Talking About Automobiles

As part of Honda’s UAlbany Goes Green initiative, the Japanese auto maker has flaunted its FCX fuel cell vehicle at the University of Albany.

According to committee member Ken Jones, UAlbany’s Green Commerce Committee (an offshoot of the UAlbany Goes Green project) sent a special request to the Office of General Services (OGS), to be allowed to have the car displayed on campus.

In behalf of the State of New York, which has been leasing the vehicle from Honda at $500 a month, the OGS has been managing the use of the Honda FCX. OGS has established a small, compressed hydrogen fuelling station on the Harriman State Office Campus in Albany. It claims that the FCX has the capacity to run approximately 210 miles on a full tank of fuel. It has been normally used by state agencies like the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Honda has been leasing the cars to New York and other states at a lower price due to their goal to have the data collected on their usage.

Jones said that fuel cell vehicles will soon be used by everyday consumers, and not just by a selected few for trial purposes. He said, “This is what the future might look like.” “It is consumerism that drives the market. These are alternatives to fossil fuels that might work,” he added.

The UAlbany Goes Green initiative is focused in encouraging university staff and students to “think and go green” through recycling and conservation projects.

Such plans prove that Honda is eager to join the other top automakers in promoting greener environment as global warming threatens to persist.