New Honda FCX "Clarity"

[4bfox]

Check this out....haven't read all the details yet, but intriguing....

http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/

[ajohnmeyer]

lol, looks just like a prius, just replace the toyota badge with an H.

seriously though, nothing p!sses me off more than hydrogen cars, (except maybe hydrogen SUV's)
Waste energy converting electricity to hydrogen, waste energy changing hydrogen back to electricity to power the cars motor.
Just use a damn battery and quit wasting all that energy, not to mention cutting out the wait time for fuel cells to become remotely affordable.

Last year my Alma Matter, MU, got out of the solar car race and instead chose to compete from now on in a hydrogen fuel cell car competition. I spent a few minutes at their booth on Earth Day listening to them praise the glorious fuel cell. Didn't take too long for me to get fed up and keep on walking.

[4bfox]

And of course the price tag..I found it further on in the read....$600/month LEASE. I'm way too cheap for that!

Just keep driving my VX, hope to get the FE up on it.

[ajohnmeyer]

And Honda's still HEMORRHAGING money with a $600/month lease. I heard a report on NPR last week, a reporter was driving the FCX around Florida. I belive he claimed that the car he was driving (an 08 FCX) cost between $200,000-$500,000

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by ajohnmeyer

seriously though, nothing p!sses me off more than hydrogen cars, (except maybe hydrogen SUV's)
Waste energy converting electricity to hydrogen, waste energy changing hydrogen back to electricity to power the cars motor.
Just use a damn battery and quit wasting all that energy, not to mention cutting out the wait time for fuel cells to become remotely affordable.

The research firms still need to explore the option... The most cost effective option wins. Batteries are great if you can "fill up" quickly and have an equivalent range reliably. We're getting there - we're even almost there, but we're not there yet.

Of course, it's when you get the people that waste gas in a prius (zooming around 40mpg without trying ) to switch over to your thinking that you've got a conservation revolution of sorts. But right now, people (at least Americans) want zero compromise solutions :/

I can admire H2 fueled cars if your reasoning is reduced emissions - sure it takes a huge amount of energy to make it, but it takes a huge amount of energy to refine oil to gasoline. So if less fuel is being burned, so much the better -- but only if that's the claimed benefit (which it's really not - more of a second fiddle).

I personally just see this as a transition tech - along with gas-electric hybrids, plug in gas-electric, ethanol etc.

[ajohnmeyer]

Originally Posted by trebuchet03

I personally just see this as a transition tech - along with gas-electric hybrids, plug in gas-electric, ethanol etc.

I see plug-in hybrids, regular hybrids, bio-fuels, etc. as transition tech, but Hydrogen I see as a white elephant.
I'm afraid we're going to waste so much engineering time and R&D money on this one option that will never come into fruition. Meanwhile there are other low hanging fruits that are just begging to be picked.

As for batteries, I agree that our desire for a "zero compromise" solution is a hindrance. But so is GM's mothballing of the EV1 and Chevrons deep-6ing of the EV-scale NiMH patent that they bought.

[Erdrick]

I was personally kind of surprised that they actually were able to get these cars on the road. I figured that we were still a loooong way off from seeing production hydrogen vehicles. Figures that Honda was the first to do it.

Either way, I have little to no interest in them. They will never be a viable solution to the oil problem. Just way too many hurdles that still exist, and will most likely always exist for them.

[4bfox]

They talk about a "Home Energy Station", that will provide pressurized hydrogen to refill the tank in the car. Quote: "The Home Energy Station is designed to provide heat and electricity for the home through fuel cell cogeneration and to supply fuel for a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle."

I curious how efficient it is to convert natural gas to hydrogen, and if it really could provide enough energy to heat, provide electricity for the home, AND provide high-pressure hydrogen for the car?

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by 4bfox

I curious how efficient it is to convert natural gas to hydrogen, and if it really could provide enough energy to heat, provide electricity for the home, AND provide high-pressure hydrogen for the car?

I believe they're relying on the time factor. You're not always filling up your car - plenty of time to make fuel during the day