Much like Ford, Airstream began with one man's dream. In 1931, Wally Byam began leveraging aircraft-construction methods to make trailers aimed at feeding Americans' surging desire to travel. Ford and Airstream have teamed up to deliver a futuristic crossover concept, showing what tomorrow's road trip vehicles could look like.
This vehicle - a sort of cross between a conversion van, a space capsule and a mirror – was unveiled at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. This totally tricked-out vehicle concept is powered by a HySeries Drive powertrain. The HySeries Drive is battery-powered, with plug-in capability and has a hydrogen fuel cell as an on-board charger. Ford estimates a combined city/highway gasoline equivalent fuel economy rating of 41 mpg. On all-electric power, the Airstream concept can go 25 miles. Add some hydrogen, and you can go another 280 miles. The fuel cell, made by Ballard, turns on automatically when the battery charge dips below 40 percent. With the on-board charger (110/220 VAC), the battery pack can be refilled at home. Ford says the HySeries Drive is 50 percent smaller and less complex than conventional fuel cell system and should have more than double the lifetime.
The Airstream concept is full of high-tech gadgets, like a 360-degree screen that come down from the ceiling and is viewable from all the seats in the car. Ford says, "Passengers can use the screen to watch DVDs, view the feed from the special camera that's custom-made for the concept vehicle and play vintage video games. Also, the 360-degree screen helps create different moods with ambient settings including a modern lava lamp, virtual fire and ice crystals. There is built-in blogging from the Airstream concept via a Sharp dual-view screen in the center of the instrument panel. Both the driver and front-seat occupant can also see views from the onboard camera. (autoblog.com)
This vehicle - a sort of cross between a conversion van, a space capsule and a mirror – was unveiled at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. This totally tricked-out vehicle concept is powered by a HySeries Drive powertrain. The HySeries Drive is battery-powered, with plug-in capability and has a hydrogen fuel cell as an on-board charger. Ford estimates a combined city/highway gasoline equivalent fuel economy rating of 41 mpg. On all-electric power, the Airstream concept can go 25 miles. Add some hydrogen, and you can go another 280 miles. The fuel cell, made by Ballard, turns on automatically when the battery charge dips below 40 percent. With the on-board charger (110/220 VAC), the battery pack can be refilled at home. Ford says the HySeries Drive is 50 percent smaller and less complex than conventional fuel cell system and should have more than double the lifetime.
The Airstream concept is full of high-tech gadgets, like a 360-degree screen that come down from the ceiling and is viewable from all the seats in the car. Ford says, "Passengers can use the screen to watch DVDs, view the feed from the special camera that's custom-made for the concept vehicle and play vintage video games. Also, the 360-degree screen helps create different moods with ambient settings including a modern lava lamp, virtual fire and ice crystals. There is built-in blogging from the Airstream concept via a Sharp dual-view screen in the center of the instrument panel. Both the driver and front-seat occupant can also see views from the onboard camera. (autoblog.com)
Traditional Airstream Trailers
(Photos from autoblog.com, autowp.ru & commons.wikimedia.org)