Honda FCX Clarity – A zero emissions vehicle is here

Fancy a car that emits only water vapour from it’s exhaust? How about a zero emissions vehicle? Well, that car does exist. It is called the Honda FCX Clarity. Initially the FCX will be available in Southern California only, although as availability of hydrogen fueling stations expands, increased availability will follow suit. The car is only available from Honda on a 3 year lease at a price of US$600 per month. Clearly a case of small steps into the market place then. Although, this car is a much closer friend of the environment than existing hybrid vehicles, which still rely on some portion of power from conventional internal combustion engines. The FCX, then, is the future.

Well known motoring website Jalopnik have a full test of the FCX on their website. In their article Jalopnik state, “Honda’s latest FCX uses no gasoline whatsoever and behaves just like — no, make that exactly like — a regular car.” The current iteration of the FCX is good for a range of 400 plus kilometres. Highlighting the FCX’s green credentials Jalopnik commented, “All around us people were driving vehicles that in their minds are atop the environmental food chain. Yet they’re still emitting loads of dirty old carbon dioxide (and whatever else) into the atmosphere derived from a tank full of Middle Eastern crude. Meanwhile we’re zooming past all of ’em, dripping only water while nestled comfortably behind the wheel of the future.” The article is quite interesting, so make sure you follow the link posted earlier. You can also watch a promo clip from Honda here.

As much as most revheads rarely tend to think twice before refuelling their petrol powered machines, cars such as the FCX are critically important to the future of motoring as we know it today. The progress of hydrogen cell powered cars in the years to come will be fascinating.

Further information can be found at the Honda Worldwide website and also at the Honda USA website. To find out more about what is happening locally in the world of zero emissions, check out the Zero Emission Vehicle Australia website.