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Autoworld.com - David Lee - A 2000 Honda Accord model has been certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to the new Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) standard, CARB announced today.
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The Accord SULEV will go on sale in California by January 2000, making it the first gasoline SULEV on the market; well in advance of requirements and continuing Honda's leadership in low emission
technologies. The new SULEV requirements are the most stringent in the world and part of the California LEV-II exhaust emission standards that go into effect beginning in the 2004 model year.
"The Super-ULEV Accord is yet another example of Honda's long-standing commitment to bringing advances in low emissions technology to the market as soon as technically feasible," said Tom Elliott, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "By the end of 1999, Honda will have
already sold more than one million vehicles in the U.S. equipped with advanced low emission technology. And with the addition of the SULEV Accord, more than 85 percent of all Hondas sold during the 2000 model year will be low emission vehicles."
The SULEV standards call for a reduction in hydrocarbon emissions of 96 percent from the current federal Tier-1
passenger car levels, and an 86 percent reduction compared to the California Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standard. CARB says that a SULEV vehicle's engine will emit only 2.3 pounds of
ozone forming hydrocarbons during 100,000 miles of driving - about the same result as spilling a quart of gasoline.
The SULEV certification will apply to the Accord EX sedan with a 4-cylinder, 2.3-liter engine and automatic transmission. Building on Honda's advanced Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) technology, it employs advanced electronic controls, Honda's patented VTEC (Variable valve Timing and lift
Electronic Control) engine, and new catalytic converter technology. Plans call for about 500 Accord SULEV models to be sold each month in California.
Honda will also certify the 2000 Civic GX to the new SULEV standards. The Civic GX is Honda's dedicated natural gas-powered vehicle and is available to fleet customers nationwide. Since its introduction in 1998, the Civic GX has achieved emission levels that are similar to the SULEV standards. The Civic GX is powered by the cleanest internal combustion engine ever mass-produced.
The 2000 Accord SULEV represents Honda's ongoing efforts to reduce emissions from gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines. Honda was first to introduce a gasoline vehicle meeting California's LEV standard and the first to voluntarily sell LEVs nationwide. With the 1998 Accord, Honda was also
the first automaker to sell a gasoline vehicle meeting California's ULEV standard.
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