Looks good. Very aerodynamic shape (obviously). I think it’s good they’re making this kind of progress, but i have a few questions, if anyone knows the answers
1 Does the car start toget ’sluggish’ as the batteries drain, like in a torch?
2 How long does recharge take? I assume overnight, in which case you’ve got to take another car on cross-country trecks!
Great car tho, good on ya Honda for looking towards the future!

One thing tho – in a car with such emphasis placed on erodynamics you’d think they’d have the windscreen wider stowed away under the bonnot, not just sitting out there like that

Jas173—I think you’ve missed the point of a fuel cell vehicle. They ARE electric, but instead of the power coming from plugging the car into a wall outlet to recharge the batteries, the power comes from a fuel cell, which processes hydrogen to create electricity. The only byproducts (emmissions) are water and a little bit of heat. So you refill the hydrogen tanks instead of filling gasoline tanks, and that has been one of the huge technological hurdles in developing a viable fuel cell car.
As for this particular car, I think it’s a great looking car. I wonder how it drives?

Jas173—by the way: I assume you’re an Aussie, considering your use of the expression “good on ya”. Am I correct?

Announcements by BMW and GM could be pushing other manufacturers to make press releases of their own. Good to see these companies pushing each other. Looks like a big race to see who can get theirs to market in a practical package first.

Whats the point when hydrogen isn’t even available.

Maybe not yet, but the technology is moving quickly. Besides, when was the last time Honda did something that didn’t pan out?

I love the looks. The Prius is supposde to be all aerodynamic but looks horrible.

At leas here the designers had a brain.

That back-end is incredibly ugly, IMO. Damn Honda, did you hire Toy Ota designers?

Scott,
Im a kiwi! I always get confussed about fuel cells and electric cars. I read somewhere that the hydrogen needed to power EVERY car in UK could be generated by 3 nuclear power stations – crazy huh. I personally think that the ’solution’ to our dependancy on oil lies in nuclear power – it’s the greenest option. As ways of storing nuclear waste (or re-eregising it) become better i see this as a major option. Plus I.C. engines can be made to burn hydrogen – good for those of us who appreciate a real engine!

jas173, Electricity from any source can be used to electrolyze water. There are also chemical means of generating hydrogen which don’t require electricty [directly]. Whether, from GM, BMW, or Honda, this is a good thing.

“Whats the point when hydrogen isn’t even available.”

Why make hydrogen powered cars if there is no hydrogen fuel stations? Why make hydrogen fuel stations if there is no hydrogen powered cars?

It’s not very hard to see where the problem is here. It’s going to be costly and troublesome at first, but someone has to take the lead.

Why’d they start making gasoline-powered cars 105 years ago when there were no gasoline stations around, just hay bales and water troughs? You have to lead the market or nothing changes. Good for Honda.

Its just like E85 began. If its not widely avalible, it wont be popular even though the technology is great. Oh by the way, the car is really ugly.

The car looked ugly in pics but really agressive in real life. I was thinking when they’d be able to pull something like that to actually roll on asphalt, I guess I got my wish.

This car appears to be mid size like an Accord. It has a little bit of Civic and a lot of Citroen.
I hope when it reaches production, the front and back are completely redesigned.
Actually, it would make a great base for the next Accord. Is it possible that the next Accord will include a Hydrogen option?

I would say you will definitely NOT see a hydrogen Accord, certainly not in the next version. Honda will have one fuel cell car (FCX) in limited numbers, one hybrid car (not yet named), and the rest of their lineup will have a choice of gas or diesel engines, at least most of them. Oh and the natural gas Civic.

Awesome. I can’t wait.

Unfotunately, once again the US auto industry is behind the times. C’mon Detroit you can do it!

@ mblommel

Actully Chrysler, GM, and BMW have developed their own hydrogen fuel cell system and in fact rolled it out in that 7 series hydrogen car. You have been out of the loop

@Endurancevm

Actually, BMW did not roll out a hydrogen fuel cell system. The 7 series in question is a hydrogen combustion hybrid. Fuel cells are a much more complicated technology.

The 7 series burns hydrogen just like gas, a fuel cell chemically reacts hydrogen to make electricity. Fuel cell autos will be electric powered.

@mblommel
On September 21, 2006, GM has announced that a fleet of 100 fuel cell-powered Chevy Equinoxes will be distributed to various users around the US. The U. S. Army, one of the testing agencies accepted delivery of the first vehicle in the fleet.

That car actually has more power, torque and range than my gas powered daily driver. I’m so depressed. Well, at least my car cost spectacularly less money to make, probably… still depressing. Too bad my car doesn’t shoot out nothing but water in the back end. Might be actually tolerable to keep that thing around if it did.

Read about the Hydrogen combustion 7, that’s cool, but I think it’s only a stop-gap measure. The truth is that the IC is pretty ineffecient and will eventually (not next year) be eliminated.

Good news re: the GM equinox fleet. We can only hope it’s not another EV1 scenario.

We’re still playing catch-up with Honda though, as the FCX V1 has been around since 1999.

Oh, even with Hydrogen the ICE will stay with us for a long time, trust me. The 0ld-sk00l fellas like myself will not leave our mechanical roots overnight.

If H.R. Gieger designed a car, it would probably look something like this. The front end, the profile curve, the tapered back appear to be inspired by the movie “Alien”.
Honda is also coming out with a dedicated hybrid vehicle. I wonder if they would use this chassis for both powerplants?

I read an article earlier this year that said Honda was developing a home hydrogen refueling station with plug power. The article said it uses your natural gas line to make hydrogen that you then use to fill your FCX at home. The unit also supplies some electricity to your home and provides heat to your water heater. Sounds good to me if they can do all that and keep the price down to earth.

1c3d0g, I’m not a proponent of eliminating IC engines altogether or outlawing them. I love the sound of a 32V V8 as much as the next guy. However, for the vast majority of folks that view their car as an appliance like a washing machine a fuel cell setup is great. We could have 99 percent of our cars pollution free and the other 1 percent we use recreationally. Hell, Leno has steam powered cars he uses on the road.

There’s also something to be said for powerful electric motors. Full torque from zero RPM is pretty cool. Now if they can reduce the weight of all the components and solve the problem of all the rare metals needed in the fuel cell…

I’ve noticed that Honda is now starting to put more digital speedometers in there vehicles, I like it alot

This is the way of the Future in Transportation. Honda your relentless with Future Vehicles and what they can become. Good go for it. Go Honda!