Malcolm “Call Me Malcolm” Bricklin and I had our little chin wag this morning. As expected, the serial entrepreneur dominated the initial conversation. Less predictably, Bricklin began by bludgeoning me with Google-sourced biographical data. “I know about the Subaru [flying vagina] thing,” Bricklin pronounced. “You’ve got balls. I assume you’re not just saying all this stuff to be controversial.” After admitting his own insanity, Bricklin started recounting the entire history of the Yugo. His no-word-allowed-in-edgewise tale included the Cadillac Allante’s inhibiting effect on X1/9 production and Henry Kissinger’s contribution to the car that launched a thousand jokes. At some point, I interrupted Bricklin to ask about his latest venture: hydrogen. Turns out I got it wrong. Bricklin isn’t proposing a societal switch to hydrogen fuel. He’s got one of those 100mpg carburetor things. Only his creates “hydrogen-on-demand.”
Bricklin’s latest, perhaps last baby: a 4″ X 6″ X 8″ box that bolts onto an internal combustion engine, turns water into hydrogen and squirts it in with the gas. Bricklin claims the technology will increase ANY engine’s mileage by 50 to 100 percent. He also says Visionary Vehicles has licked the three problems that have prevented hydrogen-on-demand from being hydrogen-in-demand: overheating, blowing out the engine’s O2 sensors and corrosion of the stainless steel housing unit.
So, specifics? Nope. No demos. No names of scientists or companies who’ve worked on the device. No link to the company that’s supposedly field-tested the system. Nada. “We’ll have a car to show the public in 90 days, Bricklin promised. And that’s it.
Note: car. Not device. (Although, ever the salesman, Bricklin tried to convince me to fit my Odyssey with his “bumblebee”.)
While you and I might think that developing and licensing a miracle mpg generator would be enough work in the current economic climate, Bricklin has bigger plans. He wants to buy the output of one otherwise shuttered GM and one wanna-be defunct Chrysler plant, equip their vehicles with his hydrogen-on-demand system, tweak ’em a bit, and sell them to GM and Chrysler dealers as a “Visionary GM” and “Visionary Chrysler” products. “Like a Shelby Cobra,” Bricklin suggests.
Details, schmetails. Bricklin couldn’t care less which automotive models get the gizmo and wear the company badge. “I’ll let the dealers decide,” he insists.
Meanwhile and in any case, he’s got his eyes on the prize: the $25 billion Department of Energy retooling loans. You know, the loans for building more fuel efficient vehicles that were, at one time, the be all end all of the feds’ Motown meltdown bailout billions. Bricklin reckons the DOE money will pave the way for his visionary Visionary Vehicles.
Mind you, that doesn’t make Bricklin a bailout booster. When I tell him about the Small Business Administration’s new dealer floorplanning guarantees, the automotive Maverick goes ballistic.
“Holy Crap! How the hell did we ever come to this?” Bricklin demands, rhetorically. “All this bailout money is crazy. I never thought this would happen. Never.”
Nor, apparently, did Bricklin foresee that China’s Chery would screw him on his deal to import inexpensive, Chinese made plug-in hybrid electric vehicles into the US market. “We had $200 million set aside for the project,” Bricklin says. “We were all set to import the cars by ’07. Then Chery went around us and cut a deal with Chrysler for $275 million. I guess that didn’t work out so well.”
On the other hand, “This complete stupidity is the only reason something like my hydrogen-on-demand system will ever be considered.”
Clearly, Bricklin likes to believe that everything happens for a reason. His current media campaign reflects this philosophy. He wants the world to consider his abortive, eponymous Canadian car factory and his recent Chinese misadventure as pre-ordained events, preparing him for this, his life’s crowning achievement. He really believes he can fix the “aura of a scam” surrounding hydrogen-on-demand devices (not to mention the devices themselves) and realize the country’s fuel-saving dreams.
“We already have a working prototype,” Bricklin asserts. “We’ve got it down to the size of a coffee cup.”
Bricklin also thinks the timing is right. “It’s easier to start a car company these days. With the majors on the ropes and the technology changing. Companies like Tesla and Fisker are going to be around for a long time.”
With Malcolm Bricklin’s history of ups and (a lot of) downs, the septuagenarian’s indefatigable spirit comes as no surprise. What I’d like to know is what lies beneath Bricklin’s irrepressible dreams of brand building. Is ego all, or is Malcolm Bricklin honestly trying to make the world a better place? If so, well, good luck with that.
RF, Isn’t Bricklin entertaining?
So his device will use energy from the engine to split water into hydrogen and oxygen then inject the hydrogen back into the engine for a net energy gain? Mr. Bricklin, in this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!
Oh god, not this crap again.
It takes energy to extract hydrogen from water.
You then take that hydrogen and feed it into an internal combustion engine to produce energy.
The problem is, it takes more energy to extract the hydrogen than you get from burning it.
Yeah, Malcolm, good luck with that.
ya, always keeping an open mind re. the H power but as Carl Sagan said, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
Sucks not being able to get a word in edgewise…
If you combine this Hydrogen hunkwunka this with the Tornado thingydingy you’ll probably get 683mpg out of an H2.
Wasn’t a hydrogen-generator-on-ICE scam like this the topic of a recent Dateline NBC expose?
So his device will use energy from the engine to split water into hydrogen and oxygen then inject the hydrogen back into the engine for a net energy gain? Mr. Bricklin, in this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!
At least 60% of the energy in gasoline is lost as heat in an ICE. If he can somehow recapture this energy to do his electrolysis then no laws have been violated. Turbochargers use the wasted energy of expanding gases to pump fuel at higher pressure into the engine, and the universe has not vanished into a division-by-zero dot yet.
But I think his gizmo is probably 99% B/S.
Did you ask him what he’s been smoking these past forty years? I want some of it.
I’d love to hear/read the transcript. Are you going to be publishing a transcript or a podcast?
Paul Niedermeyer :
May 29th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Did you ask him what he’s been smoking these past forty years? I want some of it.
I take it you don’t work for a company that piss tests? ;)
Subtract the hydogen boondoggle from his plans and it starts to make sense. Seems like it could work in another form.
Why does it seem that these incredibly fuel efficient technologies never become available? The 100 mpg carbeuretor, for example, was never sold at any outlet, at least not by my knowledge. Water injection seems like something that would be available in production cars if it actually worked, and so goes Bricklin’s new hydrogen idea. If it’s for real, and it works, let’s see it. Get your patent, and make it available, or at least show it to us! People would line up down the block to buy it if it works!
superbadd75 :
May 29th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Why does it seem that these incredibly fuel efficient technologies never become available? The 100 mpg carbeuretor, for example, was never sold at any outlet, at least not by my knowledge. Water injection seems like something that would be available in production cars if it actually worked, and so goes Bricklin’s new hydrogen idea. If it’s for real, and it works, let’s see it. Get your patent, and make it available, or at least show it to us! People would line up down the block to buy it if it works!
That’s because the evil oil companies buy up those inventions and never let them go! LOL
Hydrogen on demand? Robert, are you sure you heard right? I mean I could understand methane on demand. Even my body can produce methane on demand – though a little bit unpredictable demand. Actually, that’s not a bad idea – to power cars using methane. A pound of cheese and a bag of pears could potentially supply enough gas to cross the continent.
Bricklin knows his history. Specifically, Pogue’s miracle carburettor. The next step is to show some “demos”, then take the money and disappear. When everyone is left scratching their heads, the optimistic will forever remember him as a hero who was silenced by big oil. The intelligent will know it was a fraud all along.
The First Law of Thermodynamics: You can’t win.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics: You can’t break even.
The Third Law of Thermodynamics: You can’t even come close.
The Mythbusters already tired similar devices. Results = BUSTED! Next in line please.
Now, now, everyone. Be fair to Malcom by buying this and seeing for yourself that this is all true!
http://www.hydrogen-first-aid.com/index.html
Meanwhile and in any case, he’s got his eyes on the prize: the $25b Department of Energy retooling loans. You know, the loans for building more fuel efficient vehicles that were, at one time, the be all end all of the feds’ Motown meltdown bailout billions. Bricklin reckons the DOE money will pave the way for his visionary Visionary Vehicles.
Malcolm doesn’t have to make it work now… and in fact he doesn’t want it to work – just “maybe work”. Seriously, he only has to have it seem plausible enough to convince the Democratic Administration to toss some millions for “research” his way.
Perhaps he’s having fond memories of the last all Democratic Administration (which interestingly enough was during the last big recession and oil shortage)= the Jimmy Carter years. If I recall correctly, that’s when the windmill/solar panel/corn oil scams started…. which 20 years later, combined all together make less than 1 percent of our energy.
So he’s only going to ask for Washington chump-change – 20 million or so, and then skim off only 3M or 4M for himself. Malcolm’s old; that will last him comfortably for his remaining years. The rest will go into a beautiful new lab employing young and gullible AMERICAN (Malcolm will certainly wave that flag) researchers who will give up in frustration and confusion about six months after Malcolm’s death.
You know this is sounding so good, I might try it myself. Hmmm the hydrogen thing is taken, but maybe the magnetically charged gasoline particle thing is still available :-)
I’d love to hear/read the transcript. Are you going to be publishing a transcript or a podcast?
Ditto! I’d love to hear/read the whole thing, Yugos, Kissinger and all. — Aaron
sitting@home, turbochargers DO NOT use the wasted energy of expanding gases to pump fuel at higher pressure into the engine; turbos pump AIR at higher pressure into the engine, and the ECU compensates by telling the fuel injectors to give more gas.
I am from New Brunswick. The Province in Canada where the ill fated Bricklin SV-1 was assembled.
I was a kid, it looked cool, so we thought it was neat that cools sporty car was built in our province. All in all it seemed reasonable to me then.
But why it seemed reasonable to adults of the time or any of his other ventures have since is beyond me.
He is kind of like the Ed Wood of automobiles.
moedeman: I take it you don’t work for a company that (does) piss tests? ;)
TTAC? God no!! You have to be warped to work here.
what was Henry Kissinger’s contribution to the Yugo?
Yes, we can!
Richard Chen: Yes, I think it is the same BS device as the “Dateline” expose.
Bytor: “The Ed Wood Of Automobiles”. That’s funny.
Especially since they don’t have Liz Carmichael to kick around any more.
Do a Google search on “Brown’s Gas” for more on that water into fuel thing. You can even buy your own plans and a kit. http://www.brownsgas.com
Yuppie, maybe I wasn’t exactly clear. By “fuel” I meant the air-fuel combustion mix.
My point was that a turbo uses exhaust heat that is normally wasted (from wikipedia: “The turbine converts heat to rotational force, which is in turn used to drive the compressor.”). Using heat like this doesn’t violate any law of thermodynamics because there’s plenty going to waste. If instead of attaching a compressor to the turbine they attached an electrical generator which then performed the electrolysis then there’s no free energy, just lest wasted energy.
P T Barnum reincarnate.
The solution to the new CAFE standards in “a 4″ X 6″ X 8″ box”?
I know a couple of car companies that need that Malcolm – Call the White House, they’ll give you the phone numbers.
There’s a movement afoot to explain around the Thermodynamic Law thingie – that adding a small amount of hydrogen to the fuel-air mixture “enhances” the combustion process, thus not requiring large amounts of H2.
Although in Bizarro (Quantum) World, where cold fusion still has a chance to work, anything is possible, as not all quantum effects are known – you just have to get rid of those pesky electrons and ram positively-charged nuclei together in a confining matrix. Or find antiprotons in that box.
A fool and his $ are soon parted….