Jamie Lee Curtis has a new Honda: Another fuel-cell star is born
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This post comes to you from the letter H and the word ‘hydrogen.’ ‘Halloween’ star Jamie Lee Curtis has just taken delivery of her new Honda. It’s an FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle, which she will be leasing for three years. JLC is happy. ‘I really wasn’t expecting it to be so luxurious,’ she says. ‘It is user-friendly and very modern.’
The FCX, whose only emissions are heat and H2O, should be a regular sight in Santa Monica, because at least one other has gone to a well-heeled beach denizen. Plus, with a range of 280 miles and hydrogen filling stations few and far between (there are currently just a handful in Southern California, and most of those are open at limited times only — demand is rather low at the moment), they won’t be undertaking extended road trips anytime soon.
However, plans are in place for all that to change. Hoping to break this chicken-or-egg deadlock, the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP, a collaboration of carmakers, energy providers, tech companies and government agencies) has just released its vision for a hydrogen-fueled future. The full document can be seen on CaFCP’s website. Here are the highlights. It goes into the numbers of how many fuel-cell vehicles will be humming along the Golden State’s highways from 2010 to 2025 and how much hydrogen they will need. Even fuel-cell buses are part of CaFCP’s grand scheme.
‘It can be difficult to see how we move from today’s 200 FCVs and 25 limited-access stations to a commercial market,’ says executive director Catherine Dunwoody. ‘This document provides a clear vision of how that transition can occur.’
The idea is to set up an infrastructure of stations. CaFCP realizes this would be a loss-making venture in its initial stages and proposes government funding, although Dunwoody contends: ‘Moving toward a hydrogen future has clear benefits for the environment and the economy. To achieve commercialization, California needs to establish a network of early hydrogen fuel stations focused in key early markets. Although the benefits may not be fully realized for years to come, it is time to take the next step.’
The other big question is: Because JLC’s husband is Christopher (‘Spinal Tap’) Guest, does the FCX’s stereo go all the way to 11?