Honda is apparently ready to market the first consumer car powered by a fuel cell.

The Honda FCX’s fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to make water and electricity. The ectricity is stored in a battery which powers the FCX’s electric motor.

The result is an “environmentally clean” car — absolutely no pollution is emitted from the car. Only water vapor is the by product. Of course, producing the hydrogen itself at a processing plant causes pollution at that plant location.

According to early testers, the FCX is “fun to drive.” The FCX’s electric motor generates up to 127hp, takes off quickly from a standing start, drives at typical highway speeds, and is totally silent at idle. Driving around, you can actually hear the tires rolling across the pavement, and there is the occasional whirring of the spinning electric motor.

The only downside is that acceleration is on the slow side: going from 40mph to 70mph can be a struggle, so don’t try to pass that slow poke, merge quickly into traffic, or change lane abruptly. The acceleration responsiveness is one area that still needs improvement.

While some car manufacturers are still harping on how fast their cars drive, others are quietly creating cars that will really help the environment (as though it needed to be helped — we need to stop polluting our own air, is more like it).

I just can’t help wondering when eventually our roads are traffic-jammed (nothing changed here) with all those fuel cell powered cars, won’t all the water vapor being exhausted cause some major fog problems in the Summer (especially early in the morning rush hour) or slippery road conditions in the Winter? Am I the only one thinking about this? ;o)

Reference: CNN, Honda FCX Web Site, Honda FCX Future, Wikipedia

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