Next Gen Honda Hybrid | Green Energy News

July 3, 2005 – Vol.10 No.15

NEXT-GEN HONDA HYBRID.

Honda has introduced its next generation hybrid system to be launched with the new 2006 Civic due in showrooms soon.

Without going into too many technical details here’s the summary: The new system is more like Toyota’s hybrid system which is more popular.

Here’s the big new feature.

--- The electric motor alone (20 horsepower) can drive the vehicle at low cruising speeds. This is not possible with the Honda’s first-generation hybrid technology, but it is possible with Toyota’s system. This change should allow the next-gen hybrid to be converted to a Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) by backyard mechanics (or hopefully by Honda) for fuel economy that could exceed 100 miles per gallon.

Here are some other important features.

--- When the vehicle is stationary, like at a stop light, the gas engine is off and fuel consumption is zero.

--- Upon deceleration the valves of all four cylinders are closed and combustion halted. The assist motor then becomes a generator and pumps a greater amount of electricity back into the battery for improved energy capture over the previous model.

--- A larger battery pack stores more energy captured in deceleration.

--- The combined gas/electric horsepower is 115. Good for that size of car and should offer performance similar to the conventional, gas-only version.

The change to a Toyota-like hybrid technology will be appealing to other manufacturers considering hybrids and watching the greater success of Toyota’s. Don’t be surprised if those manufacturers seek out the new Honda technology to implant in their own vehicles in the same way Ford is using Toyota’s technology in the Escape Hybrid. Visit Honda at http://www.hondanews.com/