BMW recently announced the launch of its Hydrogen 7 Pioneer Program by handing over the keys of a BMW Hydrogen 7 — the first hydrogen-powered luxury sedan — to Hollywood actor Will Ferrell. BMW plans to give many more industry leaders, as well as prominent figures in entertainment and business, a BMW Hydrogen 7 for daily use through this program.
By launching the program, BMW underscores the fact that the BMW Hydrogen 7 is not a concept car, but a production model vehicle that has successfully completed the entire product development process, meeting all the standards necessary for driving on U.S. roadways. While running in hydrogen mode, the BMW Hydrogen 7 emits nothing but water vapor, which represents a major step toward reducing harmful CO2 emissions. BMW says that during the program, 25 of the 100 cars that are produced will be used in evaluation programs in the U.S. Although the BMW Hydrogen 7 is not for sale, it is considered to be a milestone in making hydrogen a sustainable fuel for individual transportation.
BMW believes hydrogen will replace petroleum as the long-term alternative to fossil fuel, and hopes the Hydrogen 7 will play a pioneering role in driving forward the hydrogen technologies that will ensure our mobility in the future.
Thus, the hydrogen pioneers will be instrumental in helping people understand that hydrogen technology is here, and that it holds the key to our future mobility. By harnessing the power and influence of individuals who, like Will Ferrell, are at the forefront of their respective disciplines, BMW hopes to continue to generate support of hydrogen-drive vehicles in the short term and stimulate demand for a viable hydrogen infrastructure in the long-term.
Ferrell is the first in a series of Americans who will help BMW in its mission to build widespread support of hydrogen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
While Ferrell and BMW's future hydrogen pioneers will become the first group to be given access to the BMW Hydrogen 7 in the U.S. for an extended period of time, a number of entertainers, politicians and business leaders have opted to use a BMW Hydrogen 7 as their energy-efficient ride of choice to specific events. Those who have recently chosen to use the vehicle include Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the Ocean's 13 premiere in Hollywood; Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Liguori at the FOX All Star Party in Santa Monica; Richard Gere and Sharon Stone at the Cinema for Peace Gala in Berlin; and Davis Guggenheim, producer of An Inconvenient Truth, and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, at the 2007 Academy Awards. The vehicle has also made an impact oversees, with luminaries such as German Federal Minister for Economy and Technology Michael Glos, Vice President of the European Commission Gunter Verheugen and Soprano Anna Netrebko covering more than 1.3 million miles worldwide in the environmentally friendly vehicle.
For more information about BMW Group products and the new Hdrogen 7, visit the company's Web site.
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