Honda to unveil new fuel cell vehicle this year
In a wide-ranging speech Wednesday covering Honda Motor Company's plans for future growth, president and chief executive Takeo Fukui said that the company is currently developing a new model based on the fuel cell technology that debuted in its FCX concept car (shown at right).We first reported the company's plans for a production version of the FCX in our Detroit Auto Show coverage earlier this year, but this week's announcement suggests that Honda has accelerated development of the new car.
A driveable version of the new car will be unveiled this fall, and the production version will go on sale "within the next three years."
[Source: American Honda]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
freestufftimes.com 1:12PM (5/19/2006)
Looks like a mix between a Lamborghini and a dodge intrepid
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Richard Warren 1:23PM (5/19/2006)
The return of "cab forward"
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Glenn A. 1:28PM (5/19/2006)
Wow, they've moved it up from an intro date of autumn 2010 or 2011 to some time in 2009? Wow. Wow.
I'm betting they do "home refuelling" stations with it as they have with their CNG powered cars (it's called a PHILL unit with CNG) since, being first, will mean little or no hydrogen fuelling infrastructure.
I'll buy one if the price is right and retire the Prius to 2nd car status, and dump our conventional 2nd car.
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Simone 1:33PM (5/19/2006)
Ironic. Autoblog reports on fuel cells. AutoblogGreen reports on Hummer H1.
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Ferguson McSqueege 1:35PM (5/19/2006)
Honda just keeps making their cars uglier and uglier.
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tate 1:41PM (5/19/2006)
I think it looks great.
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Glenn A. 1:44PM (5/19/2006)
Ferguson, you've got to be kidding. You obviously think "square is good" and love your SUV. Or you haven't seen the Tokyo Car Show pix of this rig.
Though I have to admit I hope they change the funky striped carpeting to conventional carpets, or maybe something unique like wood panelled flooring or something - anything but the funky and weird show-car striped white & black carpet they had at Tokyo.
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Cameron 1:49PM (5/19/2006)
I agree with #1
It looks very long. As long as it's not too big (I don't much like large cars) I can see myself liking it. It's not too far off either!
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Glenn A. 1:56PM (5/19/2006)
Cameron, from what I could fathom from the photos of the Tokyo Auto Show, the car is about the size of a Mazda 6 or Hyundai Sonata, maybe a bit longer than a Toyota Prius. But the show car only had 4 seats, though was supposed to be pretty much like what the production car will look like. I hope!
On a side note: Ok, where are all the anti-hybrid anti-Japanese people? Hiding? C'mon guys, I want to laugh hysterically at your dronings on about how hybrid-electric cars are stupid, how I'm a dork to carpool with my wife in the Prius, how it's so dangerous to idiot pedestrians to have silent cars, etc etc.
Where are all the pro-GMers, too? I suppose maybe they're all out of their (GM) cubicles right now being told by the bosses how Honda is going to not just eat their lunch, but breakfast and dinner, too. So they can't sit on autoblog and defend GM right now.
I hope that Honda build this car right in Ohio just to slap all of you anti-this and anti-that people on all four of your hairy cheeks.
Then, I hope we can build millions upon millions of these things and fuel them from home-grown energy in order to tell the oil barons both here and abroad, to take a long hike off a short pier, as we say in the Great Lakes State.
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Paul Spehar 2:12PM (5/19/2006)
#4
Ugly vehicles is why honda sucks so much.
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Astroscanner 2:14PM (5/19/2006)
The link should be to the Honda FCX site. The site indicates that Honda will sell the car as a package complete with a home hydrogen refueling station. The Home Energy Station (HES) will produce hydrogen via a reformer.
I very much like the looks of the car, although the interior is a bit "show car" over-the-top. It looks like the Jetson's Civic. It's the 21st century. Let's go into the future!
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Ferguson McSqueege 2:23PM (5/19/2006)
Glenn A, you've got to be kidding ME. I have seen many concept and autoshow pics of this thing, and it is UGLY from EVERY angle. It's hideous. They must have used a whale as a model for their design.
Not to mention that Dodge has already done this...remember the Intrepid, Concorde, 300M? Cab forward was ugly then, and it's ugly now. Just because it says Honda on the hood, doesn't mean that it is a gift from God. This is just another bar of soap. Yawn...
And thanks for assuming, Glenn, but I drive a MKI MR2. That's about as far from an SUV as you can get, and I wouldn't trade it for 10 of these bloated FCXs.
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Glenn A. 2:30PM (5/19/2006)
Guess my tastes run to "futuristic" and "aerodynamic" and yours a bit more conventional, Ferguson. Sorry I assumed you drove a tall box on wheels, instead, you drive a small doorstop on wheels. At least it is a very reliable small doorstop on wheels for you, I'm sure (being it's a Toyota). My Prius (2005) is the best car I've ever had, and I and my wife have owned over 30 cars in some 33 years. Last I counted, that is.
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AES 2:53PM (5/19/2006)
I think it's amazing people are focusing on the looks rather than the technology underneath the skin.
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Ryan 3:40PM (5/19/2006)
Am I the only one that thinks this car looks sweet in that "back to the future" sort of way. I thought by the year 2006 most cars would have this look. But no, it's 2006 and as cool as it may be we get a v-8 Chrysler Block.
"11. I think it's amazing people are focusing on the looks rather than the technology underneath the skin."
-Exactly, this should be BREAKING NEWS. I mean HYDRO in the next few year?! Fucken"a" Honda, kick some ass.
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Glenn A. 4:09PM (5/19/2006)
I'm with you on this one, Ryan. Yeah, okay, I'll admit it. I DID drool over the Deloreans when they were new. And I was 25 years old at the time (but, hey, I've been a car guy since 18 months, okay? So I have some kind of excuse - don't I?)
Back to the Future. Yeah, one of the sequels they used 1960s Citroen DS cars as early 21st century cars. Anyone else remember that?
Little wonder I love my futuristic Prius so much. Yeah, I even go out to the garage and just look at it once in awhile, just because I'm afraid I've been dreaming and never managed to finally get THE car I actually wanted new WHEN I wanted it instead of 5 or 8 years later, used and mostly clapped out from someone else's abuse. I've never done that with ANY other car I've owned in 1/3 of a century.
Yeah, kudos big-time to Honda on this one. I hope we can get one in 2010. I'll buy one new after 1 year of production so they can work out any initial bugs, assuming, that is, that it is something resembling Honda priced instead of Acura priced.
The the Prius will be 2nd string, while the FCX becomes our prime use and carpool commuter car.
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John Smith 4:15PM (5/19/2006)
WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!
Are these the same people who laughed and asked "Where are we going to get hydrogen???" accusingly when GM said it would launch a hydrogen fuel cell car in 2010??? (And GM was the first and only manufacturer to make a firm deadline)
Where is all the snide derision?
I have NEVER seen a hydrogen announcement devoid of such until now. You guys are positively giddy!!!!
Here come the me-too Japanese!
I used to laugh at domestic fanboys when they claimed "bias" etc. BUt this one hits home, because I have always liked the idea of new-technology hydrogen cars.
Again, where is all the derision? (Crickets...)
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Craig 4:19PM (5/19/2006)
How is Honda going to be the first to market with fuel cell technology? I thought the domestics had thrown aside the notion of hybrids a few years ago so they could focus on fuel cell technology and be leader in that market.
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Dr. Woo 4:20PM (5/19/2006)
Talk about hideous.
But it's functional. Yet another soullessly efficient car to come out of the "better-mileage" stable. I don't hate the fact that they exist. I only hate the fact that the marketing strategy and attitude of the owners attempts to make me feel bad for not wanting them.
If you build it, they will come. Kudos to Honda if it becomes a reality, but I'll stick with the Germans' cold, calculated precision and obsessive perfection.
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John Smith 4:21PM (5/19/2006)
Not to mention, GLENN A., that as John said above, GM was the FIRST and only manufacturer to say they would come out with a hydrogen vehicle. They have FOUR models now:
1. Sequel
2. Hy-Wire
3. A converted Chevy Venture they have had for a while.
4. A sports car based on the Sequel
And they have the most novel concept too (a now 5inch thick skateboard chassis with a range of over 300 miles and counting).
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