USA Today Review of Hybrid Accord

I suppose the reviewer should've said that it's HONDA'S best (read: most like a normal car) hybrid to date.

Though the addition of Honda's hybrid technology to a 3L V6 is a joke - they could probably manage close to the same fuel ratings by just having the engine shut-off when stopped. Sounds like the Honda marketing department is trying to get-in on the hybrid bandwagon with a pseudo-environmental vehicle.

What's next? GM strapping a 12v electric drill motor to a hummer and calling it a hybrid?

I think these lines tell the entire story:

"Rated 30 miles per gallon in town, 37 on the highway, vs. 21/30 for V-6 gasoline Accord. Test car's trip computer showed mid-20s to mid-30s in a variety of driving."

I think they're a bit optimistic at 20,000 units being produced...

Dave.

 

Personally I am not for the mild hybrids. Honda seems to lay firm in the mild hybrid philosophy. I can see why. It’s much easier to commercialize than the Toyota full hybrid system. It also dilutes the true Hybrid intension. Its like the word “Love†we use it for just about everything form food to our mates.

The Toyota system is much easier to move toward plug-in hybrid as battery prices come down. What I would look forward to for the 2007 Prius is a 20 mile EV mode up to 45 mph speeds.

Honda can not move easily to a EV mode hybrid, simply because of the “assist†traction system. It’s never designed to run by its self.

I think the question is not so much what the gas mileage is, but will we have a Federal or State requirement for cars to be ZEV in some city areas. CARB seems to be moving that way. Already you can see that legislation towards lowering green house gas emissions are steadily moving ahead. It’s no longer the NOx coming out of your tail pipe but the CO2. No car, not even today’s Hybrid escapes CO2 emissions. The only way is to have HZEV or heavily electrified hybrids that have 20 mile plus EV modes.

I think Toyota is looking far ahead and charting a course that makes all their developments build on each other so that they can be ready to produce HZEV or whatever type of fueled hybrid we will be using. Even if fuel cell vehicles become commercial, they also will be hybrid. A fuel cell car must have a battery system, because fuel cells are good at providing steady power, not bursts of power. A fuel cell car is basically a series hybrid system ( Prius is Parallel). Energy from the fuel cell stack charges the battery pack and the Inverter that drives the traction motor(s) draws needed power from the batteries (not directly from the fuel cell).

Enough….

NiMPrius

 

I am for mild hybrids! With one caveat when every new car produced is a mild hybrid. Then I think it is OK and we can move on to the next level. The Prius is the next thing but it is not the last. I hope that the Prius "goes before" while the HSD becomes the mundane standard. Let us make steps and not judge the steps as long as they are forward. What about a day when SUV's purify the air removing CO2 and other pollutants as it drives. Pie in the sky but if some one can conceive it someone could build it. Not today but someday.

 

Since most of the mild hybrids provide no improvement whatsoever to SMOG related emissions (only ULEV), I am strongly against them.

If they were cleaner and competitively priced compared to HSD, then mild could be worthwhile. But it's not.

And the price of oil today climbed to an all-time high of $49.64 per barrel.

We no longer have the luxury of a "mild" pace anymore.

Within the next couple years a massive number of people are going to be begging for full hybrids. Shouldn't we do everything we can (as well-informed owners) to help make sure that can actually happen?

Spread the word about how gratifying the ownership experience has been, how seamlessly the technology fits into your everyday lifestyle, and how much sense the design makes as you learn more about it.

 

kindof funny oil hit a high and yet in the us we are still paying around 2 dollars a gallon.. hmm.. i think i filled up today for 2.03 a gallon... i wish they would listen to my dad's idea.. does anyone else find this to be a good idea:

there are 52 weeks in a year ( just getting started here )
There are 50 states in the US.
For one week, each state will double their gas prices. Only for a week out of the year. It will rotate each week. This funding can go towards things like more energy efficient cars. Or, maybe we can vote on what to do with the cash. btw.. the first and last week of the year are free. But people would know when it's going to happen. They could even try to scam it and save fuel. Some will. Either way, it's a lot of extra cash and it's not really asking a while lot. We pay more for a gallon of milk than we do for gas.

 

Question, John: going to the California Emissions Standards Web Page, I did some searching, and (at least by the California standards), I don't see the correlation you're stating.

Here's a listing of CA emissions ratings for various hybrids:

• 2001-03 Toyota Prius
  [*]2002-2004 Honda Civic Hybrid
  [*]2004-2005 Toyota Prius
  Also, there are some newer gasoline cars (2004 Ford Focus LX with 2.3L engine, Subura Legacy 2.5 GT Wagon) that are rated at PZEV -- a cleaner rating than the SULEV ratings.
  
  CA defines their car emissions ratings here.
  [hr:56ae1af3d7]
  I may well be missing something, but it looks to me as if there isn't a correlation between mild and full hybrids -- unless the reduction in emissions is based on a combination of things (hybrid engines and other technologies that have been added in lately to reduce emissions).

 

According the the European test folks, the Prius is a lot cleaner than the Civic IMA. (These figures are for manual Hondas; the automatics aren't available here).

CO2 (g/km): Prius=104
CO (g/km): Prius=0.180
HC (g/km): Prius=0.020
NOx (g/km): Prius=0.010

I assume there's no cleaner band than AT-PZEV that could distinguish the Prius from the Civic.

 

There would be little income because most people just wouldn't buy gas that week. I can go 300 miles easily in my Odyssey and I generally only get gas every other week as it is. I know there are people with much longer commutes, but they will find a way to avoid buying that week. That, in itself would be a good thing though, if they consolidated little trips, carpooled or took public transportation. It might become habit forming. People who live near a state border would just go across and fill up.

 

Look up the emission rating for the more popular version Honda's IMA: the manual transmission. You'll see that it only delivers an emission rating of ULEV.

Then closer at the CVT versions available throughout the United States. You'll find that the cleaner SULEV was only briefly available in states other than CA. Then you'll discover that even the ULEV model is available in CA... because it costs a little less and gets a little better MPG.

Then try and find emission info for the upcoming Accord-Hybrid. There is no mention of reduced NOx emissions.

Needless to say, not all hybrids are created equal... even within the same model.

Notice how automakers only point out their best offering, making it seems as though the rest are that way too.

 

I guess the whole point is to bring in whatever money we can from it. Besides that, some would learn to carpool and some would use public transpertation. I know of a good amount of people who fill up at least once a week of not more. I myself fill up once a week. this would be why i have over 6000 miles on my prius which is not even 4 months old.

 

That's because it is so much fun to drive you take the LONG way to work EVERY day

 

An interesting concern that is being discussed in an advisory committee to the Idaho state legislature (and presumably others) is the lost tax revenue due to the improved mileage. The only solution that I have heard discussed so far is a tax surcharge for driving a hybrid!!! While I understand we are still using the roads, this seems to forget the positive effect on the local atmosphere, especially in the winter months when we get nasty 2 week inversions in the Treasure Valley around Boise. The air then is not fit to breath. It would seem counterintuitive, given the inversion problem, to disincentivize hybrid purchases. But what do I know?

 

From my understanding, that was tried here in Oregon by doubling the registration fee for Hybrids. After becoming a laughing stock throughout the nation for penalizing high mileage automobiles, the state has since reconsidered.