All About Cars

Coming soon to a freeway near you: cars that don’t need gasoline. American Honda Motor Co, Ford Motor Co and General Motors Corp. announced plans at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday to put alternative fuel technology vehicles on the road in California in coming months. A few drivers will even get to park them in their garages.

Honda and GM’s Chevrolet have developed hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars for limited test use, while Ford is producing a plug-in hybrid vehicle. And although none are being manufactured in large quantities —mass production is still years away—the limited trials will be a tantalising taste of what’s likely to come.

The FCX Clarity is what Honda calls a “production” version of a hydrogen fuel cell car it first exhibited two years ago. It promises zero emissions and luxury features such as heated seats and Bluetooth connectivity while getting about the equivalent of 68 miles per gallon.

Honda says it will lease the four-door sedans to a limited number of people by next summer. The three-year lease—the first time fuel cell cars will have been made commercially available anywhere—will be $600 a month, or about the cost of a BMW 5 Series , Honda executives said. Motorists will be able to keep the cars at home and drive them as they please while being mindful that the fuel tank allows them to go 270 miles between fill-ups.

The Japanese automaker won’t say how much each FCX Clarity costs to make but admits the lease comes nowhere near to covering its expenses. Hydrogen fuel cell cars, which convert hydrogen into electricity used to power a motor, can cost $1 million or more each to make. “At the end of the lease, we definitely want them back,” said Dan Bonawitz, vice-president of corporate planning and logistics for Honda. The company will use the lease term to gather information on the vehicle.

GM, meanwhile, says it will distribute 100 hydrogen fuel cell-powered Chevrolet Equinox crossovers over the next half year, including 10 that it will lend to Walt Disney Co. Like the Honda FCX, the Equinoxes will be used for company research. “These will give up a good practical test of where these cars belong,” said GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz, adding that other Equinoxes will end up in “the hands of the public” and celebrities.

Honda and GM are focusing on Southern California because of its relative abundance of hydrogen fuel stations. Beyond Santa Monica, Irvine and Torrance, there are stations in Burbank, Diamond Bar and Long Beach, and about 20 others in the state. In many other parts of the country, there are no stations.

Ford, meanwhile, is lending 20 plug-in hybrid Escapes to Southern California Edison . The utility, which will use them as fleet vehicles, is to take delivery next month. Ford said it had planned to announce the partnership on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” but was unable to do so because of the writers strike.

The tests by Honda, Ford and GM are “a demonstration on the part of the carmakers that they’re green,” said David Healy, an analyst at Burnham Securities. “Or at least that they look like they’re green.”

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday took to the stage at the Los Angeles Auto Show to tout his environmentally friendly politics and praise car manufacturers increasingly turning to “green” technology.

“I hadn’t seen that much technology since I did my Terminator movies,” said the affable, former action-film star who has a passion for cars and is often seen behind the wheel of his gas-guzzling Hummer, drawing fire from environmentalists.

Since becoming governor in 2003, however, Schwarzenegger has invested heavily in environmental programs, including ambitious legislation passed last year to slash California’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020 — the first US state to do so.

To set an example, Schwarzenegger converted his Hummer to run on hydrogen and his administration on November 8 filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the federal government to force it to approve California’s tough new restrictions on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.

But this political will belies the reality of a California with 30 million registered vehicles and a poorly developed public transport system that makes car ownership a necessity for too many.

Faced with rising gasoline prices and global warming concerns, car and car parts makers, as well as politicians who fear being branded interventionists, prefer backing new technologies that will let Americans keep their car-centric way of life.

“It is fantastic to see that the world’s automakers are developing the technology to help us meet our goals in California,” said Schwarzenegger before presenting six vehicles posing different environmental solutions.

“These cars come in every size and shape and they prove that we can give consumers the choices they want and still protect the environment,” he said. “This is exactly the kind of innovation we need.”

The cars included an Audi sedan that runs on biofuel, a cheap diesel-powered Volkswagen Jetta, and the electric prototype Chevrolet Volt, which represents a complete about-face for General Motors in seeking non-polluting technologies.

Two hybrids were also highlighted by Schwarzenegger: the 4×4 Dodge Durango for Americans who want an eight-passenger vehicle capable of pulling massive loads and still save gas in the city, and a new, rechargeable Toyota Prius.

The Japanese carmaker recently loaned two rechargeable Prius to California universities to have them assessed in real driving conditions and put its 100 kilometers-per-liter (250 miles per gallon) boast to the test.

Finally, Schwarzenegger brought out Honda’s new “FCX Clarity,” a family car that runs on hydrogen battery power and only emits water vapor that will become available in limited locations in southern California next year.

Schwarzenegger’s press conference was held shortly after the 2007 “Green Car of the Year” award was announced for Durango’s cousin, the Chevrolet Tahoe with its hybrid engine that consumes a modest 100 kilometers per 10 liters (40 miles per gallon).