Honda Jets to the Future

Rekha · 2nd December 2006, 12:44

hi BHPians,

Honda rolled out two new concept cars at the LA Auto Show yesterday -- a sports car that looks ready

for the runway and an hybrid fuel cell vehicle.
The silver sports car looks like a mini jet fighter and features a 4-cylinder engine and a 6-speed manual transmission. Nice eye candy for now, but it could be the shape of real things to come.
Even more interestingly Honda has hybridized its FCX fuel cell vehicle and plans to roll out a new production model in 2008. The new FCX features and redesigned fuel cell stack and drive train that are is much lighter and 40 percent smaller than the previous model. The 127 horsepower vehicle uses a natural Bio-Fabric for the interior (yeah less plastics!), and replaces mechanical parts with a Shift By Wire transmission.

Most significantly Honda added a lithium ion battery for auxiliary power. This shows that hybrid technology will enable fuel cell vehicles to be more efficient by capturing braking energy and extend their vehicle range. The press release doesn't mention if the car can run only on battery power at low speeds however.
Fuel cell technology still has lots of room for improvement before it will become cost effective, and then there's the hydrogen infrastructure problem. But the continued progress is encouraging.

P.S. - Mods, please move this thread if its not appropriate

speedzak · 2nd December 2006, 18:31

Saw this on some websites today. The Remix concept really looks weird. eek:

Honda is trying to be very futuristic with these ugly designs. Not something I would love from a Honda.

The technological advances are much welcome. But, designs? UGGH, AIYEEEE!

GTO · 2nd December 2006, 23:18

Somehow I see a lot of Accord in the second concept. All this talk of alternate energies is damn interesting, and its only anyones guess what the next big automotive fuel may be. Most global manufacturers are placing strong bets on different kinds of energy sources...so its going to be jackpot for some, and a drain for the others. Something like Sony and its proprietory DVD technology.

This discussion about alternate fuels reminds me of an interesting interview of Mr. Carlos Ghosn where he made a convincing argument of why Nissan wont invest in alternate fuels.

Or maybe its because they cant afford it.

Rekha · 5th December 2006, 13:14

[HTML]
This discussion about alternate fuels reminds me of an interesting interview of Mr. Carlos Ghosn where he made a convincing argument of why Nissan wont invest in alternate fuels.
[/HTML]
hi,
may i know what exactly was the argument made by Mr. Carlos about the alternate fuel or from where can i get what he told (Source).

heelntoe · 5th December 2006, 15:54

i see civic, accord, tsx and tl in the second car.

the first one looks a bit similar to the acura advanced concept(for the sake of your eyes, dont google that.)

alternative fuels will succed, which fuel though will remain to be seen. i was watching a show on discovery where they showed a couple of air(yes air) powered vehicles, one had a rotary engine and they use compressed air stored in tanks.

ajitkommini · 5th December 2006, 16:54

When I saw the title of this thread i thought it referred to this

Rekha · 6th December 2006, 13:44

sorry guys. posted in wrong thread by mistake about camry and corolla

Jay · 6th December 2006, 14:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by heelntoe

i see civic, accord, tsx and tl in the second car.

... exactly what i thought when i saw it first...

ballkey · 19th November 2007, 10:07

Those who're following the Interwebs would be aware of the Honda FCX concept, now to be released as Honda Clarity. It comes to the market in 2008.

Honda FCX Clarity: Car of the century? - Telegraph

Has a hydrogen fuel-cell driven motor, with a range of 270k and a 0-100 time of around 10 seconds. The cool thing is, they've come up with another innovative way to refuel the thing - a home-based device to convert piped gas(cooking gas) to hydrogen.

Alternative Energy: The Best Way to Refuel Your FCX Clarity

Natural gas is reasonably abundant, and after a long time, I think this is a reasonably good alternative energy concept. The styling is not too bad, there is reasonable power and range, and they seem to have answered the refuelling question. With just water vapour as exhaust, this is possibly the cleanest option too.

I'm hoping a few enterprising Indian carmakers take inspiration, and start exploring alternative energy concepts soon enough.

vivekiny2k · 17th January 2008, 09:26

the concepts are on honda website now, CR-Z looks like prius. also a protoype pilot, looks more like land rovers to me.

Prototype Honda CR-Z Concept Car - the Official Honda Web site

sujaylahiri · 17th January 2008, 09:56

I thought Honda was already selling the FCX in California and some other states and they also had a number of hydrogen filling stations there. Although the initial operational cost is much higher than diesel or gasoline, but it gives out zero emissions. But Honda said that once they opened up more filling stations, then it'll be much cheaper to run.

2nd December 2006, 12:44	#1
Rekha BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 38 Thanked: 0 Times	Honda Jets to the Future hi BHPians, Honda rolled out two new concept cars at the LA Auto Show yesterday -- a sports car that looks ready for the runway and an hybrid fuel cell vehicle. The silver sports car looks like a mini jet fighter and features a 4-cylinder engine and a 6-speed manual transmission. Nice eye candy for now, but it could be the shape of real things to come. Even more interestingly Honda has hybridized its FCX fuel cell vehicle and plans to roll out a new production model in 2008. The new FCX features and redesigned fuel cell stack and drive train that are is much lighter and 40 percent smaller than the previous model. The 127 horsepower vehicle uses a natural Bio-Fabric for the interior (yeah less plastics!), and replaces mechanical parts with a Shift By Wire transmission. Most significantly Honda added a lithium ion battery for auxiliary power. This shows that hybrid technology will enable fuel cell vehicles to be more efficient by capturing braking energy and extend their vehicle range. The press release doesn't mention if the car can run only on battery power at low speeds however. Fuel cell technology still has lots of room for improvement before it will become cost effective, and then there's the hydrogen infrastructure problem. But the continued progress is encouraging. P.S. - Mods, please move this thread if its not appropriate Last edited by adya33 : 2nd December 2006 at 17:25.
	() Thanks

2nd December 2006, 18:31	#2
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	Saw this on some websites today. The Remix concept really looks weird. eek: Honda is trying to be very futuristic with these ugly designs. Not something I would love from a Honda. The technological advances are much welcome. But, designs? UGGH, AIYEEEE!
	() Thanks

2nd December 2006, 23:18	#3
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,497 Thanked: 300,308 Times View My Garage	Somehow I see a lot of Accord in the second concept. All this talk of alternate energies is damn interesting, and its only anyones guess what the next big automotive fuel may be. Most global manufacturers are placing strong bets on different kinds of energy sources...so its going to be jackpot for some, and a drain for the others. Something like Sony and its proprietory DVD technology. This discussion about alternate fuels reminds me of an interesting interview of Mr. Carlos Ghosn where he made a convincing argument of why Nissan wont invest in alternate fuels. Or maybe its because they cant afford it. Last edited by GTO : 2nd December 2006 at 23:19.
	() Thanks

5th December 2006, 13:14	#4
Rekha BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 38 Thanked: 0 Times	[HTML] This discussion about alternate fuels reminds me of an interesting interview of Mr. Carlos Ghosn where he made a convincing argument of why Nissan wont invest in alternate fuels. [/HTML] hi, may i know what exactly was the argument made by Mr. Carlos about the alternate fuel or from where can i get what he told (Source).
	() Thanks

5th December 2006, 15:54	#5
heelntoe BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: navi mumbai Posts: 240 Thanked: Once	i see civic, accord, tsx and tl in the second car. the first one looks a bit similar to the acura advanced concept(for the sake of your eyes, dont google that.) alternative fuels will succed, which fuel though will remain to be seen. i was watching a show on discovery where they showed a couple of air(yes air) powered vehicles, one had a rotary engine and they use compressed air stored in tanks. Last edited by heelntoe : 5th December 2006 at 15:58.
	() Thanks

5th December 2006, 16:54	#6
ajitkommini BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 490 Thanked: 124 Times	When I saw the title of this thread i thought it referred to this
	() Thanks

6th December 2006, 13:44	#7
Rekha BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 38 Thanked: 0 Times	sorry guys. posted in wrong thread by mistake about camry and corolla Last edited by Rekha : 6th December 2006 at 14:02.
	() Thanks

19th November 2007, 10:07	#9
ballkey BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 422 Thanked: 28 Times	Those who're following the Interwebs would be aware of the Honda FCX concept, now to be released as Honda Clarity. It comes to the market in 2008. Honda FCX Clarity: Car of the century? - Telegraph Has a hydrogen fuel-cell driven motor, with a range of 270k and a 0-100 time of around 10 seconds. The cool thing is, they've come up with another innovative way to refuel the thing - a home-based device to convert piped gas(cooking gas) to hydrogen. Alternative Energy: The Best Way to Refuel Your FCX Clarity Natural gas is reasonably abundant, and after a long time, I think this is a reasonably good alternative energy concept. The styling is not too bad, there is reasonable power and range, and they seem to have answered the refuelling question. With just water vapour as exhaust, this is possibly the cleanest option too. I'm hoping a few enterprising Indian carmakers take inspiration, and start exploring alternative energy concepts soon enough.
	() Thanks

17th January 2008, 09:26	#10
vivekiny2k Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: cincinnati, jabalpur,chennai Posts: 1,264 Thanked: 209 Times View My Garage	the concepts are on honda website now, CR-Z looks like prius. also a protoype pilot, looks more like land rovers to me. Prototype Honda CR-Z Concept Car - the Official Honda Web site
	() Thanks

17th January 2008, 09:56	#11
sujaylahiri BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North America Posts: 960 Thanked: 6 Times View My Garage	I thought Honda was already selling the FCX in California and some other states and they also had a number of hydrogen filling stations there. Although the initial operational cost is much higher than diesel or gasoline, but it gives out zero emissions. But Honda said that once they opened up more filling stations, then it'll be much cheaper to run.
	() Thanks