• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Ford Recalling 39K Full-Size SUVs Due to Potential Fire Issue
  • Mercedes-Benz Abandons Its Entry-Level Ambitions
  • Push is on to Make Stealing a Catalytic Converter a Federal Crime
  • Toyota Marks 25th Anniversary of Sienna Minivan
  • Honda Offers Early Look at Prologue EV
  • Argo AI Shifts to Driverless Operations in Two Markets
  • Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Jeep and Nissan Fare Badly in Latest Crash Tests
  • Finally! Lexus RX to Get a Complete Makeover
  • Inflation Affecting Summer Vacation Plans
  • 2023 BMW 3 Series Gets Updated Exterior, More Tech, Mild Hybrid Drivetrain
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2022 Kia Forte GT
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis GV60
    • First Drive: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C 300
    • First Impression: 2023 Nissan Z
    • A Week With: 2022 Lexus LC 500 Convertible
    • A Week With: 2022 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Crew Cab
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
    • First Drive(s): 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate and AT4X
    • A Week With: 2022 BMW i4 M50
    • A Week With: 2022 Mazda CX-5
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > Honda Has Broader Plans for New Hydrogen Car Platform

        Honda Has Broader Plans for New Hydrogen Car Platform

        Along with fuel-cell model, battery-car, plug-in hybrid models to come.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Nov. 19, 2015
        The new Honda Clarity will soon offer a plug-in hybrid and pure battery option, along with the hydrogen-powered version soon going on sale.

        Honda has become the latest automaker to launch a fuel-cell vehicle on the U.S. retail market, unveiling the production version of the Clarity hydrogen car at the L.A. Auto Show on Wednesday.

        But the project is creating a bit of confusion because Clarity is more than just a hydrogen car. It is actually a flexible platform that will eventually be used for a wide variety of alternative-power vehicles, including a plug-in and a pure battery-electric vehicle, or BEV, American Honda chief John Mendel told TheDetroitBureau.com.

        Plug-In!

        Clarity “will be the platform for at least two” other clean models, Mendel explained during an L.A. interview, adding “It will be another pillar for us,” allowing Honda to expand its alternative offerings “in a more mainstream way.”

        The Japanese carmaker is offering only some hints of what’s in store, but it is expected to add a plug-in hybrid version of the Clarity in 2018, with an all-electric BEV model to follow soon afterwards.

        “Fundamentally, at their core, they are all electric vehicles,” including the new Clarity Fuel-Cell Vehicle, said Mendel.

        (For more on Honda’s hydrogen plans, Click Here.)

        The Clarity plug-in could borrow some of its technology from the system being used in the new Acura NSX.

        The hydrogen car is powered by a device called a “stack, which combines the lightweight gas with oxygen to create a flow of current. In turn, that can be used to run the same electric motors that would be used in a pure battery-powered version of the Clarity. The only emission created by a fuel-cell stack is water vapor.

        When the hydrogen version of the Clarity goes on sale next year, Honda will become the third automaker to have a fuel-cell vehicle on the retail market, along with Toyota and Hyundai. Other makers, including General Motors and Daimler AG, are exploring their own, broad retail opportunities.

        (Chevy teams up with US Army to test hydrogen-powered Colorado pickup. Click Here for more.)

        The big challenge is the lack of a refueling infrastructure. There currently are only about a dozen stations in the U.S., most in Southern California, though the Golden State has set aside funds to put in about 100 pumps by decade’s end. Citing a state study, Mendel said it’s expected 68 stations in the Southern California region alone could support up to 10,000 hydrogen cars.

        Not everyone is sold on fuel-cell technology, however. Elon Musk, the outspoken founder and CEO of battery carmaker Tesla Motors, has dubbed them “fool cells,” and even some environmentalists question hydrogen technology’s long-term potential.

        That’s why Honda is trying to cover all its bases. The Clarity platform will allow it to market two other leading alternatives to the traditional internal combustion engine.

        Honda has not said what form it will take with the Clarity plug-in hybrid model. There are two subtly different approaches. One pairs a downsized gas engine with electric motors. The vehicle can run on one or the other source of power – or use both to power its wheels simultaneously. That’s the method used in models such as the Toyota Prius Plug-in.

        The alternative, also known as an “extended-range electric vehicle,” only uses electric motors to turn its wheels. When its batteries are depleted, a gas engine fires up but only to serve as an onboard generator. That is the approach taken with the newly updated Chevrolet Volt.

        As for the pure battery-powered Honda Clarity, Mendel hinted that we can expect to see it offer longer range than current electric vehicles. Most of those models now on the market are limited to around 100 miles or less between charges.

        The exception is the Tesla Model S. Along with the Model X battery SUV just coming to market, it can get nearly 300 miles with an optional, long-range battery pack.  Chevrolet, meanwhile, is finishing development on the new Chevrolet Bolt which is expected to deliver 200 miles per charge when it reaches market next year. And Audi is promising a 300-mile SUV for 2018 based on the e-tron concept being shown in L.A.

        While he wouldn’t discuss details, Ryan Harty, Honda’s manager of environmental business, cautioned that the maker has to balance issues like weight, passenger space, cost and consumer needs when determining where to go with the Clarity BEV model. The between-the-lines message is that range will likely be closer to that of the Chevy Bolt than the Tesla Model S.

        The bottom line for Honda, however, is that all three versions of the Clarity will be “a real car people will want to buy,” said Mendel.

        Officials with Audi have said they hope their own battery-based models, such as that electric SUV, will represent as much as a quarter of their sales within a decade. As for Honda, “It’s not conceivable for electrified vehicles to constitute that (share) by 2025,” said Mendel.

        (Click Here for complete coverage of the 2015 LA Auto Show.)

        Recently Published
        2021 Ford Expedition STX front

        Ford Recalling 39K Full-Size SUVs Due to Potential Fire Issue

        Yesterday
        Mercedes Drive Pilot steering wheel controls

        Mercedes-Benz Abandons Its Entry-Level Ambitions

        Yesterday
        Catalytic converter theft

        Push is on to Make Stealing a Catalytic Converter a Federal Crime

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: