Review of the Honda FCX Clarity

You can lease one of these for about $600/mo, but you have to live somewhere in southern California, because most, if not all of the compressed hydrogen pumps are located there. This car was chosen by the renowned automotive television show Top Gear as the car of the century in Season 12. With claims that oil will run out within the next forty years, somebody has to do something about making a car that runs on water, to keep civilization going.

The Honda FCX Clarity is a great car to kick Saudi Arabia back into the camel age because people always complain about the pollution that cars produce, there are a bunch of green movements all over the world, and prices for gas are on a rise, again! Well, those who rely on cars that run on petrol aren't exactly doomed yet. Because there are so many cars that still run on dinosaur bones, and the economy not permitting many people to buy a new car, the FCX Clarity will probably take a bit longer to catch on. But it will catch on. Give it a decade and soon, there will be hydrogen powered cars all over the place, and the petrol powered car in either a museum, a garage, or the junk yard.

The unique thing about Honda's hydrogen fuel cell movement is their cooperation with Power Plug, Inc. Power Plug, Inc. is working on a hydrogen station that will provide electricity and power for your house, and fuel for your FCX! They're located in Southern California, and this energy source is only available in that part of the country so far. My hopes are that this will spread because it's cleaner, considerably cheaper, and filling a car with fuel only takes a few minutes, and can be done right from your home!

Now, the exterior; and as far as the exterior is concerned, it looks like, well, a car! It's got four doors, four wheels, it moves on the ground, but how it moves is what makes it different. In the rear, there's a tank that stores hydrogen. It is then sent into a fuel cell that converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, which powers an electric motor. Now, I know Tesla tried to make an all-around car that runs on electricity, but I'm sorry Tesla, Honda beat you to it! The thing is, while the Tesla Roadster is claimed to run for about 200 miles on a charge, if you give it the real beans, if you drive it like a race car, you won't be able to juice much out of it. The FCX Clarity however, produces its own electricity by combining hydrogen with oxygen, and those two are the most abundant elements on earth! And once it's done using those, you don't have to worry about killing a local tree. In fact, that tree will hug you along with the rest of the trees out there!

To my surprise, the interior doesn't resemble a space ship, or anything out of science fiction! It's got a wheel, it's got gauges, it's got a radio and CD option. What's different though, is the fact that the interior doesn't use leather, but is made of biofabrics derived from plants! It's just as safe as you'd expect a Honda to be and just as hi-tech you'd expect Honda to be!

So, is the Honda FCX Clarity really the car of the century? Well, it's definitely something that will kick the Prius to the junk yard, where it belongs, and kick start an age of energy independence! As far as a car is concerned, it's still a car, there's nothing revolutionary about it except in how it gets you anywhere within 280 miles on a single charge of hydrogen and oxygen. So, yes; I think it's the car of the century, and it's a spark to a revolution where gas isn't a problem! So, here's a toast to the cleanest and the safest car ever produced - the Honda FCX Clarity!

Overall Rating: 4/5
Exterior Rating: 3/5
Interior Rating: 4/5
Performance Rating: 3/5