Honda hits the hydrogen highway

Its electric motor produces up to 127 horsepower, and the car takes off quickly from a standing start. Electric motors naturally generate a lot of torque, or wheel-turning power, at low speeds.

It's when coming out of a turn at about 40 miles per hour and accelerating up to 70 that the downside of an electric motor begins to show. (Think about coming up a looping entrance ramp and trying to merge into a fast-flowing highway.)

With the pedal mashed all the way to the carpet, the FCX felt like it was struggling. That's why hybrid gas-electric cars rely on their gasoline engines at higher speeds.

At idle, the FCX is totally silent. Driving around, the only sounds are the tires rolling across the pavement and occasional whirring, like a jet taxiing on a runway, from the spinning electric motor.

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