Honda Hybrid Cars To Use Alternative Energy For 2010

By: Bill Waters
Staff Writer
Published: Jun 7, 2009

Honda Cars Will Convert Popular Models To Hybrid

Honda cars are entering a new generation of hybrid technologies, which include the 2010 Honda Insight and the Civic. Hybrid cars will also make the conversion from gasoline to fuel cell with the 2010 Honda Civic. The Honda Civic is still a great fuel efficient vehicle with proven reliability.

Hybrid cars are growing in higher demand than ever before. Automakers are converting their popular models with new plug in options and hybrid batteries. The industry is changing and the future brings clean energy and fewer carbon emissions.

The Honda Insight is a new fuel-efficient automobile which delivers an MPG rating of 40 in the city and 43 on the highway. It offers 5 doors and seats up to five passengers including the driver. Insight was designed and built from the ground up.

The Honda car also features a new projector-beam headlight which provides better roadway lighting for greater visibility. Insight comes equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) which substitutes the gears found in more traditional transmissions and replaces them with a metal push-belt running between a pair of variable-width pulleys. The CVT includes the Drive-by-Wire throttle system which constantly adjusts to providing the most efficient drive ratio possible depending on the torque load.

Honda Civic Hybrid is powered by a 1.3-liter i-VTEC engine with Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) gasoline-electric hybrid technology to enhance both fuel economy and performance. The hybrid car is equipped with a continuously variable transmission. The hybrid vehicle is classified as Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles (AT-PZEV).

The IMA hybrid technology achieves an EPA-estimated city/highway fuel economy of 40/45 miles per gallon. It is also interesting to note that the car can deactivate all four of its cylinders and operate using only the electric motor in certain low-speed cruising situations. The electric motor has 15 kilowatts and can produce a combined 110-horsepower.

The Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System has a 6.5-inch motorized display that opens and closes for access to the internal single-disc CD player. The system also includes a digital audio-card reader that can play MP3 and Windows Media 3 Audio (WMA) files from CompactFlash 4 cards. The navigation system features more than 7 million points of interest and the voice activation can control the navigation menus and the audio system, along with entering city and street names.

Honda is also expected to deliver a new hybrid minivan next year which resembles the Odyssey and the Estima, which are already selling in Japan. The 2010 electric car line-up with hybrid technologies is looking good.