Honda took the opportunity to unveil its latest car technology at the Los Angeles Car Show. The Honda FCX Clarity sedan will be available for limited lease to some lucky folks in California. Of course, the monthly payment is pretty outrageous at this point, to the tune of $600/month. But hey, that should scale well with California standards of living. Well, at least, that’s what we are telling ourselves.
So, you probably want to get your hands on one. Especially since mileage estimates are in the 68mpg range. You do the math. And with crude oil about to hit $100/barrel, it just
makes that figure all the more attractive. By the way, I’ve read numerous estimates that point to the price per barrel going much higher. Anyway, the range of the vehicle is less than projected in their concept for this vehicle. The concept had a range of 350 miles, this one can go 270 miles. But, let’s face it, that’s going to be more than enough for most people.
But another interesting caveat to the car is the advancement of the Honda home fuel cell recharging station. This recharging station currently would utilize the home’s current gas line. “The Home Energy Station IV can reduce both cost and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the consumer. Compared to the average U.S. consumer’s home with grid-supplied electricity and a gasoline-powered car, a home using Home Energy Station IV to help produce heat and electricity and also to refuel an FCX Clarity can reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 30 percent and energy costs by an estimated 50 percent.”
“Honda is striving to address the need for a refueling infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles,” said Ben Knight, vice president of Honda R&D Americas. “The Home Energy Station represents one promising solution to this issue, while offering the added benefit of heating and powering the home more efficiently.”
Future generations of the power station will probably aim to utilize burgeoning solar advances or wind generation for the hydrogen production. This will allow home users to power their home and/or push power back to the grid. In either case, it’s on the horizon, but time will tell how long that horizon is.
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the cell cost is a bummer.