Extreme H, hydrogen powered off road series to get FIA world status in 25

[John S]

Guess alternate fuel series are bound to be on the up as push to abate climate change intensifies.

But does it have to be monster SUVs racers powered by hydrogen?

If history tells us anything about the Automobile industry this SUV fashion craze must end in not too distant future.
Hey wonder what will come next for road vehicle trend? 

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2023/09/extreme-h-to-become-fia-world-championship-debut-delayed-to-2025/

[Jericoke]

I recently watched a video about why they don't sell small trucks in the USA.  It indirectly addresses why Americans drive monster SUVs (and pickup trucks) instead of reasonably sized cars:   CAFE.

https://youtu.be/azI3nqrHEXM?si=6k5j71W9zcuFbByE

Corporate Average Fuel Economy was created by the American EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, created by Dick Nixon of all people).  The idea was that the average fuel economy of all cars a company sells must fall under a certain number.   In the 1970s with the oil embargo, this actually led to companies  literally giving away a subcompact when you bought a land yacht just to offset the average economy.

Anyway, the fuel efficiency on a per vehicle basis is determined by a large calculation, but the car companies discovered that the 'foot print' of the car was the biggest variable they could control.  Basically, the longer and wider a car was, the more fuel it was allowed to use.  So a giant pick up truck is more 'efficient' than a subcompact, and yeah, they convinced Americans no one wants to drive a small car because it was easier to sell big ones.

So yes, SUVs are a fad, but it's one of those government mandated ones created through unintended consequences.

As for the H series vs the E series, I don't really see the point.  No one is showing up to watch the way the cars are powered.  They want to watch a race.  E might be better, H might be better, but they really do need more to differentiate the series.

[cosworth151]

Another reason Americans buy trucks & SUV's is that there are very few new cars available. The only car Ford Motor Company sells in the U.S. market is the Mustang. Chevy just has the Corvette and the soon to be gone Camaro and Malibu. Mopar's only cars, the Challenger/Charger/300 platform, is in it's last year. Other than that it's all DUV's (Dubious Utility Vehicles) and trucks.