Nav system helps Honda FCX owner find hydro stations

Talk about a niche market. Honda recently announced that they will begin equipping all new hydrogen fuel cell-powered 2005 FCX vehicles with a navigation system that will include data on the location of all hydrogen refilling stations. How many stations would that be? A whopping total of 26, just nine of which are outside of California. Given that, we somehow suspect that FCX owners have long since memorized the route to nearby — and distant — hydro stations. Oh, and how many cars are we talking about? As of this month, Honda has a grand total of one retail customer for the FCX. So, Mr. and Mrs. Spallino, enjoy your new navigation system. 

[nemi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Wow, 26 filling stations for one car. I wonder if they get full service treatment?

[delerious @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I'd buy the car if I could.

[W @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Well, I guess the roadtrip to WallyWorld is out of the question. Unless the Filling stations are perfectly spaced accross the country.

Is Mr. Spellino's first name Clark W?

[Jacob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Gotta watch that naming.

"Hydro" = "Hydroelectric Power" (electricity from the wall, in general) in much of Canada.

So a Hydro Station would be where you plug in an electric car.

[kaolin fire @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Yeah, hydroelectric was my first impression, too (it's not just a Canadian thing ;)

[Jack L. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Too bad hydrogen vehicles is such a 'feel good' politically correct statement, please look into it yourself, with even the more modern technology, it is not a solution to our energy problems, wish we could look into more feasible options (as in extremely quick charging electrics and charging stations at currently existing gas stations, at least our power plants typically rely on domestic fuel)

[iDriveX @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

One of those hydrogen fuel cell refilling stations is about a block from my house. It's down a long road and it deadends in a cul'd sac. In the cul d'sac is one refilling pump with a phone next to it. I had no idea what the thing was so I picked up the phone (Which was covered in cobwebs) and a woman picked up and was like "Hello?" and I was like "What is this?" and she went on to explain that it was for electric fuel cells, etc. But man, the whole area looked like a scene out of dawn of the dead. One pump, middle of nowhere, it was nighttime, no one around, didn't look like it had seen a human being for years...

[OddManOut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

To: iDriveX

Dude, sounds like the perfect set for a little indie film. Limitless possibilities I tell you!

[allen @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I don't give a crap about political correctness. But the gas price in SoCal is getting to a point that I'm considering buying a smaller and more fuel efficent car. This is crazy.

[akp @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

*sigh* I would love to have one of these. Wish they would sell them to more than, you know, 1 guy.

[quixote @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I'd buy one too. In a minute. I can't wait for a car covered in high-efficiency photovoltaics that runs on water. Until then, I'll take what I can get.

Re gas prices in SoCal: yeah. We're looking at converting to LPG, but it helps to have a pre-fuel injection car. Luckily, we live in a neighborhood full of old beaters....

[iDriveX @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

To #8 - But what happens if Mr. Spallino comes up and ruins my shot?!?! I'm not going to take that risk!

[Beau @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

peakoil.com

Hydrogen is just an energy carrier.

[Robert @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Something big and so far unthought of will have to happen to increase the portability of hydrogen or this thing is going to make the EV1 look like a success. In the meantime you can always drive a car of less mass and power. IC engine efficiency has been increasing reasonably well, but the gains have mostly gone to increased HP. It also helps to drive less. Fuel Cell technology is very interesting, but not even close to being a viable alternative anytime soon.

[Zon @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Maybe Honda would be better off offering in-car navigation to Bill Nye's house so he could whip up some hydrogen for that lucky family.

Whatever happened to CNG in this whole alt-fuel landscape? Sure, it's fossil, but the U.S. has tons of it, it's clean-burning, you can convert any gas-powered car to it ... and fill the damn thing up in your garage if you have natural gas at home!

[Dull @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Will begin equipping all new hydrogen fuel cell-powered 2005 FCX vehicles?

Don't the 2006's models come out in a couple of months?

[Gene @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

As cool as new technology is -- and trust me, I want one -- I'm worried that this emphasis on hydrogen will become a cul de sac in terms of energy development. Right now, it takes more energy (and pollution) to generate hydrogen than the hydrogen itself replaces, so it's a net loss. Then again, if all our cars were powered by hydrogen, and hydrogen production was centralized and pollution controlled, we'd have much cleaner skies, wouldn't we?
How much does H cost at the pump, I wonder?

[Omega X @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I don't care what the costs are, the fact remains that petrol fuel is volatile and nonrenewable. Its only a matter of time before someone comes up with a cost friendly solution. Then petrol companies will have NO CHOICE but to convert or go bankrupt.

[eye @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

You morons. Just how petrol stations were there 100 years ago? Everything ran on coal or hay, and there were thousands of jerks like you going "Yeah, it looks cool, but where are you going to get the gasoline dude? I'm sticking with my horse buggy thanks".

Don't worry. The petrol companies are switching to hydrogen, so there'll soon be one on every forecourt.

And...
"But the gas price in SoCal is getting to a point that I'm considering buying a smaller and more fuel efficent car."

That's why Americans are held in such contempt around the world as selfish greedy polluters. You don't think you should buy a smaller more fuel efficient car JUST BECAUSE IT IS MORE FUEL EFFICIENT!!!???

[Peter of Europe @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

It's nice of Honda to try but I think the message is falling on deaf ears.

The US can't seem to get away from it's huge UGLY gas guzzling SUVs. And until they all realise there is a world full of other people outside of America they will struggle to convert to energy efficient, environmentally friendly cars.

The fuel cell was originally invented in 1860something and it's the oil companies that have held it at bay so they can help us all polute the planet whilst making a profit. Nobody needs an engine over 2.5litres so it's high time we all woke up and saw reality. If the world and the US in particular don't change their habits we won't have a clean planet to worry about. We have about 5 years people to get this right. Otherwise it's going to be too late. BMW, Mercedes, Citreon and many others are all trying to do their bit. We have to do ours. Bush bleets on about business and the economy. STUFF the economy if we fail to change our ways there won't be any economy. There will only be a dying planet full of asthmatics.

[Michael Lomker @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Jack L., fuel cells are definitely the vehicles of the future--the spent fuel is nothing but water. The only problem today is that creating the hydrogen isn't efficient enough but that's because the haven't had 100 years (like gasoline) to refine their production methods. There are already means of producing hydrogen using a nuclear reactor that'd have no greenhouse gas output.

Peter, if you want to get worked up about pollution then I suggest you take a flight to Beijing and compare the smog to any city in the United States. There are much bigger fish to fry on a worldwide scope than USA automobiles.

Indeed, most of the Americans that I know of actually own foreign vehicles. There are a number of hybrid trucks coming out over the next couple of years that are as efficient as a sedan.

[Samuel Lago @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

First of all this should be a feature in Google Maps or MS Virtual Earth.

Secondly the fuel cell station should have not only solar panels but its own mini wind turbine(s) on the roof so it can power itself greenly.

And third would be the guarantee that the production of the hydrogen fuel was CO2 free.

[RevBroVT @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Just a note about a previous comment...
"Hydrogen is just an energy carrier."

OF COURSE! All fuels are energy carriers. You have to use oil and electricity to make gasoline, it doesn't just spring from the ground by magic. You have to mine and refine coal, mine and refine uranium, drilling for oil often results in natural gas. I've heard this argument before, and it makes no sense.

Hydrogen is the SINGLE most abundant element in the Universe, so us using it up any time soon isn't an issue.

The most popular method of hydrogen production is electrolysis of water but nothing says some bright scientists or engineers won't come up with a more clever method of production.

[Buzzcut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Whew, just because you're a gadget freak doesn't mean you have an engineering clue, evidently.

Photovoltaics and wind turbines on the top of cars are particularly ignorant ideas.

BUT...

PVs on your house and a wind turbine in the back yard MIGHT be enough to power some electrolysis. Make your own H2 (the modelcule, not the Hummer). People in sunny, windy places like the Plains states could do this.

The only problem is that the FCV has a range of like 100 miles or so. People in Nebraska generally have to drive farther than that to commute, shop, etc.

As for the America-bashers, Americans drive SUVs because we actually reproduce. Euros drive shitboxes because because they have no offspring. In 50 years, most of Europe will be an Islamic theocracy as a result.

[aw3 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

"As for the America-bashers, Americans drive SUVs because we actually reproduce. Euros drive shitboxes because because they have no offspring. In 50 years, most of Europe will be an Islamic theocracy as a result."

Are you serious? People have been ferrying kids around in PASSENGER cars.

My gawd, Americans like you SHOULD be killed. We'll just bomb the US and leave California alone.

[hippy hair @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Mr. Buzzcut, welcome back from vacation, loved you on Beavis. What an idiot you are. The fact that you are reproducing is a sure sign of why this country, though it may not be a islamic theocracy, is going to be full of dimwitted, pasty-faced idiots, who, for the record, are also fundamentalists.

Few other points here: forget hydrogen in cars for now, it is a total diversion for the fools in the American auto industry who have turned in sickening numbers of the past five years. Hybrids are the way for now. Hopefully there will be plugin Priuses. And blended biofuels look very promising. (Ethanol made from left over cellulose (farm waste).) (This is being figured out in South America while the idiots like Buzzcut in the US try and use ethanol as a way to sell more corn.) See Farid Zakaria's article '500 Miles a Gallon.'

If we have so much CNG, why are the dopes in the Bush admin destroying the Rockies to get more?

Solar s/b everywhere. But thanks to the fat and stupid clowns in CA politics, you can't even get a rebate anymore for solar in LA. The lardasses in CA government's expenses and pensions are safe, but we can't use a dime of the huge CA taxes to offset initial investment.

[Longshot @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Buzzcut...seriously, are you an idiot? I've spent lots of time overseas, and have seen many people with large families. I LIVE in SoCal, and see most idiots driving their damn SUV's ALONE or with ONE freakin' kid.

[Buzzcut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Yep, Farid Zakaria is an automotive engineer, so we should give a fuck what he thinks.

And because every SUV you see has only the driver in it, that MUST mean that people don't buy them because they have large families or tow boats and campers and other fun stuff.

And Brazil! If only we were more like Brazil! I mean, just because its a tropical country that NEVER has freezing weather, and ethanol doesn't burn real well in the cold, doesn't mean that we SHOULDN'T FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS.

Stick to cellphones and Playstations, guys. 'Cause this auto ENGINEER is here to tell you that you all are raving leftwing nitwits.

As for Europe... look at the statistics, man. They do not reproduce, except for the Muslims. Do a straightline projection and see at what point Muslims outnumber Frenchmen, or Germans, or whatever.

I got no problem with the Prius, or ethanol blends for that matter. One day ethanol may be made from waste products. Biodiesel is great, if you can get it.

I just don't like the leftwing conspiracy stuff. Nor the America bashing.

[Jim @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Sadly Buzzcut you are what gives people a reason to bash the US. You don't like people bashing it but you give them good reason. You are a classic US bigot. Europe has a huge culturaly diverse population and I fail to see why you have a thing about muslims other than the fact you have been cleverly brainwashed by your George "the oilman" Bush and his oily entourage. I don't know whose statistics you are reading but they are clearly inaccurate. Perhaps if you had voted for a better president who actually cared about the whole world not just his back yard then the world would be less inclined to bash the US. We all need to wake up and smell the pollution. Most studies suggest we don't have much time to get it sorted.

[Buzzcut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Europe IS a huge, culturally diverse continent. I never said that it was not. But facts are facts. Women need to produce 2.1 children on average in order for the current population to replace itself. Italian women produce barely one child, on average. The French and Germans are a little better, but still below replacement levels.

American women are right at 2.1. For this you can credit low taxes and the minivan!

BTW, as far as the FCX goes, read the review of it in Car and Driver a couple of months ago. While it is a shitbox through and through (small, slow, not much fun to drive), it is still a Honda. There is no doubt in my mind that it would be as reliable as any production Honda, which is saying a lot for a one off prototype. Honda is a company run by engineers, and it shows.

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Marc,

From your article, it sounds like you're talking down on these people (Mr. and Mrs. Spallino), when in fact they are pioneers in this arena. This technology is going to revolutionize automobiles, your bread and butter, so you might want to show a little respect...