Skip to content

November 16th: Green Cars at the LA Auto Show

2007-11-17 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Science & nature · documentary visit

Hank tours the green cars at the Los Angeles Auto Show, praising fuel cell and hybrid efforts, mocking token gestures and big SUVs, and lamenting that the Chevy Volt was taken off display.

What is said

00:00:00 — Good-morning greetings from many cars; welcome to the LA Auto Show; Toyota hydrogen fuel cell car driven from Alaska

  • ★★ Hank says Toyota drove a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle from Alaska to the US, carrying a big hydrogen tank because there are no hydrogen pumps on the way. — 00:00:00 · United States
  • ★ Hank says Canada allows driving around with big tanks of hydrogen, unlike the US. — 00:00:39 · Canada, United States
  • ★★ Hank says the Toyota fuel cell car gets about 300 miles on a tank of hydrogen. — 00:00:39

00:00:39 — Tour of green cars: Toyota Yaris and Sequoia, Ford, Honda FCX Clarity, GM Equinox fuel cell, VW space up! blue, Lexus, Mercedes diesel hybrid, electric cars

  • ★★ Hank calls the new Toyota Yaris a viable choice for a nerdfighter who is not extremely wealthy. — 00:00:39 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ Hank finds Toyota disappointing at the show, mostly unveiling its gigantic SUV (the Sequoia) at what was supposed to be a green car show. (playful) — 00:00:39
  • ★★ Hank mocks Ford's environmental announcements: a display wall of recycled paper while its steel cars get poor mileage. (playful) — 00:01:08
  • ★★ Hank says Ford's main environmental initiative is a hybrid SUV with good mileage that will soon be one of the only taxis allowed to serve New York City. — 00:01:08 · New York City
  • ★★ Hank says Honda spent about 10 years and about a billion dollars developing the FCX Clarity fuel cell car. — 00:01:08
  • ★★ Hank says GM's fuel cell car, a fuel cell in a Chevy Equinox body, will be the first fuel cell car on the roads in California, New York and DC. — 00:01:37
  • ★★ Hank reports Volkswagen's claim that the fuel cell technology in its space up! blue is more efficient and cheaper to produce than Honda's and GM's. — 00:01:37
  • ★ Hank says the Lexus hybrid gives you what a Honda Civic does, only for much more money. (playful) — 00:02:07
  • ★★ Hank says Mercedes developed a diesel engine that burns fuel at about the efficiency of a hybrid car, and has also combined it with a hybrid. — 00:02:07

00:03:00 — The missing Chevy Volt; being a green geek at an auto show and not being afraid to get excited

  • ★★★ Hank is frustrated that the Chevy Volt has been removed from display; the smart car is fuel-efficient, but he says the Volt has the technology of the future. — 00:03:00
  • ★★ Hank hopes the Volt's disappearance from the show is not a sign of things to come. (hedged) — 00:03:00
  • ★★ Hank thinks it is important for him not to be afraid to get excited at events like the auto show, because they are exciting. (hedged) — 00:03:00

00:03:29 — Leaving LA for Montana; congratulations on John's Inky award; no scavenger hunt clue today; cut-off ending

  • ★ Hank leaves Los Angeles to go back to Montana, "where I belong". — 00:03:29 · Montana, Los Angeles
  • ★★ Hank congratulates John on his Australian Inky Award. — 00:03:29 · John Green
  • ★★ Hank apologises that there is no scavenger hunt clue today. — 00:03:29 · Nerdfighter Scavenger Hunt
  • ★★ The description says Hank is abducted at the end of the video and, in the abductor's voice, orders viewers to obey if they want to see him again. (fiction) — 00:03:29 · Hank Green

Humor (significant)

  • Hank opens with a string of "Good morning, John" greetings from different cars at the show. — 00:00:00 > «This side view mirror is bigger than my head.»
  • Toyota mostly shows its gigantic SUV at a show billed as green. — 00:00:39 > «Apparently they didn't get the memo that this is supposed to be the green car auto show»
  • Ford's environmental announcement is a wall made of recycled paper. — 00:01:08 > «Their cars are made of steel and don't get very many miles per gallon.»
  • Mercedes has combined its efficient diesel engine with a hybrid. — 00:02:07 > «which will probably cost you about as much as college.»

Threads in this video

BR2_5ff9183bed