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Toyota to Lease Hydrogen Cars to California U’s

Toyota Motor Corp. said two California universities are its first U.S. customers for hydrogen fuel-cell autos as the company seeks to establish its low-pollution technology as an industry standard.

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The world’s No. 3 automaker will lease one modified version of the Highlander sport-utility model to the University of California, Irvine, and another to the University of California, Davis. The universities will each pay $10,000 a month on a 30-month lease.

Toyota and rival automakers are racing to offer fuel-cell technology in anticipation of tighter environmental rules. Fuel cells, used in spacecraft for decades, create electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, and under ideal conditions produce only steam as a byproduct. High costs and a lack of hydrogen-fueling stations limit current prospects for the technology.

"Bringing practical fuel-cell powered vehicles to the mass market will require a considerable investment of time, resources, cooperation and patience," Jim Press, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Toyota’s U.S. sales unit, said in a statement. "This program marks a significant first step."

Last month Honda Motor Co. announced plans to lease five fuel-cell cars to Los Angeles, with one to be delivered this year and four in 2003. The company hasn’t disclosed when the first model is to be delivered to the city or lease terms.

General Motors Corp., the world’s largest automaker, is also investing in the technology and has said it expects to be first to sell 100,000 annually as early as 2010.

http://www.sltrib.com/11192002/business/17978.htm

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