Clark Howard's Tips

January 22, 2008

Several automakers announced new plans for alternative energy cars at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show.

Honda unveiled its Clarity, a hydrogen powered fuel-cell vehicle. The Clarity will emit zero pollution. A 3-year lease would run you about $600/month, so it's not exactly cheap. Honda will be marketing its vehicle in Southern California, where there are several dozen hydrogen-filling stations.

Chevrolet/GM has plans to put around 100 of its hydrogen vehicles on the road in SoCal under the Equinox nameplate.

Meanwhile, Ford is working to launch its plug-in hybrids. Those kinds of cars usually run on electricity for the first 40 miles before they kick over to a gas-powered engine.

Clark salutes the entrepreneurial spirit of these automakers who are experimenting with new kinds of cars. Some of you may remember when Clark previously spoke about a car company called Tesla that's building a $100,000 electric sports car. Their goal is to use proceeds from initial sales to fund further research into developing alt-fuel vehicles that will be much more affordable for everybody. This is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that will help us move away from the environmental and national security dangers that go along with gas engines.

Consumer advice courtesy of