Introduction

Honda FCX – Fuel Cell Vehicle: The idea was simple: Test the “car of the future” against one of today's scariest commutes: the dreaded 91 freeway. Heading into and out of Orange County, Calif., traffic on the 91 is rated as one of the top ten worst drives by MSNBC, at an average 55 hours worth of delays per year. With so much wasted time, it seemed that having a hydrogen-powered, water-vapor emitting Honda FCX fuel cell car would make a positive difference to the environment and to our dependence on fossil fuel. If the car could survive the stop-stop-go-stop-stop-go-like-hell routine of that freeway, perhaps automakers – well, Honda anyway– was ready to move beyond internal combustion and into a bright new hydrogen future.

What it Is

The Honda FCX is unlike any car on the road today. A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, it's powered by an electric motor running off of a fuel cell stack that uses hydrogen as its energy source. It creates energy via two hydrogen tanks filled up to 5,000 psi, a fuel cell stack placed horizontally under the passengers, and a capacitor in the back area. What's amazing about the FCX, however, isn't so much the technology but its transparency. It drives much like a normal car, aside from poor handling, a heavy curb weight and a nerdy design necessitated by the size of the tanks, capacitor and fuel cell.

Why it Matters

As our reserve of fossil fuels decline – or become more problematic thanks to geopolitics – our need for alternative mobility gets top billing on consumer priority lists. Honda has been actively developing a fuel cell program since around 1989, the results of which are the Honda FCX we drove and the stylish FCX Concept first shown at the Tokyo motor show in 2005. These fuel cell vehicles are important because their energy isn't derived from fossil fuels. It's potentially a zero-oil use and zero-emissions solution to energy independence and global warming in terms of automotive use. Right now, the problem is in making hydrogen; the most economical way to do it involves fossil fuels, so hydrogen isn't quite at the zero mark yet.

What's Under the Hood

The front-wheel-drive Honda FCX is powered by a motor running on electricity that's generated by a fuel cell stack using hydrogen as its energy source. The FCX generates 107 horsepower and 201 lb.-ft. of torque. It's one of the only fuel cells to be certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for everyday commercial use. Power is routed through a single-speed transmission. According to Honda, the transmission works by transmitting power “through a two-stage reduction from main (primary) to counter (secondary) to final.” The benefit is partially in the packaging: The transmission is small and light, enabling the use of a larger radiator for more cooling.