On the daily walk yesterday afternoon I came across the aftermath of a bit of a crash. Nobody seemed to be hurt, but this was the first Honda Clarity I’ve seen in town. And the other victim was a Previa, which I take to be the car that ran a stop sign and ended up getting hit on the side by the Clarity. Given that there’s three versions of the Clarity, Fuel cell, Plug-in hybrid, and pure EV, I had to crop the picture to figure out which it is.
It’s the EV, since it lacks the fuel door on the rear fender. Also, the FC version has a different badge on the front fender. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fuel cell vehicle in Eugene. A Google search suggests there are three Mobil and three BP stations that sell hydrogen, but that turns out to be false. The nearest one is in California, either in Truckee or Sacramento. Well, I guess FC vehicles tend to stay pretty close to home.
And this EV Clarity isn’t exactly suitable for long trips either, what with its EPA range of 89 miles. That makes it strictly a compliance-mobile, and certainly not a viable competitor to more capable EVs like the Bolt’ 238 mile range or the Tesla Model 3’s 310 mile range.
Doesn’t really matter what the range was, as it made it all the way to the Crash. Looks like they beat the firetruck there also.
I like how you think.
Hehehe…that comment reminds me of an aviation friend’s remark about the capabilities of a particular twin engine plane in the event of an engine failure – “The remaining engine will only get you to the crash site…”
Or if both engines fail it will take forever to get to your destination, to re-purpose the joke about the Irishman on the transatlantic 747.
Well, that sucks for him. Hopefully he leased it, otherwise reselling that as A) a pure BEV and B) with a scarlet letter CarFax will be rough going a few years from now.
I’ve seen a couple of these but they’ve all been that red color, nice to see a different color this time. It certainly punted the Previa off into the weeds though.
Would anyone in their right mind do do anything other than lease one? Especially since they’re $199/month.
Well, it IS Eugene, where people keep their cars until they eventually return to the elements, right?
But looking at the website indicates that you HAVE to lease it, there is no purchase option. $1499 down, 199 for 36 months, so effectively $240/month.
Aha. not surprising, as I said before, no one in their right mind….wait a minute; are you suggesting something about the state of Eugeneians’ minds?
Something to do with Seasonal Affective Disorder perhaps…And the legalization of a certain herb a couple of years ago…
And all EVs depreciate like a rock. I suspect that older hybrids are just as bad…
Hopefully he carried GAP insurance if it was leased. Insurance only carries what it’s worth- not the payoff.Leased cars are almost always “upside down” until they get turned back in.
I am abnormally curious about how much damage would have to be done to one of these to make it a total. In this day and age a decent front hit which sets off enough air bags can total a car faster than you might think. I wonder if one of these is any different without the traditional engine up front.
Looks like what happened in front of me yesterday. I’m headed west and am now waiting at the left turn light. Meanwhile traffic is moving south bound both straight and the left turn lane. My eye is caught by a nice 1965 Buick Riviera making that left turn. My attention stayed on it because it was an orange in color.
So as I crane my head around to the left and I hear this huge thump and bring my eyes back to straight. Ddin’t see it right away but there was a very small black car sitting in the middle of the intersection with almost no front end left. The older woman stunned and dazed. Someone ran the red northbound and must have continued through the intersection as I couldn’t see them to my right. The little black car looked newer and it is now totaled.
That first scratch is always a bummer.
Actually the first scratch is the best one because you will have it for the longest time. Anyway that’s what my dad used to say.
Three versions ! I always thought the whole point of the Clarity was the fuel cell.
The original purpose was just that. But FC vehicles aren’t exactly flying out the door. Like, almost impossible to push out the door, even with massive incentives. So Honda had no choice, but the EV is clearly very compromised with that very modest range.
What’s the range of the fuel cell version? I think it would behoove Honda to offer free fillups at all Honda delerships until the infrastructure matures.
EPA says 366 miles. It’s only sold in CA as far as I know, which does have some hydrogen stations in and around the big metro areas. I don’t see much future for fuel cells in passenger cars since batteries cars use electricity much more efficiently and have ranges that are not much shorter, and have an ever-growing extensive network of charging facilities, most of all at home!
89 miles is much more than the average driver does in a day and I bet way more than many Eugene residents. As it is even with a way more generous mileage allotment than average, 20k/yr, you could exceed the mileage limit and not use 89 miles per day. Sure you can’t take a longer trip but if it is in a two car family then take the other car. It also includes 24hr roadside assistance for the full 36 months that will transport to the nearest charging station at no cost. All in all it seems like a pretty good deal.
You know a new model, including the futuristically powered ones, has really arrived when you see them in situations like these.
Today I saw a Hyundai Nexo out in the wild for the first time, on the Autobahn even. On a flatbed truck of the ADAC (German roadside assistance), that is. The future is here…
I believe the hybrid is the only version available here, haven’t seen any yet.
The EV version is only available in CA and OR at this point, I believe that the Fuel Cell version is only available in CA.
Even though I am a fan of the Honda brand, having owned 4, I have to say that the newest models all look alike. I find it difficult to tell if a Civic or Accord has just passed me on the street (no one seems to be buying the 2 door Civic here). And this Clarity looks like more of the same.
It will probably be a long wait for replacement parts
Major bummer!
I’ve seen two of the Toyota Mirai fuel cell cars in the parking lot at my company’s home office in Mt. View, Cal. (Silicon Valley). Fuel cells are an obvious dead end. I’ve never understood why Toyota and Honda have spend many millions developing them.
The electric Clarity’s 89-mile range is minimal as you said, but the Clarity hybrid is a plug-in with 47 miles EPA electric range, which isn’t half bad, especially compared with Toyota Prius Prime’s 25 miles, which is almost silly. Too bad it’s not a hatchback.
Here’s a photo of the plugin. PS: Is the Clarity a contender for longest front overhang as a percent of length?? Maybe with a shorter nose it wouldn’t have banged the other car. 😉
BEVs are obviously a dead end. There’s no magic room-temperature superconductor anywhere in sight, and nothing else will solve the refueling time issue and make BEVs true practical everyday cars for people who don’t have a dedicated home parking spot for charging.
They’ll always be niche vehicles. Great for people who can use them within their limitations, but virtually useless for people who don’t have predictable lives and unvarying commutes.
I saw one of these for the first time a few days ago on my way home from the vets office. I really had no idea what it was. Considering where I live. I’m guessing it was a hybrid. My first thought was ove the original cr-v from the 90’s. I thought someone modified one as a family car.
Near as I can tell from Honda’s website, this shade of blue is available only on the BEV.