While initial reports from last year said we could expect hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles from Honda by 2010, the Japanese car company beat that by two years, announcing this week its FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan will be rolling out to consumers for the first time next summer. If you live in Southern California, you might be one of the lucky few to be granted a three-year lease on this sporty looking vehicle, for which you'll pay the almost-reasonable sum of $600 per month. Honda says it's also created a home fueling station for the car, converting conventional natural gas into hydrogen fuel to feed the Clarity's fuel-cell power plant.

Following Honda's lead, General Motors announced yesterday its plans to distribute 100 fuel cell vehicles in California, Washington, D.C., and New York City beginning next year. It's no wonder auto companies are scrambling to produce these techno-sports fuel-cell cars—there's something fundamentally satisfying about the fact that the only byproduct of their engines is a few drops of unusually clean water. — Charlie White

Business Week, via CrunchGear