Great Scott! The 2016 Toyota Mirai goes on sale and doesn't use 1.21 gigawatts

Where we’re going, Marty, we don’t need gasoline

Yesterday, the Toyota Mirai was celebrated in the timeliest manner possible: at a "Back to the Future II"-themed launch event. On site to celebrate the release of Toyota’s new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle? A custom DeLorean-ized Mirai, Michael J. Fox and 300 new Mirai owners. 

CAR LIFE 

Meet Marty, the autonomous electric DeLorean drift machine

Oct. 21 is #BackToTheFuture Day. Seemingly every automaker and public relations outlet is angling to use the time travel flick/pop culture nostalgia-bomb to bolster their #brand.Stanford University ...

For those unfamiliar with the process, the Toyota Mirai creates electricity from hydrogen using a device called a fuel cell; that electricity in turn powers 153 hp worth of electric motor. Dubbed a zero-emissions vehicle, the only output the Mirai should produce is water. The hydrogen is held in carbon-fiber tanks rated for the high storage pressures required to carry a practical amount of the element.

Though the Chicago Cubs probably won’t win the World Series, and we don’t have a Black and Decker food rehydrator, the future that Robert Zemeckis predicted in “Back to the Future II” isn’t totally far off. And this Mirai is just another step, even if it is slower than a DeLorean.