DaimlerChrysler's NECAR 5 Completes First Ever Fuel-Cell Cross Country Trip Upon Arrival in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, June 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- What do a 1903 Winton Touring Car, the Spirit of St. Louis and a DaimlerChrysler NECAR 5 fuel cell vehicle have in common? Two of them are on display in national museums in Washington, D.C., but all three conquered landmark endurance challenges that signaled entirely new transportation possibilities to come.

May 20-June 4, 2002 - DaimlerChrysler's NECAR 5 drove from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. on the first ever attempt to drive a fuel cell vehicle across the country. The historic journey will be complete today at 11:30 a.m. when the vehicle crosses the East Coast finish line at Peace Circle, at the West front of the Capitol near the Reflecting Pool, where they will be welcomed by Senate Auto Caucus Chairmen Carl Levin of Michigan and George Voinovich of Ohio. The vehicle will then be displayed between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. at the East front of the Capitol, at the foot of the Senate steps. May 20-21, 1927 - Charles Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis from Long Island to Paris, on the first successful non-stop, solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean May 23-July 26, 1903 - A Winton Touring Car drove from San Francisco to New York City to become the first automobile to be driven across the United States This cross-country trip was the first attempt ever to drive a fuel cell car as far as 3,000 miles or more. The longest trip DaimlerChrysler has previously embarked upon with a fuel cell powered vehicle was a 600-mile trip in California in 2001. "Our goal was to make it to Washington, D.C. to deliver the message that fuel cell technology is rapidly advancing. Whether we made it or not, it is critical for the development of fuel cell technology to try," said Dr. Ferdinand Panik, head of DaimlerChrysler's fuel cell project group and outgoing chairman of the California Fuel Cell Partnership.

1903 Vs. 2002: A History of Transcontinental Drives

In May of 1903, Dr. H. Nelson Jackson and Newall K. Crocker left San Francisco in a 1903 Winton Touring Car, a 1 cylinder, 20 horsepower car that averaged 3.61 miles per hour and was outfitted with a spare tire, extra spark plugs, a set of engine screws, several tools, and some cooking and camping gear. Along their 5,000-6,000 mile route, they endured 19 days of down time due to lost front-wheel bearings, two broken connecting rods, a snapped axle and an empty gas tank, arriving in New York after a journey of 63 days, 12 hours and 30 minutes.

Exactly 99 years later in 2002, DaimlerChrysler's NECAR 5 left San Francisco on May 20 and arrived in Washington, D.C. on June 4, completing the first-ever coast-to-coast drive by a fuel cell powered vehicle in just 16 days. In contrast to the Winton's two-man crew and its quaint furnishings, a crack team of DaimlerChrysler engineers drove the NECAR 5 across the country, accompanied by two Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUVs and a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van and guided by a satellite GPS system. Laptop computers and cell phones were utilized to pass on key trip info and data back to colleagues in California, Michigan, Washington, D.C. and Stuttgart, Germany. The methanol that provided hydrogen for the NECAR 5 fuel cell was delivered in advance to different points along the 3,000-mile route to allow for refueling every 300 miles.

"We think it is fitting for NECAR 5 to achieve this major milestone on the anniversary of the first drive across America," said Dr. Ferdinand Panik, head of DaimlerChrysler's fuel cell project group and chairman of the California Fuel Cell Partnership. "Like the Winton Touring Car in 1903, NECAR 5 has opened a new chapter in automotive history by making the first coast-to-coast drive by a fuel cell-powered vehicle."

The 1903 Jackson-Crocker Trip DRIVERS Dr. H. Nelson Jackson and Newall K. Crocker CAR 1-cylinder, 20-horsepower, 1903 Winton touring car,

nicknamed "Vermont." Currently on display at National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. CITY-CITY San Francisco-New York City

DATES 1 p.m., May 23, 1903 - 4:30 a.m., July 26, 1903

DISTANCE 5,000-6,000 miles

ELAPSED TIME 63 days, 12 hours, 30 minutes

RUNNING TIME 46 calendar days

AVERAGE SPEED 9.96 mph (for 5,500 miles) (for calendar days, assuming 12 hrs/day)

FIRSTS First automotive trans-continental crossing.

The 2002 DaimlerChrysler NECAR 5 Trip DRIVERS Wolfgang Weiss, DaimlerChrysler and colleagues CAR Electric Mercedes-Benz A-Class, 75 kW (100 horsepower).

Electricity generated from hydrogen in Ballard(R) fuel cell system. Hydrogen formulated from Methanol on board. Nicknamed "NECAR 5." Will go back to Sacramento home at the California Fuel Cell Partnership. CITY-CITY San Francisco-Washington, D.C.

DATES 7 a.m., May 20, 2002 - 11:30 a.m., June 4, 2002

DISTANCE 3,263 miles

ELAPSED TIME 15 days

RUNNING TIME 13 calendar days

AVERAGE SPEED 38.4 mph

FIRSTS First fuel cell powered vehicle to make it across the United States.