Honda Civic Hybrid: World “Green” Car of the Year 2006

Honda Civic Hybrid: World “Green” Car of the Year 2006

Honda and Toyota are two automakers, which are way ahead of the rest of the auto world in their hybrid technologies. Both these Japanese automakers are always developing newer ways to come up with better vehicles employing the advanced hybrid technologies.

Honda has just managed to nudge Toyota in winning the World “Green” Car of the Year 2006 award with their new Honda Civic Hybrid car. The jury declared it the winner out of the initial entry list of twenty-one vehicles.

Honda Civic Hybrid offers a combined U.S. city/highway fuel economy of 50 mpg. It combines a lightweight 1.3-liter, 4-cylinder, variable valve (VVT) engine, a 20- hp electric motor, and a fourth-generation continuously variable transmission (CVT) into a hybrid-electric configuration.

The Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system manages to shuts down all four cylinders to permit full-hybrid electric-only operation when the gasoline engine power is not required for driving the car. In addition, this car also manages to achieve the California’s stringent PZEV (Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle) tailpipe emission certification.

This car was challenged for the title by Citroen C1 1.4 Hdi (Diesel) and the Lexus RX 400h/Toyota Harrier Hybrid. John Mendel, Senior Vice President, American Honda Motor spoke about this vehicle while accepting the award: “Honda continues to be a leader in producing environmentally responsible vehicles that set the standard for fuel economy and low emissions.”

He further added: “The award-winning 2006 Civic Hybrid is the latest embodiment of Honda’s long-term commitment to the development of environmentally friendly technologies that are also fun to drive.”