Jamie Lee Curits is doing her bit to end the reign of the Toyota Prius as the darling of Hollywood celebs. Her cause was given a huge boost after the Honda FCX Clarity was named the World Green Car of the Year. The announcement was made last week at the WCOTY awards in New York.
The Hydrogen powered Clarity appears to be the way of the future, effectively making electric-powered cars redundant. Whether this takes place or not is a different proposition altogether, of course. For a great piece on the FCX, check out Series 12 of Top Gear.
Full press statement after the jump.
Honda FCX Clarity Named 2009 World Green Car
Prestigious award chosen by jurors from 25 different countries
TORRANCE, Calif. – Recognising Honda’s commitment to environmental leadership in the area of alternative fuels and hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology, the Honda FCX Clarity was declared the 2009 World Green Car, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today.
At a press conference hosted by the New York International Auto Show and Mobil 1 at the Jacob Javits Centre in, New York, the Honda FCX Clarity was named the 2009 World Green Car. The FCX Clarity was chosen from an initial entry list of 22 contenders nominated by 59 World Car jurors from 25 countries worldwide.
“The FCX Clarity is a symbol of the progress we have made with fuel cell vehicles and our commitment to developing vehicles that promote renewable energy supplies and zero-emissions transportation,” said Steve Center, vice president, national Marketing Operations for American Honda.
The FCX Clarity, a sleekly styled hydrogen fuel cell-powered sedan currently available on a limited lease-basis, is propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated by an on-board fuel cell stack. The vehicle’s only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is up to three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile and two times that of a gasoline-powered hybrid vehicle.
The World Green Car awards were inaugurated in 2003, and officially launched in January 2004, to reflect the reality of the global marketplace, as well as to recognise and reward automotive excellence on an international scale.
The awards are administered by a non-profit association, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of pre-eminent automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America. There is no affiliation with, nor are the awards in any way influenced by any publication, auto show, automaker, or other commercial enterprise.
4 replies on “Honda FCX Clarity – World Green Car of the Year 2009”
Still many barriers to this type of technology, not least cost.
That is true, but the potential upsides seem more realistic to what we are used to.
It’s amazing, really, how much modern society is geared around car use. If the Hydrogen gig can become mainstream then it could be mostly situation normal for quite a while yet.
My bet is on series plug-in hybrids (e.g. Volt) and full electrics…
[…] solution than plugging your car into the electricity grid to ‘refuel’ (see the Honda FCX Clarity as an example). Hyundai say they hope to have their first FCEVs on the streets by […]