Honda producing hydrogen fueled car

TAKANEZAWA, Japan – Honda’s new zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell car is rolling off a Japanese production line and heading to Southern California, where Hollywood is abuzz over the latest in green motoring.

The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water and none of the gases believed to induce global warming. It is also twice as energy efficient as a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car, the company says.

Honda expects to lease out a “few dozen” units this year and about 200 units within a year. In California, a three-year lease will run $600 a month, which includes maintenance and collision coverage.

Among the first customers are actress Jamie Lee Curtis and filmmaker husband Christopher Guest, and actress Laura Harris, who played villainness Marie Warner on the hit TV show “24.”

“It’s so smooth,” Harris said. “It’s like a future machine, but it’s not.”

The biggest obstacles in the way of wider adoption of fuel cell cars are cost and the dearth of hydrogen fuel stations. For the Clarity’s release in California, Honda said it received 50,000 applications through its Web site but considered only buyers living near hydrogen fuel stations in Torrance, Santa Monica and Irvine.

Initially, the Clarity will go to a chosen few starting in July and then launch in Japan this fall.

Although Honda Motor Co. was the first Japanese automaker to launch a gas-electric hybrid vehicle in the United States, in 1999, it has been outpaced by the dominance of Toyota’s Prius. Toyota announced in May that it has sold more than 1 million Prius hybrids, while the Honda Insight and the hybrid Accord have been discontinued due to poor sales.

The FCX Clarity is part of Honda’s plan to keep pace with rivals in green technology. It also plans to launch a gas-electric hybrid-only model, as well as hybrid versions of the Civic, the sporty CR-Z and Fit subcompact.