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Film producer Ron Yerxa will take delivery of the
first FCX Clarity in July. The remaining four early adopters for
Honda’s next-generation fuel cell vehicle are author and actress
Jamie Lee Curtis and her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest;
business owner and car enthusiast Jim Salomon; actress Laura Harris;
and Jon Spallino, already the world’s first retail fuel cell vehicle
customer, who has been leasing the current generation FCX since
2005. Yerxa, Harris and Spallino attended the event in Japan.
To provide its customers with outstanding sales and service support
and as a critical step in advancing fuel cell vehicles in the real
world, American Honda announced the establishment of the first
network of dealers to facilitate the sales and service of fuel cell
vehicles. The three Southern California Honda dealers are Power
Honda Costa Mesa (Costa Mesa), Honda of Santa Monica (Santa Monica)
and Scott Robinson Honda (Torrance).
“This is an important day in the history of fuel cell vehicle
technology and a monumental step closer to the day when fuel cell
cars will be part of the mainstream,” said John Mendel, executive
vice president of American Honda. “Our customers and dealers share
in our vision for a cleaner and more sustainable transportation
future, and share in our challenge to embrace a new generation of
automotive technology that we think will carry the auto industry and
its customers into the future.”
FCX Clarity Customers
The five customers announced today were among the very first people
to share with Honda their passion for the environment and interest
in the FCX Clarity, dating back to its debut as a concept model at
the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. The initial criteria for fuel cell
vehicle ownership, including proximity to hydrogen refueling
stations, driving patterns and vehicle needs, all played a part in
Honda’s customer selection process.
“Auto companies can’t explore the potential for fuel cell technology
as the ultimate solution to our world’s energy and environmental
challenges by ourselves. Our customers are true pioneers and leaders
in the effort to bring fuel cell technology to the marketplace,”
said Mendel.
Ron Yerxa, a film producer and partner at Bona Fide Productions, is
a long-time car enthusiast and advocate for the environment. He
lives with his wife, Annette Ballester, in Santa Monica, California.
Yerxa first learned of the FCX Concept vehicle from a car magazine
and contacted American Honda to share his interest and enthusiasm.
Jon Spallino, partner and Chief Financial Officer of an Irvine,
California-based engineering and construction firm and the world’s
first retail customer of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle, is
excited to trade in his first-generation FCX for the all-new FCX
Clarity. Having lived with fuel cell technology for three years now,
Spallino and his family, residents of Redondo Beach, California, are
looking forward to the all-new vehicle’s vastly improved
performance, enhanced features, improved fuel efficiency, and
advanced four-door, four-passenger sedan design.
Actress and children’s book author Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband,
filmmaker Christopher Guest, also live with their family in Santa
Monica. Curtis and Guest have owned other alternative fuel and
hybrid vehicles, and they continue to seek out ways to live and
advocate a greener lifestyle.
Jim Salomon, a business owner and car enthusiast, resides in Newport
Beach, California with his family and will be American Honda’s first
retail customer to regularly refuel at the recently renovated Irvine
hydrogen refueling station. Salomon and his family live in a home he
designed and built with an emphasis on energy efficiency as well as
recycled and sustainable materials.
Actress and green advocate Laura Harris learned about the FCX
Clarity from a friend and test drove a prototype car at the Los
Angeles auto show in November 2007. Canadian-born Harris lives in
Silverlake, California, and will refuel primarily in Burbank.
Lessons learned from her usage patterns and experiences can help
pave the way for eventual market expansion outside of the Irvine,
Torrance, and Santa Monica areas.
Honda previously announced plans to deliver about 200 FCX Clarity
hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles in the U.S. and Japan to
customers in the first three years of production, with leases
beginning in July. The lease program marks the world’s first
large-scale retail initiative for fuel cell vehicle technology.
First-ever Fuel Cell Vehicle Dealership Network
Reinforcing its commitment to further advance Honda fuel cell
technology, American Honda announced that three Southern California
dealerships will comprise the world’s first fuel cell automobile
dealership network. Power Honda Costa Mesa, Honda of Santa Monica
and Scott Robinson Honda are each located in close proximity to
hydrogen refueling stations and will be well-positioned to support
Honda’s growing base of FCX Clarity customers.
American Honda is working with its dealer partners to implement
processes for fuel cell vehicle lease, delivery and service support
for the duration of their leases. Establishing a dedicated sales
network and service infrastructure provides customers with the best
balance of convenience and the highest quality of service. When the
FCX Clarity requires periodic maintenance, customers will simply
schedule a visit with their local FCX Clarity dealer.
American Honda will perform all required work at its specialized
fuel cell service facility, in the greater Los Angeles area. Upon
completion of the work, the dealer will return the vehicle to the
customer.
About the FCX Clarity
The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, hydrogen powered fuel
cell-powered vehicle. Propelled by an electric motor that runs on
electricity generated in the fuel cell, the vehicle’s only emission
is water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern
gasoline-powered automobile. Based on the entirely-new Honda V Flow
fuel cell platform, and powered by a highly compact, efficient and
powerful new Honda V Flow fuel cell stack, the FCX Clarity marks the
significant progress Honda continues to make in advancing the
real-world performance and appeal of the fuel cell car. Significant
advances over Honda’s previous generation FCX include:
- an advanced new four passenger sedan design
- a greater than 30 percent increase in driving range up to 280
miles*
- a 25 percent increase in combined fuel economy to 72 miles/kg-H2*
(74 mpg GGE <miles per gallon gasoline gallon equivalent energy>)
- a 50 percent improvement in fuel stack power output density by
volume
- a 40 percent smaller and 50 percent lighter new lithium ion
battery pack
*Based on official 2008 EPA estimated range and fuel efficiency
value Honda is responsible for the development of the
world’s first fuel cell car (Honda FCX) to be certified for regular
commercial use by the U.S. EPA and California Air Resources Board;
the first deployment of a fuel cell car with a fleet customer; and
the first individual retail customer for a fuel cell vehicle. |
