Taking the Future For A Drive

Published: 02-Nov-2005

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LOS ANGELES - You would never guess that Jon Spallino drives what is probably the most expensive car in this city known for automotive excess. Or that he is the world's most technologically advanced commuter.

"When the cars pull up to me, the Porsches and the Bentleys and all that, I just sort of say, well, that's nice, but for what this costs I could buy 10 of those," said Mr. Spallino, while driving up Interstate 405, the freeway from his office in Irvine toward his home in Redondo Beach.

He was at the wheel of his silver Honda FCX, a car worth about $1 million that looks like a cross between a compact - say, a Volkswagen Golf - and a cinder block. The FCX is powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the futuristic technology that many automakers see as an eventual solution to the world's energy woes, though its real potential is a subject of vigorous debate inside and outside the auto industry.

	ePower Synergies Debuts World's First Fuel Cell Ice Resurfacer The eP-Ice Bear ice resurfacer is ideal for indoor use due to its zero-emissions powertrain that produces only water as a byproduct.
	LAX Adds Mercedes-Benz F-Cell Demonstrator Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project will include two other field test sites in California.
	SunLine Debuts $3.1 Million Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Unveiled at the 2005 Fuel Cell Seminar, the standard-sized bus uses a hydrogen-fueled, hybrid electric fuel cell instead of a combustion engine.