energy. The HySeries Drive delivers the combined city/highway equivalent fuel economy of 41 miles per gallon.
In this application, the fuel cell's sole function is to recharge the vehicle's lithium-ion battery pack as needed. This allows it to work like a portable generator, instead of an engine, as had been the case in previous Ford fuel cell vehicles.
The new fuel cell, supplied by Ford partner Ballard, operates in a steady state, allowing a significantly smaller, less expensive fuel cell and drastically improving the durability of the fuel cell. With this system, the fuel cell delivers the power needed to recharge the lithium-ion batteries, rather than to be the primary power source to drive the wheels, as in a typical fuel cell-powered vehicle.
In pure electric mode, the Ford Airstream Concept can travel 25 miles before the fuel cell begins operating to recharge the vehicle's 336-volt lithium-ion battery pack. With the hydrogen-powered fuel cell, the range increases another 280 miles for a total of 305 miles.
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