Honda's hydrogen fuel-cell Clarity is road ready

[OntarioVanMan]

VANCOUVER–With its Clarity, Honda may be the automaker furthest along the path to a marketable fuel-cell car.

Indeed, after a pleasant and occasionally spirited 20-minute drive around Stanley Park in Vancouver, the FCX Clarity showed that it is already a real-world car.

One could compare the driving experience to that of an Accord V6. Turn the key, push the start button, move the gearshift to drive, and away you go, with maximum torque off-idle delivering a satisfying push back in the seat.

The run to 100 km/h takes about nine seconds and top speed is 160 km/h. With its multi-link suspension and low centre of gravity, the car handles competently.

The Clarity, which is not based on an existing model like most other fuel-cell vehicles, is a showcase for technology other than its fuel-cell drivetrain.

For example, it features seats and armrests covered with Bio-Fabric, a polyester material made with fermented corn. All interior fabric coverings are made of natural, plant-based materials. The rear window in the trunk lid (as in the Insight) has a special polycarbonate film that makes transparency dependent on the angle of vision. At some angles, it looks like just another painted surface. The car's underside is flat and its wheels have plastic fairings to suppress air turbulence.

The Clarity is very aerodynamic for a four-door sedan. Its swoopy proportions create a capacious interior, with four comfortable seats and futuristic design.

 

[LDB]

Neat car but not very useful until a fueling infrastructure is in place unless you just happen to live in one of the very very few neighborhoods that has fuel available, unless something has changed since the last up date I read.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I think they are looking more to serve the commuter market as in big cities.

NG cars and vans have the same problem...lack of refueling stations...

 

[layoutshooter]

I think they are looking more to serve the commuter market as in big cities.

NG cars and vans have the same problem...lack of refueling stations...

Yeah, not practical as yet. It will be in the future. maybe 15 to 20 years. We need to keep working on it.

 

[LDB]

I think they are looking more to serve the commuter market as in big cities.

NG cars and vans have the same problem...lack of refueling stations...

Yes, I'm sure that's the target market at least for now. I guess that I look at it as impractical since people tend to have family scattered all over and you can't take a family vacation to Disney or go cross country to visit gramps or whatever. I guess most would have another vehicle to use for such trips but that means leaving the cleaner more efficient vehicle at home. For single folks they likely don't have another vehicle so the one has to do everything. I like the idea and if it was cost effective and I could go anywhere in it might get one but not at the current level.

 

[layoutshooter]

Yes, I'm sure that's the target market at least for now. I guess that I look at it as impractical since people tend to have family scattered all over and you can't take a family vacation to Disney or go cross country to visit gramps or whatever. I guess most would have another vehicle to use for such trips but that means leaving the cleaner more efficient vehicle at home. For single folks they likely don't have another vehicle so the one has to do everything. I like the idea and if it was cost effective and I could go anywhere in it might get one but not at the current level.

Check this out!! Good old back yard inventer American ingenuity!! This will be a GOOD stop gap until the fuel cells make sense.


Hp2g.com

 

[LDB]

That is very interesting although their web designer needs help with color selections. That's not the most eye pleasing site I've seen.

 

[greg334]

I agree with you Leo, that site sucks.

BUT with that said, I think if it is true, I don't want to see it in production for a number of political and economical reasons, one being the excuse to raise taxes to cover lost revenue from Gas sales. Alternate energy, like hydrogen is a transition situation where the infrastructure can be built as we have an influx of hydrogen vehicles coming onto the market but with something that gets 6 times the fuel economy out in the market, it is not a good thing.

CNG stations are popping up, almost any home that used NG can become a potential CNG filling station. On the trip to work, my wife has three places to fill a CNG vehicle.

 

[layoutshooter]

I agree with you Leo, that site sucks.

BUT with that said, I think if it is true, I don't want to see it in production for a number of political and economical reasons, one being the excuse to raise taxes to cover lost revenue from Gas sales. Alternate energy, like hydrogen is a transition situation where the infrastructure can be built as we have an influx of hydrogen vehicles coming onto the market but with something that gets 6 times the fuel economy out in the market, it is not a good thing.

CNG stations are popping up, almost any home that used NG can become a potential CNG filling station. On the trip to work, my wife has three places to fill a CNG vehicle.

His site does suck but this one IS on the up and up. I heard him on WJR a week or two ago. His engine is going into two cars, being built by Revenge motors. They are going to be high end two seater sports cars, selling in the $40-60,000 range. Pretty much the norm for a new product launch. He has orders for 15,000 engines. He says he loves the economic climate. He is able to hire the best and the brightest right now which will boast his business even faster. The EPA has done the testing on this engine, it is legit.

 

[FIS53]

I'll wait to see the saftey record for hydrogen powered buggies before I commit to one. Hydrogen goes BANG a lot faster than gasoline or other fuels.
Rob