#HondaFcxClarity

The Clarity FCV won’t be the last fuel-cell vehicle from Honda.

While many new plug-ins boast the convenience and simplicity of recharging the car battery from a household wall socket, how many vehicles can claim to provide the opposite? 

Tomohiko Kawanabe, Honda‘s president of research & development, expressed doubts about consumer demand for electric vehicles. “We lack confidence,” Kawanabe said in an interview with Automotive News.“It’s questionable whether consumers will accept the annoyances of limited driving range and having to spend time charging them.”

Rival automakers like Nissan and General Motors are pushing ahead with their own EV programs. Nissan’s Leaf is expected to roll out on a limited basis at the end of 2010, while GM’s Chevrolet Volt has been a media darling, enjoying significant positive press. Honda, a company that has always mandated fuel efficiency as one of its prime directives, will continue to press on with this goal, while still exploring other options. “We are definitely conducting research on electric cars, but I can’t say I can wholeheartedly recommend them,” Kawanabe said.

The new Volkswagen Golf has been named the World Car of the Year (WCOTY) by the International Motor Press Association. The group, comprised of journalists from twenty-five countries picked the new Golf over the other two finalists, the Ford Festiva and the Toyota iQ micro-car.