2014 Honda Pilot Ex-l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

In 2014, living with a hydrogen car is fun, challenging

Read his lips: more hydrogen stations, please. That's the crux of the commentary from a Southern California gentleman who's been tooling around in a Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle since 2005. Jon Spallino, the first "retail customer" to lease the Clarity, tells The Wall Street Journal that he enjoys "everything about the car," including the peppy acceleration from the car's electric powertrain. The added bonus, of course, is the fact that the car's emissions are nothing more than water vapor. He pays $600 a month to lease the car, including the hydrogen refueling costs, and says he can go about 230 miles on a full tank. The flipside is the paucity in hydrogen refueling stations, which is understandable considering that they cost an estimated couple million dollars a pop to open. It's no accident that Spallino is one of the early hydrogen drivers, though, since there are eight public refueling stations in Southern California (and one in Northern California), more than any other state, according to US Department of Energy records. The only other public station is in South Carolina, so road trips are tough. Spallino, a resident of Redondo Beach, joins higher-profile folks such as actress Jamie Lee Curtis and former pro hockey player Scott Niedermayer among those who've gotten the opportunity to lease the super-low-volume fuel-cell vehicle. How low? Honda leased out 10 of them last year and just five in 2012. You can read more of Spallino's hydrogen-powered thoughts here.

Honda Clarity goes on sale in Japan, but only 200 units a year

Honda has officially started leasing its Clarity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to select customers in Japan, and the sedan should arrive at a few dealers in California late in the year. Once the model is available in the US, expect the Clarity to be the natural challenger to the Toyota Mirai FCEV. The Clarity boasts an electric motor with 174 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. In Japan's JC08 test, Honda claims the sedan can travel the equivalent of 466 miles, but that evaluation is more lenient than its US equivalent. The automakers expects the sedan to receive an EPA-estimated driving distance of over 300 miles. Prices in Japan begin at the current equivalent of $67,800. However, examples here should retail for around $60,000 and lease for under $500 a month. The Toyota Mirai is similar to the Clarity in major categories, including an EPA range of 312 miles and leases for $499 a month. The two of them should have quite a fight. Honda plans to limit Clarity production to 200 units in Japan for the first year, and only government agencies or businesses can lease them there. After the company collects impressions from these clients, it intends to make the sedan available to individuals. The decision only to lease the Clarity at first evokes the early days at of electric vehicles when companies like General Motors used the strategy to get the EV1 to customers. One thing that could give Honda the edge in the upcoming hydrogen fuel cell battle is its history in the market. The company first offered them with the FCX and later followed up with the FCX Clarity. By this point, the automaker should be well acquainted with the process. Related Video: Honda Begins Sales of All-new Clarity Fuel Cell - Clarity Fuel Cell realizes the world's top-class cruising range among zero emission vehicles of approximately 750 km - TOKYO, Japan, March 10, 2016 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today began sales in Japan of its all-new fuel cell vehicle (FCV), the Clarity Fuel Cell. Striving to realize full-fledged popularization of FCVs, Honda created Clarity Fuel Cell as an FCV featuring both a high level of practicality that represents the "universal value" of an automobile and "cutting-edge appeal" that is suitable for a vehicle that is at the forefront of the times. Clarity Fuel Cell is the world's first*1 five-passenger sedan type FCV, realized by making the fuel cell powertrain more compact using original Honda technologies and fitting it entirely under the hood of the car.

Acura ILX headed for Civic-like early upgrades

The not-yet-ready-for-primetime 2012 Honda Civic saw it quickly returned to sender for refurbishment, now the Acura ILX is headed in the same direction in its very first year. Automotive News reports that the small, Civic-based sedan from Honda's luxury brand isn't meeting sales expectations, with an annualized rate of 22,000 to 24,000 sales instead of the 30,000 the company is after. More telling is that the ILX "is being outsold by the Buick Verano, Volkswagen CC and Audi A4," and, except for two months since it launched, it has also been outdone by the Acura TSX it is meant to replace.
Part of the cause has been the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine: its 150 horsepower to motivate a sedan that can weigh up to 2,970 pounds doesn't offer the kind of performance or value experience that buyers in the segment respond to. Another big issue is that the top-level 2.4-liter engine is only offered with a six-speed manual even though most buyers of the highest trim don't really want to shift their own gears. Lastly, the ILX might not put enough space between it and its frugal underpinnings - our first drive review pegged it as "the world's nicest Honda Civic."
An automatic transmission is on the way for the 2.4-liter, but it isn't clear when. And while Honda admits that the 2.0-liter is underpowered and Automotive News says it's on the way out, the company hasn't yet said how that situation will be corrected.