Category: Cars

Honda Civic GX: A Real, Available Car, Powered by Natural Gas

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Speaking of Honda:

Recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the cleanest internal-combustion vehicle on Earth, the Civic GX is perfect for getting around town and running everyday errands. In fact, the California Air Resources Board gave the GX an AT-PZEV emissions rating, which means it’s still the “Cleanest on Earth.” And it’s been completely redesigned for 2006 with a new modern, aerodynamic exterior, and ergonomic, supportive seats. The GX has everything you’d expect from a Civic, like a roomy cabin and proven performance. And because it uses compressed natural gas, the GX achieves remarkable fuel-cost savings, and helps decrease the world’s dependence on oil. The Civic GX promises to lead the way to the advancement of fuel-cell vehicles, sooner than you might expect.

via autoextremist:The Civic GX, which is rated at an EPA estimated city/highway fuel economy of 28/39 miles per gasoline-gallon equivalent, is the only dedicated natural gas-powered passenger vehicle available to retail customers in the United States. 2006 Civic GX owners will be eligible for a Federal tax credit of $4,000 for the car and up to $1,000 for the purchase and installation of “Phill,” the natural gas home refueling appliance from FuelMaker Corporation.

More on Phill, via email:

The price of Phill is $3400 US plus shipping ($150) plus installation. An indoor installation will also need a mandatory external gas sensor for $120. A “typical” installation can range from $1000 to $1500. Your actual cost of Phill could be reduced depending on where you live, and what incentives are offered in your area.
Please note that at the moment Phill is only available for purchase if you live in California, Arizona, Maryland, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Oklahoma, Nevada, parts of New York, and a select few other cities such as Salt Lake City (UT), Milwaukee (WI), Dallas (TX), Denver (CO), Chicago (IL), and Knoxville (TN).
To continue with the purchase process we will need some basic information from you in order to put your name on the waiting list. If you are interested, please contact Phill Customer Service at 1-866-697-4455 (toll free), or let us know the best way to reach you.

A Speedy Visit to the “Honda Powered” Indy 500

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I recently had an opportunity to briefly visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (home of the Memorial Day weekend Indy 500 [satellite view]) while the teams were practicing. A surprisingly large crowd was on hand to watch the drivers, mechanics and managers test their vehicles, systems and methods. Many, but not all teams had quite a number of computer operators keeping an eye on all aspects of their cars.

Silence.
There’s not much of that at the Speedway, but when it does occur – only a split second – it is jarring.

Danica Patrick easily grabbed most of the crowd’s attention. A group of fans and photographers never left her team’s side. More photos here.

You did read that right. Honda powers all of the cars in this year’s race. Evidently Honda has dominated recently and the teams coalesced on their engine this year.

Reckoning on the “Right”

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Ed Wallace:

Worse, ethanol is not being sold to us because it will make America energy independent. It is being forced on the nation, even with all the problems that have already become apparent, because the party in power is locking in the lobbyist monies and farm state votes. And that’s not just my opinion; it’s also the opinion of David G. Victor, director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford and an adjunct senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, as published in the Houston Chronicle on April 15 of this year.

In fact, the corruption of our legislative body is so pervasive that, when Reuters Business discussed how we could immediately get more ethanol just by dropping the 54-cents-per-gallon import tax on Brazil’s ethanol, the person quoted as saying that “Congress has a backlog of important bills” and “won’t have time in this legislative year to deal with controversial legislation” (such as reducing tariffs on ethanol from Brazil), was nobody we elected. No, it was Jon Doggett, vice president of the National Corn Growers Association. Now tell me: Who is really calling the shots?

E85

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Bob Gritzinger:

E85 is the designation for a fuel that combines 85 percent ethanol with 15 percent gasoline. E85-compatible—or flex-fuel—vehicles can run on E85 or regular unleaded gasoline. Because the alcohol in E85 can break down rubbers and plastics used in typical internal-combustion engine fuel systems, vehicles must be specially modified to allow its use. And to obtain maximum power from higher-octane E85, engines must be tuned to run on it, or be able to adjust timing and the air-to-fuel ratio when running on E85.

Supporters say the alternative fuel is environmentally friendly, reduces dependence on fossil fuels and imported oil, and takes advantage of America’s surplus of agricultural crops, like corn, that can be readily converted to ethanol for use in E85.

Critics note insufficient ethanol production facilities exist to significantly offset the nation’s appetite for fuel, that refineries aren’t adapted to producing E85, and that E85 is harder to transport because its corrosiveness means it cannot flow through existing gasoline pipelines. In addition, in most states E85 costs about the same as unleaded regular while costing the driver up to 15 percent in fuel-economy penalties because it does not pack the same explosive punch as gasoline.

Honda to Add Google Earth to Cars

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LeftLANews:

Honda will soon add Google Earth to its ‘internavi Premium Club’ navigation service in Japan. The advanced navigation system was first launched in 2003, offering a wireless connection to the internet to download the latest traffic information to the built-in computer.

Fill Your Tank With Vegetable Oil

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Jim Washburn:

One day last year, my musician friend Jonathan drove up in a Mercedes. This was odd, since Jonathan is so resolutely counterculture that he once tried recording an album in the woods, without electricity.

His car’s exhaust smelled faintly of french fries, and therein lay the explanation: The new Jonathan Richman tour vehicle — an ’84 300D Turbo — was running on vegetable oil-derived biodiesel fuel as he and his drummer crisscrossed the nation in it, a deep fryer on wheels.

I was intrigued: Biodiesel comes from renewable resources. It’s made from soybeans, corn or other oil crops, saving America’s farmers. Or it comes from recycled kitchen grease, saving America’s sewers. It pollutes remarkably less than petroleum fuel, and could potentially make the U.S. energy self-sufficient, freed from bargaining with dictators and terror-sponsor states.

Ligeti and a Madison Speeding Ticket

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Chan Stroman:

Flashing lights from an unmarked black sedan; sudden short blare of a siren out of nowhere. I pull over, but the police car doesn’t move on. Those lights, for me? For me?

I’d been tooling along John Nolen Drive, lost in Ligeti’s propulsive first Étude. Is that what it was about the throbbing blue Beetle, swimming along in a sea of cars going just as fast, that asked for special attention?