Toyota Brags Of Guinness Record For Mirai, But Owners Still Suffer
Toyota is the world's largest carmaker. They also have great advertisements for their products. I am a Toyota fan, no doubt about it, but one thing they did recently is really bothering me, and I have every right to cringe at the announcement.
If you have not seen any of my previous articles on the Fuel Cell Mirai, I highly suggest giving them a read. I think that fuel cell technology is impressive. It solves so many problems in our world, with air pollution, refueling times, and my favorite, a solid, quiet ride.
Fuel cell cars are a great idea. In fact, in their recent announcement, Toyota makes Mirai look like the bee's knees, but what is their end game here? Here is what Toyota is saying about Mirai fuel cell cars and why it is a dirty trick.
Guinness World Record Fuel Cell Blunder
When you hear the words World Record, what do you think? I know for me I think of an amazing feat of strength, or maybe something that seemed impossible finally happened.
What if the world record was used as a marketing ploy to cover up a major underlying problem with technology? By that, Toyota recently stated that the Mirai set a world record of 845 miles. I am not one to downplay that feat; it is incredible.
845 miles on a hydrogen tank really is mind-blowing, no doubt, but I have a problem with all of this. Why are loads of Mirai owners constantly without hydrogen? Why is Toyota focusing on how far a distance they can go instead of fixing the infrastructure problem?
This Guinness World Record is really cool; it just seems like Toyota is trying to cover up the constant station failures.
It's like getting a Noble Peace Prize, but there are still starving children all over Africa that need help, hence why I say this is more a blunder than an achievement.
Conclusion
Again, I love Toyota products; I own and drive them all the time, I do not see myself deviating from the brand. However, my question to Toyota is this. If you know the product works, why are you not fixing the refueling problem to incentivize more people to purchase?
Maybe I do not understand marketing, or perhaps I am just some guy who sees this differently. However you slice it, Toyota and any other company with hydrogen tech on the road need to band together and get the infrastructure in place now. Even more so, fix the issues at the current stations.
Look at the Tesla supercharger network; it has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 10 years. Granted, EV stations are less expensive to install, but did Elon have an excuse? Nope, he made it happen. Toyota is a larger company by a large margin, and they have the money to do anything they want.
I want to own a Mirai. I have spent considerable time with this tech and know it's impressive; I do not need to be sold on the idea. We just need it to work, and I am disappointed with how good Toyota usually does with everything else, why this has blemished that reputation.
That is all for today. Remember Today's Adventure is Tomorrow's Story.
How to get your repair shop to zero out your repair bill with this one tip.
Check out this wild new battery tech that Tesla has and why it will forever change the auto industry.
Also, watch Toyota suddenly bringing its BZ4X electric SUV concept to United States on Torque News Youtube channel and please subscribe us on Youtube and follow on Twitter for daily Toyota and EV news reports.
Peter Neilson is an automotive consultant specializing in electric cars and hybrid battery technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Service Technology from Weber State University. Peter can be reached on Linkedin and you can tweet him at The_hybrid_guy on Twitter. Find his page on Facebook at Certified Auto Consulting. Read more of Peter's stories at Toyota news coverage on Torque News. Search Toyota Prius Torque News for more in depth Prius coverage from our reporter.