|
|
Article: Driving the future:Honda's hydrogen vision; Car maker's FCX Clarity to hit the roads in 3 years.(News)
- Article from:
- Tire Business
- Article date:
- August 3, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Mark Rechtin
American Honda Motor Co. Inc. has drawn a line in the sand.
Defying cynics who proclaim that retail-ready hydrogen-fueled cars are perpetually 20 years away, outgoing Honda President Takeo Fukui recently proclaimed that the auto maker will mass produce a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle by 2018.
This was not a PR stunt. Mr. Fukui was dead serious.
I drove the future in June.
For four days, I was the pilot of the Honda FCX Clarity, a purpose-built car with a hydrogen fuel-cell stack and lithium-ion batteries. There's no engine; the front wheels are propelled by electric-drive motors. And while far from the first ...