John Mendel, Honda’s executive vice president, yesterday called for policy makers to refrain from promoting “the virtues of one technology and demonizing another.” Speaking at the Moving Ahead 2010 conference at Ohio State University, Mendel suggested that government agencies are “laying all their chips on the technology du jour.” Without explicitly pointing fingers at EVs, Mendel made it abundantly clear that he believes support for electric cars and next-generation batteries represent “a rush to select a winner that could lead us in the wrong direction.”
Honda has been banking on a transition to fuel cell cars as the long-term strategy for sustainable mobility. Nissan has been primarily moving toward pure battery-electric vehicles. Executives from both companies are now suggesting that hybrids and plug-in hybrids could be around for a very long time.
Perhaps the only time you’ve heard about fuel cell vehicles is when Hollywood stars roll up to the red carpet. Stars with a green streak are more than happy to lend their name to the cause of emission-free motoring, and car companies will do what’s necessary to promote their forward-thinking advanced technologies. What's the latest from LA?
Honda President Takeo Fukui with the Honda FCX. Fukui said, “When the demand is there, the hydrogen economy will happen.”
The sleek, sporty new design of the Honda FCX fuel cell vehicle certainly grabbed the attention of visitors to the 2007 North American International Auto Show, which runs through Jan. 21. The FCX’s predecessor, by comparison, was downright dowdy—but don’t think for a minute that Honda’s design team was asleep at the switch.
