Automotive Design and Production

MAY 2017

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www.ADandP.media Inside, there are full appropriate amenities—like the use of recycled or plant-derived materials for about 80 percent of the surface area, speaking to the environmental aspects of the Clarity—as well as tech like a heads-up display and Honda Sensing driver assistance technologies. The design theme for the interior is "Advanced Modern Lounge." The exterior design is sufficiently futuristic without going full Jetsons. According to Steve Center, vice president, Honda Environmental Business Development Office, the "alpha" customers, those who are all about being on the leading edge, want something that is distinctive but not over-the-top. Although the number of fuel cell-powered vehicles on the roads of the U.S. is measured in the thousands—the low thousands—Honda hopes that the Clarity Fuel Cell will significantly add to those numbers. And as FCSM ramps up in the next few years, as there is an even greater number of compact but powerful fuel cell stacks, there is the possibility for even more fuel cell vehicles coming from Honda. materials account for approximately 40 percent of the frame, adding strength without loading on the mass. In addition to which, there are a variety of other steels (780, 590, 440 and 270) used in the structure. There is extensive use of aluminum for the body panels. There is a glass-fiber rein- forced polymer rear bumper beam. All in, the body-in-white mass reduction for the Clarity is approximately 15 percent of a conventional Honda midsize sedan. The most remarkable aspect of the Clarity Fuel Cell is how much it is like an ordinary vehicle. This is not to underplay the remarkable technology, but to say just how transparently it has been executed. Realize that this is a sizable sedan, one larger than the Accord: 2017 Clarity Fuel Cell 2017 Honda Accord Sedan Length: 192.7 in. 192.5 in. Height: 58.2 in. 57.7 in. Width: 73.9 in. 72.8 in. Yes, this appears to be a picture of a fuel nozzle pumping gas. And it is. But the gas is hydrogen at a nominal pressure of 70 MPa. 41 AD&P; ∕ MAY 2017 CLARITY

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