From: BusinessWeek
Published June 17, 2008 09:39 AM
Honda rolls out new zero-emission car
Honda's new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese
production line Monday and is headed to southern California, where Hollywood
is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring.
The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water
and none of the gases believed to induce global warming. It is also two
times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that
of a standard gasoline-powered car, the company says.
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Honda expects to lease out a "few dozen" units this year and about
200 units within a year. In California, a three-year lease will run $600
a month, which includes maintenance and collision coverage.
Among the first customers are actress Jamie Lee Curtis and filmmaker
husband Christopher Guest, actress Laura Harris, film producer Ron Yerxa,
as well as businessmen Jon Spallino and Jim Salomon.
"It's so smooth," said Harris, who played villainness Marie Warner on
the hit TV show "24." "It's like a future machine, but it's not."
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Harris, Spallino and Yerxa were flown to the ceremony, courtesy of Honda.
Yerxa says he's excited to show off the car and believes there's "a lot of
interest."
The biggest obstacles standing in the way of wider adoption of fuel cell
vehicles are cost and the dearth of hydrogen fuel stations. For the
Clarity's release in California, Honda said it received 50,000 applications
through its Web site but considered only buyers living near hydrogen fuel
stations in Torrance, Santa Monica and Irvine.
"This is indeed a historic day for both Honda and American Honda -- a new
chapter in our nearly fifty-year history in America," said John Mendel, a
senior vice president at America Honda Motor Co. at a morning ceremony here.
"It's an especially significant day for American Honda as we plant firm
footsteps toward the mainstreaming of fuel cell cars."
Initially, however, the Clarity will go only to a chosen few starting July
and then launch in Japan this fall.
Although Honda Motor Co. was the first Japanese automaker to launch a
gas-electric hybrid vehicle in the U.S. in 1999, it has been outpaced by the
dominance of Toyota's popular Prius.
Toyota announced in May that it has sold more than 1 million Prius hybrids,
while both the Honda Insight and the hybrid Accord have been discontinued
due to poor sales.
The FCX Clarity is part of Honda's plan to keep pace with rivals in green
technology. It also plans to launch a gas-electric hybrid-only model, as
well as hybrid versions of the Civic, the sporty CR-Z and Fit subcompact.
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