Honda dropping the Accord Hybrid ( Next Accord to hit 60 MPG )
06-05-07, 05:57 AM
#16
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06-05-07, 06:05 AM
#17
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But on the serious note, diesels are certainly not the future, they are the past. Alternative fuels... unless we are talking about nuclear power, everything else more Sci-Fi than anything, and isn't realistic.
They way I see it, in the near future more and more cars are going to be Hybrids, and eventually become fully electric. All we need is a decent network of recharging stations and more efficient batteries,
They way I see it, in the near future more and more cars are going to be Hybrids, and eventually become fully electric. All we need is a decent network of recharging stations and more efficient batteries,
Diesels are not the past YET. You mention alternative fuels. We finally HAVE an alternative diesel fuel here in the U.S. ..... the EPA-mandated low-sulfur diesel fuel for low emissions that has been in Europe for some time, though it is not cheap. It costs more than the conventional diesel fuel sold here for years.
06-05-07, 07:20 AM
#18
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I was hoping for a 4 cylinder version w/ the new generation but I guess diesel was the better way to go. In 2005, this sold OK but in 2006 when the MPG dropped for whatever reason, sales started to decline (probably due to other reasons as well) they went back up in 2007 but I guess it was not enough.
If Honda can pull this off even I would buy it:
A Diesel Honda? That Gets 62.8 MPG?
Feast your eyes on this, car technology and high-mileage nuts. It's a Honda Accord that runs on diesel.
Honda expects to bring the clean-diesel car to the U.S. by 2010. It gets 62.8 miles a gallon on the highway, but otherwise looks and feels like a regular Accord. At that mileage level, the car is about as "clean" as a new Toyota Prius. But if you run it on biodiesel, a form of diesel made from vegetable oil or animal fat, it would be even cleaner than a Prius (Priuses get 60 in the city).
The advantage of diesel cars, however, is that they pack a lot of power.
Honda diesel Accord(Credit: Courtesy Diesel Technology Forum)
The car was shown off with a number of other cars in Sacramento, Calif., earlier this month as a way to promote clean diesel cars and technology. In the '90s, California passed strict emission controls that restricted the amount of sulfur a car could emit. As a result, diesel manufacturers curbed sales to California and the U.S. in general.
Since then, petroleum manufacturers have devised cleaner diesels that only emit about 15 parts per million of diesel, down from hundreds of parts per million. That satisfies the California law. Manufacturers, meanwhile, have come out with more efficient and powerful diesel engines that get 20 to 40 percent better mileage than their older cars.
"A lot of changes have taken place in the engine, all thanks to electronics," said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, which helped organize the Clean Diesel Technology Tour. (Cars from Audi and a tractor trailer rig from Caterpillar were also shown). "Half the cars in Europe are diesel."
Thus, diesels, usually thought of as smelly, are now environmentally somewhat sound.
If Honda can pull this off even I would buy it:
A Diesel Honda? That Gets 62.8 MPG?
Feast your eyes on this, car technology and high-mileage nuts. It's a Honda Accord that runs on diesel.
Honda expects to bring the clean-diesel car to the U.S. by 2010. It gets 62.8 miles a gallon on the highway, but otherwise looks and feels like a regular Accord. At that mileage level, the car is about as "clean" as a new Toyota Prius. But if you run it on biodiesel, a form of diesel made from vegetable oil or animal fat, it would be even cleaner than a Prius (Priuses get 60 in the city).
The advantage of diesel cars, however, is that they pack a lot of power.
Honda diesel Accord(Credit: Courtesy Diesel Technology Forum)
The car was shown off with a number of other cars in Sacramento, Calif., earlier this month as a way to promote clean diesel cars and technology. In the '90s, California passed strict emission controls that restricted the amount of sulfur a car could emit. As a result, diesel manufacturers curbed sales to California and the U.S. in general.
Since then, petroleum manufacturers have devised cleaner diesels that only emit about 15 parts per million of diesel, down from hundreds of parts per million. That satisfies the California law. Manufacturers, meanwhile, have come out with more efficient and powerful diesel engines that get 20 to 40 percent better mileage than their older cars.
"A lot of changes have taken place in the engine, all thanks to electronics," said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, which helped organize the Clean Diesel Technology Tour. (Cars from Audi and a tractor trailer rig from Caterpillar were also shown). "Half the cars in Europe are diesel."
Thus, diesels, usually thought of as smelly, are now environmentally somewhat sound.
06-05-07, 08:36 AM
#19
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06-05-07, 11:42 AM
#20
I don't disagree that fully electric cars, IF they can be perfected with enough range for long trips or heavy drain from electrical accesories on board, are a good idea.....but present-technology batteries aren't quite there yet.....and you have to consider the high cost, bulk, and weight of long-range batteries.
Diesels are not the past YET. You mention alternative fuels. We finally HAVE an alternative diesel fuel here in the U.S. ..... the EPA-mandated low-sulfur diesel fuel for low emissions that has been in Europe for some time, though it is not cheap. It costs more than the conventional diesel fuel sold here for years.
Diesels are not the past YET. You mention alternative fuels. We finally HAVE an alternative diesel fuel here in the U.S. ..... the EPA-mandated low-sulfur diesel fuel for low emissions that has been in Europe for some time, though it is not cheap. It costs more than the conventional diesel fuel sold here for years.
Slowly make the engines smaller and smaller while making the battery and electric motor more powerful.
Eventually, we're gonna have the reverse of what we have today. Instead of a GS450h with a big 3.5 litre engine and a small battery, we'll have a GS450h with a nice powerful battery/elec. motor and a tiny 1.0 litre engine for highway cruising.
A converted Suburban with a 1.0 litre engine and a Li-Ion battery pack did 28mpg!! (It's the old late 90s Suburban, not the new rounded ones)
06-05-07, 01:22 PM
#21
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06-05-07, 01:44 PM
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06-05-07, 02:36 PM
#25
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Even if it was only a 100hp motor... that's easily enough to move keep a suburban cruising and even accelerate it a little. Even the regular ol' Suburban V8 probably doesn't make over 100hp until you start revving it up a bit, and it doesn't have an electric motor to supplement it.
06-05-07, 06:40 PM
#26
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If the electric power was primarily if not solely relied on for acceleration and the small engine was simply used to maintain speed on the highway... I'd say it's completely possible.
Even if it was only a 100hp motor... that's easily enough to move keep a suburban cruising and even accelerate it a little. Even the regular ol' Suburban V8 probably doesn't make over 100hp until you start revving it up a bit, and it doesn't have an electric motor to supplement it.
Even if it was only a 100hp motor... that's easily enough to move keep a suburban cruising and even accelerate it a little. Even the regular ol' Suburban V8 probably doesn't make over 100hp until you start revving it up a bit, and it doesn't have an electric motor to supplement it.
06-05-07, 09:29 PM
#27
I don't disagree that fully electric cars, IF they can be perfected with enough range for long trips or heavy drain from electrical accesories on board, are a good idea.....but present-technology batteries aren't quite there yet.....and you have to consider the high cost, bulk, and weight of long-range batteries.
Diesels are not the past YET. You mention alternative fuels. We finally HAVE an alternative diesel fuel here in the U.S. ..... the EPA-mandated low-sulfur diesel fuel for low emissions that has been in Europe for some time, though it is not cheap. It costs more than the conventional diesel fuel sold here for years.
06-06-07, 07:53 AM
#28
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Thread Starter
Next Accord to hit 60mpg
Next Accord to hit 60mpg
06 June 2007
Honda's next Accord will launch a new and ultra-clean range of diesel engines that could be capable of over 60mpg and, it claims, will be as clean as a petrol engine; these are the first scoop shots of it.
The new clean diesel engine is based on the current 2.2 i-CTDi. A European-market Accord fitted with a sophisticated version of the 2.2 diesel, and capable of 62.8mpg, was recently shown at a diesel technology convention in California.
The new engines will enable Honda to sell diesels in the US, which has recently introduced tough new emissions rules. They will use a catalytic converter that reduces nitrogen oxide output by converting it to ammonia, and then use the ammonia to further neutralise the remaining NOx. The diesels will replace Honda’s US-market Accord V6 hybrid, which has not been a success.
The cars in our pictures are the next US-market Accord coupe and saloon, which launch in America this September, the latter of which as the Acura TSX. The coupe's exterior is influenced by the look of the Coupé concept from January’s Detroit motor show; the darker saloon (see gallery) is likely to be a faithful match for the next UK-market Accord.
06 June 2007
Honda's next Accord will launch a new and ultra-clean range of diesel engines that could be capable of over 60mpg and, it claims, will be as clean as a petrol engine; these are the first scoop shots of it.
The new clean diesel engine is based on the current 2.2 i-CTDi. A European-market Accord fitted with a sophisticated version of the 2.2 diesel, and capable of 62.8mpg, was recently shown at a diesel technology convention in California.
The new engines will enable Honda to sell diesels in the US, which has recently introduced tough new emissions rules. They will use a catalytic converter that reduces nitrogen oxide output by converting it to ammonia, and then use the ammonia to further neutralise the remaining NOx. The diesels will replace Honda’s US-market Accord V6 hybrid, which has not been a success.
The cars in our pictures are the next US-market Accord coupe and saloon, which launch in America this September, the latter of which as the Acura TSX. The coupe's exterior is influenced by the look of the Coupé concept from January’s Detroit motor show; the darker saloon (see gallery) is likely to be a faithful match for the next UK-market Accord.
06-06-07, 08:09 AM
#29
new-gen diesels have around 5,000rpm redline these days.... however you dont have any power left after 4,000 rpm... which is pretty good since previously, power drop would happen around 3,200-3,500 rpm...
06-06-07, 08:31 AM
#30
Lexus Champion
So they're saying a diesel Accord will be coming to the US?
When? At initial launch, or later on down the road?
If it hits 60mpg and is reasonably priced, count me in!!
When? At initial launch, or later on down the road?
If it hits 60mpg and is reasonably priced, count me in!!