Honda Unveils Production Fuel Cell Vehicle: FCX Clarity

www.greencarcongress.com ^ | 11/14/2007 | Jack Rosebro

[mamelukesabre]

Seems like I read somewhere that they are working on a fuel cell that will run off of ordinary gasoline. If that actually works out, then I’d say it’s a good idea. Untill then, forget it. No one wants to transport pure hydrogen. I know I don’t want to go near a hydrogen refueling station.

[2nd Bn, 11th Mar]

Advanced technology roller skate.

[Dead Dog]

It’s much safer than gasoline, however it’s not effecient.

[BfloGuy]

Is it a lease only option? You can’t buy to own?

You probably couldn't afford it. Something tells me that these babies cost hundreds of thousands each. This is a publicity stunt -- don't get me wrong, it may be a very good car, but this program is designed to show off the corporation's dedication to "green" technology.

[mamelukesabre]

Ha!

Hydrogen safer than gasoline??? Good one bud.

Just curious, how did you manage to convince yourself of that hogwash?

[goldstategop]

$600 per month is less than my mortgage! Er... no thanks. It looks promising but I'll wait til a fuel cell car is competitive with gas engine driven cars.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Red Badger]

...cost of $600 per month, including service, maintenance, and collision insurance.

Did you figure in those items , also?.......I figure this lease program is really intended to get "real world" driving data from the most accurate source, real drivers. All data will help Honda to decide whether to pursue this any further or what changes need to be made for better automobiles. Driver feed back and maintenance data is crucial...............

[Red Badger]

This may be for data gathering or manufacturing ease. It does show that there are different viabilities out there.........

[eraser2005]

My 1997 Taurus costs me far less than $600 per month. Maintenance, repairs, and depreciation (straightline from new to current value) have averaged about $155 per month. Full collision and comprehensive with $1M+ in coverage and *low* deductibles adds about $30 per month to that.

I like the fact that Honda is doing this, and I like the fact that quite a few around here understand that this is just a test fleet and nothing else. Too many other places, people are acting like Honda is light years ahead... fact is GM is shipping test vehicles now... Ford has a test fleet of Focuses (30 or so, or about 1/3rd the number here) that has been on the road for about 2 years and has about 1 million miles on it....

Kudos to Honda for getting in the game, but don’t anyone get confused - this is really nothing but a limited consumer test where the test subjects have to pay Honda for the “priviledge” of testing a vehicle...

[eraser2005]

It all depends on how you define “safer”.... Does it burn hotter? Yep... Is it more explosive? Sure.....

But it also disperses quickly, and tends to burn *upwards* very rapidly. U Miami did a test where they created a hydrogen leak in a test vehicle and a gasoline leak in an identical vehicle. The hydrogen leak burned very impressively, almost like a torch pointed skywards. However, the temperature inside the car never exceeded something like 65 F. The gasoline fire completely engulfed and incinerated the car. It’s all about how the flammable fuel disperses.....

There certainly are *different* risks with hydrogen, but it doesn’t make it more dangerous...

We all know the Hindenburg didn’t burn because of the hydrogen, though it certainly didn’t help. And a majority on board survived (almost 2/3rds).

[bert]

The want to properly maintain them to factory specs. This is a trial of essentially experimental technology

[mamelukesabre]

Once upon a time, before natural gas, they manufactured different kinds of gas. Coal gas and water gas were two. I think these gases were essentially hydrogen gas. But these two gases got me thinking that they need to store hydrogen as something else and then convert it to hydrogen as needed. I’m pretty sure there have been rocket engines and even some internal combustion engines that ran on hydrogen peroxide. I can think of a few other chemicals that are hydrogen based...ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, hydrochloric acid...

If they could figure out a way to use these substances to power a fuel cell, then they would have something.

But even then, I think any fuel cell vehicle should also have batteries to be capable of running on stored electricity from a 115V wall outlet in your house. Save the fuel cell for longer trips.

I’m not holding my breath though. The truth is...gasoline is a really really good energy source. It’s not going to be easy to beat it.

[eraser2005]

Well, I certainly don’t think you’ll be finding any fuel cell vehicles (if and when they are ever mass produced) without batteries... you really will need them to meet fluctuating loads on the powertrain... but whether or not those batteries are strong enough to run the vehicle on stored battery power alone (like a plug-in hybrid) is questionable....