Get ready for the Honda Hydrogen FCX car this june.

[1969chargerrtse]

Honda ad.

" The Future Has a Date The future of the auto industry is about to change-for the better. June 16, 2008 marks the start of production for the revolutionary FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle. We have already begun the customer pre-qualification and selection process, and some of the first customers will be announced at a ceremony on that historic day."


http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/?from=fcx.honda.com

[LaOtto70Charger]

Amazing!  Did you see the've been testing a home hydrogen generation station since 2003?

[Kevin68N71]

Hydrogen is very interesting.

Unfortunately in this case, you'd still be driving a Honda.

[1969chargerrtse]

Hydrogen is very interesting.

Unfortunately in this case, you'd still be driving a Honda.

No Honda slamming please.
My 74 Honda 550/4 started up and ran like brand new until I sold it last fall it help pay for the Charger restoration.

[jwilk01]

I work for a Honda Dealership and last I heard those cars are only going to be available in the california area until more hydrogen stations can be built.  But I did hear that it is one amazing car with no harmful emissions and great milage.  I guess we will see.

Later
Josh

[twenty mike mike]

BMW has been road testing gaseous hydrogen cars for over a decade. Last year, they gave 10 dual use hydrogen/gasoline cars to famous people in the LA and Miami areas so they'd reap massive publicity for the cars. Too bad all of those people have been too busy with their glitter lives to waste any of their precious time talking about cars.  Yeah, that worked.   

Hydrogen is a much better choice than ethanol. There is plenty of potential energy in our huge sunny desert areas for H2O to H conversion and it won't compete with food sources or create carbon emissions (if you happen to believe in that massive pile of steaming crap).

[bull]

Hydrogen is very interesting.

Unfortunately in this case, you'd still be driving a Honda.

No Honda slamming please.
My 74 Honda 550/4 started up and ran like brand new until I sold it last fall it help pay for the Charger restoration.

At least you've got your priorities right.

[Brock Samson]

 that's pretty funny...  good post Mike..
I had been contemplating getting one of those Hondas last year when i researched long term vehicle solutions, anyhow there's an article in Car and Driver, they're only leasing them in L.A. like the BMWs. the chance of an average joe getting one is the same... 

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/green_machines/2009_honda_fcx_clarity_

"The Honda FCX Clarity is a technology of the future and may always be just that, but nonetheless, the Japanese automaker is cautiously bringing out its hydrogen fuel-cell car for a stroll. Starting this summer, Honda will lease the FCX for a fixed three-year contract at $600 per month without an option to buy. Production numbers are privately held, but Ferraris will be as common as paper clips by comparison. The lessees will be selected by a committee at American Honda Motor Company based largely on geographic location. If you don't live in greater Los Angeles, where several of the nation's few publicly accessible hydrogen stations currently pump the ethereal gas for about $5 per kilogram (the FCX holds 5.3 kilos, good for up to 270 miles of real-world driving, says Honda), forget about making the cut."
from...
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/green_machines/2009_honda_fcx_clarity_first_drive_review

[Charger_Fan]

Yeah, well, let all those stuffed shirts & pretty people blather on about their latest thing to save the planet.
Meanwhile, there's a pretty decent fuel source that's been available for YEARS, that rarely even gets a casual mention. NATURAL GAS vehicles. Recently, the highest the prices here in Utah have been was $.73 a gallon at a filling station. If you install one of the little filling units in your garage, the price ends up about $.43 a gallon!
The only two downsides are that the driving range of the CNG cars is about half of a normal car & that the trunk is mostly filled with a fuel tank...but I can live with that for a commuter car to just get my butt to work.


Oh, one more downside...CNG vehicle prices are higher than a compareable gas car, but Utah also currently gives up to a $7K tax credit on the purchase of a new CNG car & $3K on a used one. So THIS EX-COP CAR for example, could end up paying for itself rather quickly.

California has a buncg of CNG filling stations too, but naturally, the prices are higher...just because.
http://www.energy.ca.gov/afvs/vehicle_fact_sheets/cng.html

[evil1]

It takes energy to make energy. I've read on several differant web sites ( I don't have them bookmarked anymore) that when converting natural gas to hydrogen , you lose something  like 10-15% of the energy. Then when you convert the hydrogen to electricity you lose even more, and electric motors are not 100% efficient ether,so in the end you only have something like 60-65% of the energy potential that you started with. Seems like it would be cheaper and easier to burn the natural gas to begin with.

[Kevin68N71]

It takes energy to make energy. I've read on several differant web sites ( I don't have them bookmarked anymore) that when converting natural gas to hydrogen , you lose something  like 10-15% of the energy. Then when you convert the hydrogen to electricity you lose even more, and electric motors are not 100% efficient ether,so in the end you only have something like 60-65% of the energy potential that you started with. Seems like it would be cheaper and easier to burn the natural gas to begin with.

You're right.

That's problem with so many of these immature technologies.  Most of these technologies require MORE energy to make for the energy you get out than you have for gasoline.  Keep in mind, you can't compare "gallons" to other volumes, all you can compare is total operating costs.

Further, you have to think of this in terms of not one car, or what a handful of cars can do, but what would it be like to support a large chunk of the population.  This is why wingnuts like Darryl Hannah and her used grease dreams are so nutty--there's not enough used grease to go around, not enough people want to make that mess in their garage, and not everyone's needs are served by a diesel.  It's a niche deal.

Hydrogen sounds great, but what if net net it costs you more than the equivalent of $5 a gallon in terms of cost per miles driven?  Who pays for all new infrastructure?  How do we keep occupants and refueling processes safe?

One keeps hearing about how "all this is resolved".  The previous writer was right, BMW had such a big push on this a few years back, and that "hydrogen refueling stations are right around the corner".  Well, no, they're not.  Same with electrics.  I keep hearing of cars going 200/300 miles on a 10 minute charge?  Say what?  You're able to grab 200+ miles for a one to two ton car off of 120V in 10 minutes?  Amazing math on that one.  If so, where are all these cars?  If this has all been resolved "years ago", the best one we have is the Tesla with an array of 6000 toy batteries (unless they changed that)?!?!

I may be in the minority, but I would still want to consider continuing the research into synthetic materials that we can run internal combustion engines on.  They are hard to beat in the energy in to energy out ratio.

[xs29l8b]

Hydrogen is very interesting.

Unfortunately in this case, you'd still be driving a Honda.

so? Id rather daily drive a honda to save more $$$ to spend on my mopar.

[73-charger-383]

what would be wrong with putting an alcohol carb on my charger, and brewing my own gas in my front yard......moonshine style........Ford origanally wanted alcohol cars, right?