Though an undersized number, it is number of times as many FCX hydrogen fuel-cell sedans as the Honda currently has on American roads. Only 2 of those are in the hands of individuals and about 20 more are in fleet service by governments and other institutions.
Most of the 2008 FCX models will go to individuals, Honda said. A minority will be reserved for fleet use, needed so that Honda can gather information and feedback quickly because fleet users run up miles faster than families and individual drivers do, reported USA Today. So let us expect cleaner emissions coming out of Honda and Acura muffler.
"We have not really decided on the number of cars yet," Honda President and CEO Takeo Fukui said. "It will be several 10s; under 100." The cars, which cost Honda hundreds of thousands of dollars each, will be leased rather than sold outright, the same arrangement as with the current FCX. The current model is leased for $500 a month. Honda hasn't said what the price of the 2008 version will be.
Hydrogen is abundant. But getting it loose to use as fuel is difficult. Most of it — 95%, said Ben Knight, Honda's vice president for research and development in America — comes from natural gas, the same fuel that heats most U.S. homes. The U.S. has roughly 3% of the world's natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Big players: Russia (27%), Iran (16%), Qatar (15%).
In wide-ranging comments on alternative energy and future Honda products, Fukui also said:
•General Motors' (GM) Chevrolet Volt, a so-called plug-in hybrid that will travel up to 40 miles on batteries, isn't a very good answer to the fuel and pollution questions. Volt is scheduled for production in 2010.
•Honda, already planning four-cylinder diesel engines for the U.S. market in 2009, probably in the Accord sedan, also will produce V-6 diesels for its truck models, a designation that includes the Odyssey minivan, Pilot SUV and Ridgeline midsize pickup.
• A replacement for the discontinued Acura NSX high-performance sports car will have its V-10 gasoline engine in front and will use all-wheel drive, Fukui said. That's a big change. The previous NSX had a V-6 that was mounted transversely in the center of the car, behind the driver and in front of the rear wheels, and it powered the rear wheels only. The NSX replacement is due within two years, Acura said.
• General Motors has begun trickling out the first of 100 fuel-cell powered Chevy Equinox SUVs it will put on the roads as temporary experiments over the next two years. It plans to loan the vehicles, free, a few months at a time to individual consumers and will provide temporary stations to let them fill up with hydrogen for free.
• Toyota (TM) has a hydrogen demonstration fleet in the U.S., but those experimental vehicles don't meet U.S. regulations and so couldn't be registered to individuals the way the current and next Honda FCX cars are.
• Hyundai has a couple dozen fuel cell SUVs in the U.S. for experimental use, and says it plans to mass-produce hydrogen fuel cell cars starting as early as 2012 and not later than 2015.
• Ford (F) has experimented with burning hydrogen directly in an internal combustion engine, as has BMW.
[credits: USA Today]
Before 2008 begins, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) already released their Top Safety Picks list. 
