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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.
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AD&P; ∕ MAY 2017
CLARITY