So how did feel the first time? I forgot to mention earlier but I love the design of the car!

@akirachan: Monday hombre, Monday

Being a Honda, I'm going to lay down a bet that it's more fun to drive than a Prius.

The globe does tend to get warm when it's ablaze. But the Malibu fire was caused by downed power lines, no?

@TRAMS_AM: Right, stupid me. Seven of the 10 busiest fire seasons have been since 1999 because of pure random chance. And Jane Fonda.

Ah, I remember at time when Jalopnik had to settle for press releases cribbed from other websites and now they get the keys to hydrogen-powered miracle machines. As that guy that Cate Blanchett's playing said, the times they are a-changin'.

This is a pretty sweet test drive. Mad props, Jalopnik.

@ThnderbltDoherty: Ah yes, back in the day...

call me crazy.. but isn't a bunch of cars spewing low level water vapor gonna trap industrial pollutants, hence more smog days?

I can only imagine what a traffic jam of these would be like in the downtown on a day with no wind. Other than that, congrats on getting to test a modern day wheeled hindenburg

@WheatKing: You are crazy.

Wow, that's more than twice as much as the Fuel Cell Chevy Sequel, although there are two Sequels in eXistenZ. If they can get that into production by decade's end, then this Clarity'll have some good 'ol competition!

...both The Golden Age and the Dylan flick were pieces of s***. Blanchett should fire her agent and hire Dame Helen Mirren's instead, before she gets cast in Beowulf 2 (or Saw V).

Pretty sure this is what results when an Accord and a Prius mate. Cool technology though, looking forward to the full review.

@Ray Wert: I'm proud of you guys. Seriously.

@bmoredlj: Yeah, I saw The Golden Age. Ick. As for I'm Not There, neither will I be, since I don't particularly care for folk music in general.

@ThnderbltDoherty: The man who wrote records like Nashville Skyline and Blood on the Tracks is no fucking folk musician.
@jonnylieberman: So. Damn. Jealous. If I drop by Mt. Washington and beg with puppy dog eyes, can I at least enjoy a cool, refreshing glass of its tailpipe emissions?

"Hey, check out our new hydrogen-powered wagon.....just kidding, hatchback......but really, sedan.

It's an ugly car with seventh generation Accord wheels; should sell nicely.

Now this, is news!
Way to go Jalopnik!

@FuzzyPlushroom: I had the exact same thought about the Prius-Accord combo.

Ya Global Warming causes fires. WTF? Why don't you explain how hydrogen burns as a fuel instead of running your mouth. Stop farting so you won't contribute to the "problem" of a 1 degree temperature increase every 100 years..

I'm jealous, this car is revolutionary and you test drove it!

@Gautch: It must be huge. Gautch hasn't chimed in since, what? 1968?

Alright, I'm officially jealous.

I second the props to both you guys for getting to this stage, and Honda for lending the car to you (I assume they did and you didn't just sit in the back seat while Dan Neil drove)

@Galaxie500: These are all very good points..

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. Honda tossed us the keys to their multi-million dollar pre-production baby..."

Wow, do they know who you are? Like... did they read the website? Or did they mistake you for some other, more respectable auto journalists?

@jonnylieberman:

To be honest, if you're looking for an example i suggest the sudden melting of the various icy/snowing parts of the globe. Does not bode well for us, unfortunately.

@jonnylieberman: Sean Hannity told me Global Warming was one of those "victimless crimes." You know, like drug use.

Seriously, nice score, though. Like Spence said, you should throw a splash of it's exhaust into a few fingers of good scotch and have yourself a poignant moment.

How long until we have photosynthesis-powered, nanomachine-based, molecular disassemblers to provide us with an economical, unlimited source of hydrogen? Or dietary supplements that let us fart it out into balloons?

The "fires a result of global warming" angle isn't working for me. I do think the "flaming disaster" angle is better considering the fuel source and all . . .

"Global Warming's victim", WTF? It's donut holes like the author of this "article" that reminds you that half the people have an IQ of less than 100. Didn't bother to read the rest of the article as it is probably crap.

Ugh, that down syndrome look that Honda puts on their new accords, civics, and now this, simply makes more people go out and get cars that do more than get you from point A to B.

I'm not sure I understand how this is more convenient than a battery-powered car. Aren't we more likely to see quick-recharge batteries and recharge stations along the highway than hydrogen refill stations? And doesn't electricity at least in theory offer the possibility of being totally carbon-free in the future? Granted, one could envision running these on hydrogen from electrolysis which would be a less efficient use of electricity but potentially carbon neutral aswell.

Is it more weight-efficient than battery-powered?

I'm sure it's more weight-efficient than the old lead-acid efforts but don't know compared to the current batteries. Someone must?

And what would the weight efficiency be compared to the upcoming improved lithium-ion batteries, assuming the claimed large improvement occurs?

It's clearly awesome, and, yeah, mad props an' all, but by the time the concept becomes production viable the driving platform will be totally different.

So, a brilliant opportunity to drive a revolutionary concept, and I'm madly jealous. Of course, with the advancement of technology being as it is, production models will probably drive way better still.

What a mouthwatering idea.... Enjoy

@Galaxie500:
It does. Working with an atmospheric physics group, you tend to pick up a few things. Like the drought that the south west has been suffering since 1950-odd, and how increasing the average earth's temperature by even a degree can cause soil to dry and precipitation patterns to shift.

@WheatKing:

That's not entirely untrue. Water vapor is a major greenhouse gas in the upper atmosphere, and can probably have an effect on the the amount and severity of bad air days.

All it will take is another Ice Age -- which the experts were predicting not long ago and which in terms of the longterm cycle of the Earth's orbit is due and, furthermore, extensive volcanic eruption is completely unpredictable and can drop temperature -- and everyone will be sobbing how we didn't pump more CO2 into the air to help moderate it.

The Earth has many times including recently been hotter than it is now. Buy an inferior car if you like out of enviro-guilt, but seriously believing that MAYBE saving a couple tenths of a degree over the next few decades at a cost of trillions of dollars is a decidely odd view, more political than anything else.

You know, when Greenland was green, not so long in the past, Earth's weather was about or actually the best it's ever been in recorded history. We are still a lot colder than that, and -- over the last decade -- getting colder not hotter. (The warming trend does not include the last approximate 10 years despite CO2 going up, so go figure.)

Honda has been rolling around this concept for at least 10 years, and it still looks fantastic. I don't care if it runs on whale oil, it's impressive that the basic design of the FCX has aged and evolved so well. If anything the original FCX looked a little better, these front doors are too Priusy.

In ten years will we have a movie "Who Killed the Hydrogen Car?"

You were right by my school!

@cgarison: I'm pretty sure the answer to that will be "the battery-powered car".

@Rishi: hydrogen has a much higher energy density than batteries, as evidenced by the range on this thing - 270 miles per tank vs the 100 or so miles that most all electrics seem to be limited to. Plus there's no recharge time. You can't just "fill" a battery in a few minutes. So there are advantages to hydrogen in typical American use vs electics which are much better suited to short-range commuter travel or puttering around those tiny European countries.

@Galaxie500: I'm sure we'd all stop farting if we could.

@WheatKing:

I used to have this same concern about more water vapor being pumped into our atmosphere from Hydrogen cars. I think any method should be looked at VERY closely for possible unforeseen effects. (I'm sure the creators of the internal combustion gasoline engine didn't think their invention would have global impact environmentally)

But with hydrogen combustion and water vapor, you have to realize two things.

1. Water Vapor is not the leading atmospheric contributor to global warming because of its warming ability but because of its QUANTITY. Any water vapor added from cars would be infinitessimal compared to the amount pumped into the atmosphere every day from millions of square miles of evaporating oceans.

2. Water vapor is a byproduct of ANY combustion, gasoline included, so there really wouldn't be much of a change if any from the amount of water vapor CURRENTLY being put into the air from gasoline vehicles.

That being said, I don't think the fires were "caused" by global warming. Any body who knows ANYTHING about science knows that correlation DOES NOT equal causation. Ever.

Duh, global warming caused the arsonists to commit arson, I mean it's obvious...

Let's not forget that water vapor is a greenhouse gas too, just like CO2...

@jonnylieberman: Random no, coincidental, yes. Maybe it's the lack of small, controlled, preventive brush fires, or the influx of people into previously uninhabited areas. Hmm, no, it's global warming.
What a cop out.
Just like Katrina was a federal government ploy rather than a city/state corruption of funds.

@WheatKing: You'd think that they would have learned to not coat the skins of vehicles with aluminum oxide by now... :P

looks like auto blog beat you to it

[www.autobloggreen.com]

@miken5678: Sorry Miken5678. Autoblog was over 2 days behind los jalops.

@cgarison: And it will point finger at GM as the big bag corporation that killed it. Despite half a dozen other car companies who had them as well.