Toyota Motor Corp. (Japan) announced its Fine-N Concept fuel cell vehicle, which is roughly the size of a Toyota Corolla, but offers the interior space of a Lexus LS 430. This is achieved due to low-profile hydrogen tanks, a thin fuel cell and power controller, and by placing the electric drive motors at each wheel. Also, every system from steering to brakes is all "by wire," meaning there are no mechanical controls to take up valuable space.
By giving each wheel its own drive motor, handling can be improved as can the overall dynamics of the car simply because power will be easier to manage and distributed more effectively. The Fine-N also uses face recognition technology. As the driver approaches the car, a biometric system analyzes the face to insure only authorized drivers gain access. Once a driver is authenticated, he or she needs simply to buckle his or her seatbelt and all that driver's preferences will be automatically set.
