The greenest car you've (likely) never heard of

By Mira Oberman (AFP)

GREENSBURG, Indiana — The greenest car you've likely never heard of will soon be hitting Honda showrooms across the United States as the Japanese automaker expands sales of its compressed natural gas powered Civic.

Honda has been quietly winning green car awards for more than a decade as it cautiously introduced the Civic GX first to government and business fleet owners and then retail customers in a handful of test markets.

The nationwide retail launch set for this fall comes as US President Barack Obama pushes for wider adoption of fuel-efficient vehicles -- including mandating that all federal cars will need to run on alternative, hybrid or electric power by 2015.

Potential customers could also be lured by substantial cost savings as oil prices climb amid tensions in the Middle East and natural gas prices fall in the wake of major new discoveries in the United States.

But the Civic GX enters a crowded field where new plug-in hybrid and fully electric cars -- the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf -- are grabbing headlines and zippy new compact cars offer competitive fuel economy.

Honda's goals are relatively modest -- doubling sales to around 4,000 vehicles in the first year of national sales while Nissan is hoping to hit annual US sales of 20,000 Leafs -- but it still thinks the GX can compete.

"We're asking the GX purchaser to make far fewer sacrifices than any other alternative fuel vehicle," Eric Rosenberg, who heads Honda's alternative fuel vehicle program in the United States.

"When you compare it to the Volt or Leaf, it's the most affordable, it has the best range and it has the quickest refill."

The GX can drive up to 250 miles (403 kilometers) on a single tank and only takes a few minutes to fill at public or home fueling station.

The Leaf has a range of 62 to 138 miles (100 to 222 kilometers) depending on road conditions and takes 30 minutes to partially charge at a quick-charge station and seven to 20 hours using a standard 220 or 110 volt outlet.

GM's Volt can drive 25 to 50 miles (40 to 80 kilometers) on its battery before switching over to a gasoline-powered engine and takes four to ten hours to charge.

Honda's GX is also the cleanest car on the US market, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy which looks at a vehicle's total environmental impact.

That's because natural gas is a clean-burning fuel. It consists primarily of methane and emits about 30 percent less carbon dioxide and 70-90 percent less smog-forming particulates than gasoline.

Electric cars may emit nothing from the tailpipe, but they have a significant carbon footprint because 45 percent of US electricity is generated by coal. Their batteries also carry a heavy environmental toll.

Realtor and property manager Irma Vargas bought her first Civic GX in 2006 to save on fuel costs and get access to carpool lanes -- a perk that can cut a 90-minute commute in half in congested Los Angeles.

"Me and my business partner bought it and were going to take turns with it because it was a new idea," Vargas said in a telephone interview.

"We found that we were fighting over it, so he ended up getting the next year's model."

Vargas sold the GX to an employee so she could upgrade to a new model in 2008 and has convinced four of her friends and customers to buy one as well.

She figures she's saved thousands of dollars on fuel costs -- she can fill her GX at home for about a dollar a gallon while it costs nearly four dollars a gallon to fill her Lexus hybrid, which she saves for long trips and big shopping excursions.

But it will be years before the GX or electric cars are sold in sufficient numbers to make a significant dent in greenhouse gas emissions, cautioned Lonnie Miller, an analyst at auto research firm R. L. Polk.

"If you look at the traditional batch of gas-electric hybrids, it's 2.6 percent of all US new vehicle registrations," he told AFP.

"CNG (compressed natural gas) and electric, they're not even registering."

It took six years for US consumers to embrace hybrids, which require only a few tradeoffs like a higher initial price tag and limited trunk space.

Like fully-electric cars, the Civic GX requires a much bigger tradeoff.

While owners can fuel up at home with relatively cheap unit called "Phil," long-range trips are essentially out of the question because there are only about 870 public fueling stations in the entire country.

The cost and environmental advantages of compressed natural gas will nonetheless help boost global sales by 9.1 percent a year to 3.2 million vehicles in 2016, according to a recent report by green tech consulting firm Pike Research.

The biggest growth -- 25 percent a year -- is forecast in the United States, fueled primarily by sales to corporate and government fleets which typically operate their own fueling stations.

Honda started with fleet sales in 1998 and offered the GX to retail customers in California and New York in 2005 as more fueling stations came online.

It expanded retail sales to Utah and Oklahoma in 2008 and 2009 as tax incentives in those natural-gas producing states drew more customers, but has only sold a little over 12,000 of the vehicles so far.

"The whole idea was for us as a company to learn how to retail the car," Honda's Rosenberg said. "It is a little different, it has a few idiosyncrasies."

The experience with the relatively-low cost GX will serve as a good model for the introduction of the holy grail of green cars -- the far more expensive and complex hydrogen fuel cell.

Honda was the first automaker to introduce a hydrogen fuel cell prototype in 1999 and began testing a small fleet with retail customers in 2005. It also plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid next year.

Source;

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hCf_fLO4psJO3PVln1xGpzEXPVbQ?docId=CNG.8fcda49acdd6feab37caa2b17f3b1a60.261

Study: Honda leads as greenest automaker, again

By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN
Honda has the greenest vehicles in the United States, with Toyota and Hyundai tying for second place, according to a study released on Thursday by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy group.

The results were calculated using the predicted impact of the automakers’ fleets on global warming — based largely on miles per gallon -– as well as the smog-forming emissions of the engines.

The study looked at eight automakers that together sold 92 percent of the vehicles available in the United States during the 2008 model year. The advocacy group explained that 2008 was the most recent year for which its researchers felt comprehensive information from the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department was available. The results were also weighted for sales.

The study said that “selling a modest number of clean and efficient models” was not enough to be considered a green automaker. Instead, an automaker has to do well with all its vehicles.


The scores were calculated by giving the global warming and smog-forming emissions data equal weight. A score of 100 indicates the average of the eight automakers studied. Scores with lower numbers indicate better, greener performance. For example, a score of 80 means that automaker was 20 percent better than the industry average.

The top three automakers were extremely close.

“We really did have a photo finish this year between Honda, Toyota and Hyundai,” said Jim Kliesch, the author of the study and a senior engineer in the group’s Clean Vehicles Program.

Honda, which has taken the top spot every year since the study began five years ago, received 86 points, while Toyota and Hyundai tied with 87 points. Volkswagen followed with 90 points, then Nissan (93 points), Ford (108 points), General Motors (109 points) and Chrysler finished last with 113 points.

Selling a lot of small, fuel-efficient vehicles could help an automaker, Mr. Kliesch acknowledged. But he said to excel automakers had to do well with vehicles of all sizes, not just on fuel economy but also on emissions.

While all automakers must meet certain minimum emissions standards some manufacturers produce more sophisticated engines that are cleaner.

“There is actually a big difference between doing a bare minimum to meet what is required by law and doing what is technically achievable,” Mr. Kliesch said in an interview.

He noted that Toyota sold a wide range of vehicles, including trucks and high-performance vehicles, yet it came within 1 point of matching Honda.

“One of the things that Toyota did that propelled its performance was it produced efficient hybrid vehicles in volume,” he said. “If you took the Prius out of their mix, Toyota would have ranked fourth over all. In many respects the environmental halo that Toyota has as a result of its Prius is warranted.”

Mr. Kliesch said that when he began reviewing information this year he thought the question would be whether Toyota, which was second last year, would finally overtake Honda.

He said he did not imagine that Hyundai, which was in third place last year, might move up to match Toyota. “They nearly spoiled the party for Honda and Toyota,” he said. “They may not be having the lowest emissions in every class in which they compete, but they are right up there in the top couple of manufacturers. So across all the classes in which they compete, they are consistently delivering low emissions and good global warming performance as well.”

The study described the domestic automakers as having “continued poor performance” and being “mired” at the bottom of the lists.

It said G.M.’s poor ranking “reflects, more than anything, a poor hybrid strategy. The company focused primarily on hollow hybrids, which offer minimal fuel savings and on a different but promising ‘two-mode’ hybrid design in its large trucks that unfortunately was mated to upsized, rather than downsized, engines.”

“Hollow hybrids” was a reference to vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid and the Saturn Vue Green Line hybrid, which lacked the sophisticated, more expensive and fuel-efficient hybrid powertrains of vehicles like the Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid.

While the domestic automakers might have been at a disadvantage in the fuel economy ratings because they had larger vehicles, they were also hurt because, over all, their engines produced more smog-forming emissions than their foreign competitors, the study found.

Source;

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/new-study-names-honda-as-the-greenest-automaker/?src=mv

Honda takes green commitment to RP

Honda has undertaken worldwide efforts in protecting the environment and Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) carries the same green commitment.

In marking its 20th year of operations in the country this October, HCPI is celebrating 20 years of providing fun-to-drive and environment friendly vehicles.

Voltaire Gonzales, Vehicle Sales and Corporate Communications Head of HCPI, said there are over 239,200 Honda patrons in the country today.

HCPI recently staged a four-day exhibition during the 3rd Philippine international Motor Show held at the World Trade Center to highlight is commitment to preserve the environment. The exhibit theme was "Blue Skies for our Children."

Honda has taken conservation measures as early as 1960s. In 1966, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Founder, Soichiro Honda once said, "Leave blue skies for our children." This has been Honda’s longstanding commitment for more than four decades now.

The display put up Honda’s ecologically sound technologies that remain true to its promise. It featured the latest in Honda’s roster of cars: the Honda City, Jazz, Civic, CR-V and Accord.
All powered by the ingenious i-VTEC engine, Honda vehicles make the most out of every drop of fuel by adjusting valve timing and valve opening combination to pump in fuel as needed only.

Apart from fuel efficiency, Honda vehicles are also engineered to release less harmful emissions.

Honda is the only local manufacturer that reaches EURO 4 levels for all its model line-up, even if Philippine regulations only mandate EURO 2 compliance. EURO 4 standards translate to approximately 56 percent reduction in harmful emissions as compared to EURO 2 standards.
To date, almost 82,000 Honda units with EURO 4 levels have already been sold and ply Philippine roads.

Lessons learned from the CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) engine technology, the first engine to meet the almost then impossible emission standards of the 1970 US Clean Air Act, have paved the way in the development of Honda’s new products and technologies which set the standard in mobility and environmental conservation.

In improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon footprint, Honda recognizes hybrid as the most practical technology at the moment. Honda’s original Insight introduced in 1999 was the first gasoline-electric car sold in the US.

Using Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) technology, the gasoline engine serves as the main power source of the vehicle while the electric motor provides additional power as needed. Thereafter, other gasoline-electric powered models soon emerged like the Civic Hybrid and Accord Hybrid.

Last year, Honda introduced the all-new Insight. Boasting excellent fuel economy at an affordable price, the Insight is designed to pass on hybrid technology to the mass market. A year after, the CR-Z model was launched in Japan.

Source;
http://www.malaya.com.ph/08312010/auto2.html

Honda wins Energy Star awards from EPA

Torrance, California - Honda has received Energy Star awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its auto plants in Ohio and Alabama. The awards are in recognition of curbing energy use during vehicle assembly.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, Honda’s average CO2 emissions per vehicle produced in North America were at their lowest levels since the company began measuring results in 2001. The EPA bases the award points on the amount of energy needed to produce an automobile, and includes factors such as vehicle size and production volume.

In Ohio, the plants in Marysville and East Liberty both earned top energy performance scores of 100 points. Honda has focused most of its activities on efficient use of lighting, chiller systems, motors, metering, heating, compressed air and air conditioning to reduce the use of electricity and natural gas. The Marysville plant produces the Honda Accord sedan and coupe, and Acura TL and RDX, while the East Liberty plant produces the Honda CR-V and Element.

Honda’s plant in Alabama, which produces the Odyssey, Pilot and Ridgeline, also earned the energy Star award. Initiatives include monitoring the use of equipment between shifts, during lunch and breaks, and on weekends, which helped reduce electricity use on the paint line by 10 million kilowatt hours, the equivalent of about 15 million pounds of CO2.

Both plants are implementing a unique “intelligent paint booth” technology that reduces energy consumption and related CO2 emissions from painting operations by as much as 25 per cent. Developed by Honda in Ohio and Ohio State University, the system uses a predictive control mechanism to keep temperature and humidity within specifications in the paint booth, even as weather conditions change.

Source;
http://www.canadiandriver.com/2009/02/19/honda-wins-energy-star-awards-from-epa.htm