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Honda has been leasing their Clarity Hybrid hydrogen-powered car in California for several years now. However, the automaker has been thinking about designing a family version of this vehicle. The new family car will be released on the market together with other two Clarity vehicles which will not be equipped with the hydrogen fueling technology.
Honda is bound to launch their Clarity Hybrid technology in all 50 states
One of the two new cars, namely the Honda Clarity Hybrid which was designed to recharge via plug-in technology, will be launched in all 50 states. Thus, the new vehicle will more accessible than the one fueled by hydrogen available in California. The hydrogen-fueled version of Honda Clarity is a silent car, but it does not appear to be different from driving a conventional car.
Hydrogen fuel cell cars are autonomous vehicles. This type of car is powered by electric engines without storing energy in a massive battery pack. Instead, the car is powered by using hydrogen gas, which runs through a fuel cell pack where hydrogen mixes with oxygen from the air. This whole process is meant to generate electricity. Moreover, this vehicle only emission is water.
The automaker is bound to release the family version of the green car
A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle provides two significant benefits compared with electric cars. The first one is that they have a more extended driving range before a refuel. The Clarity Hybrid hydrogen-fueled car can drive approximately 366 miles on a fill-up. The second advantage consists in the fact that they only need a few minutes to fuel. On the other hand, an electric car takes a few hours to fill up.
However, analysts indicate that there are also downsides. The most important aspect is that it is hard to find a hydrogen fueling station. What is more, these stations are difficult to be found even in California which has plenty of them, being the only state in which these vehicles are available at the moment. Another downside is that the battery packs of electric cars usually take up a significant space inside the car, being squeezed into floor cars.
When trying to store compressed gas, it means that we deal with barrel-shaped thanks which feature thick walls, making it pretty hard to be crammed anywhere. When it comes to the new Clarity model, it seems to be quite spacious for people, but the gas tank takes a lot of the luggage space, occupying a big place behind the back seats. For now, Honda announced that the Clarity Electric vehicle would be available for purchase only in Oregon and California and the hydrogen-fueled one will be available for lease.
Image source: flickr
