Originally published July 26 2005
Reporter tests new hydrogen-powered Honda
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
US News reporter Richard J. Newman says the new Honda FCX hydrogen fuel cell-powered economy car is quiet, smooth-riding and quite peppy compared to most other economy cars, but the vehicle is still quite a way from mass production.
The futuristic FCX is a long way from showrooms--there are only about 20 on U.S. roads--but it's a glimpse at the holy grail of the auto industry.
Fuel cells generate power when hydrogen mixes with oxygen from the air, and they could represent a much deeper leap into the future than hybrids like the Toyota Prius, which still require a gas-powered engine.
Hydrogen can be extracted from water, which could reshape petropolitics from China to Iraq.
The FCX averages 57 miles per kilogram of hydrogen, roughly equivalent to 57 miles per gallon of gas.
And the FCX' s tail-pipe emits precisely zero pollutants or greenhouse gases--only a small stream of water vapor seeps out.
Every major automaker is chasing hydrogen dreams, but Honda is the first to allow ordinary bad drivers like journalists to try one out.
And recently Honda leased an FCX to a California family of four, the Spallinos of Redondo Beach, who agreed to offer feedback on everyday driving.
The FCX can travel only about 150 miles between fill-ups--and hydrogen stations are scarce.
At highway speeds, the FCX is short on passing power.
Most important, fuel cells are still an immature technology, and it's not clear if manufacturers will ever be able to build them cost effectively.
While hydrogen itself is a superclean fuel, extracting it from hydrocarbons, the most common production method, can create more pollution than it saves.
And wringing it from water requires a lot of electricity, another source of pollution.
Filling stations hundreds of miles apart won't cut it with consumers either.
The electric motor's clean, quiet ride is a reminder that the internal combustion engine, the automotive standard for a century, need not be the end of the road.
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