More Honda Fuel-Cell and Hybrid Cars on the Way

An interesting piece from USA Today’s James R. Healey reports that Honda is going to bring consumer-ready hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to the U.S. next year. The big news is the cars will be almost identical to the FCX concept shown here. Like a few of the current FCX fuel-cell cars, these will be leased to real consumers, likely in California and Washington, D.C., where there are accessible hydrogen pumps.

Even more startling is news that Honda is developing a home fueling station that will use natural gas to produce hydrogen fuel for the vehicles and extra electricity for the home. Honda has already developed a home refueling station for natural-gas cars, but that hasn’t caught on. Hydrogen fuel-cell cars have zero emissions, and the next generation FCX is said to have a range of 270 miles on a full tank, with an equivalent of 68 mpg when compared to gas. Healey got a prototype up to 75 mph on a test track for his story, which backs the company’s claim it’ll hit 100 mph. Joe Wiesenfelder and I have both driven the current FCX, and besides its electric-car-quiet operation it isn’t much different from any low-powered four-cylinder in terms of performance.

Honda says it will bring “many more” of the new FCX cars to the U.S., but because there are currently only two being operated by normal drivers, this could mean a dozen, two dozen or a hundred; we’re not sure. The main goal is to show the cars in real-world applications so automakers can petition the government and energy companies to support a hydrogen infrastructure while they work on making the technology more affordable for customers.

We’ve already heard word on the next Honda hybrid, which will be a mass-market vehicle with goals of up to 100,000 sales a year at a price far less than the current Civic Hybrid. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t reveal much more than that.

What do you think? Is Honda the company to bring hydrogen mainstream, like Toyota did with hybrids?

Honda Will Bring More Fuel Cell Cars to U.S. Next Year (USAToday)

Related
Honda FCX Concept Car From the Los Angeles Auto Show (Cars.com)
Illinois Gets its First Hydrogen Station (KickingTires)
Lean and Green: Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept (KickingTires)
Honda’s Next Hybrid (KickingTires)