FUKUOKA, Nov. 12, 2009 (Kyodo News International) -- Fuel cell powered vehicles from three Japanese carmakers arrived Thursday in Fukuoka, completing a 1,100-kilometer run from Tokyo to demonstrate they can go as far as gasoline-powered cars on a single fueling.
The FCHV-adv of Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) , the X-Trail FCV of Nissan Motor Co. (OOTC:NSANY) and the FCX Clarity of Honda Motor Co. (NYSE:HMC) started the trip Wednesday morning after executives from the companies and senior government officials held a ceremony to mark the start at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo.
The demonstration project for the environmentally friendly vehicles that do not emit carbon dioxide was organized by the Japan Automobile Research Institute and three other organizations.
Koji Matsuda, 39, who drove the X-Trail FCV, said the ride was ''quiet and comfortable.''
The vehicles arrived in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Thursday night, after being refueled twice during the two-day journey. Drivers stayed overnight in Osaka.
A fuel cell vehicle runs on a motor powered by electricity generated via a chemical reaction between hydrogen stored in an onboard tank and oxygen taken from the air.
As the sole by-product from the chemical reaction is water, engineers call the fuel cell vehicle ''the ultimate eco car.''
