EVLN(Dr. ICE Head: Prius $17k, Honda VV $20k, bellys-up to methanol)

[Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter <brucedp@iname.com>]

EVLN(Dr. ICE Head: Prius $17k, Honda VV $20k, bellys-up to methanol)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV informational
 purposes. Contact source for reprint rights.]
 --- {EVangel}
EV - Los Angeles Times (LATM) Highway 1; Financial Desk Driver's Ed
Dr. Gear Head / A SOMETIMES CLOSE EXAMINATION OF CARS, DRIVERS AND
ROADS.  The Gasoline Engine Is Hearing Knock at Door 02/25/99
Copyright 1999 / The Times Mirror Company

[...] Whether the underlying design of Gottlieb Daimler's internal 
combustion engine will be around for another 100 years remains to be
seen.

Environmentalists locked to the conventional electric vehicle, such as
General Motors' EV1, certainly doubt it. They have not been satisfied
by development of low and ultra-low emissions vehicles, nor by fuel
injection and electronic engine management systems that have created
cleaner, more efficient gasoline engines. Even some internal
combustion evangelists preaching the gospel of "step on the gas and it
goes" have acknowledged a global need for a power source that does not
pollute, does not burn holes in the ozone, will not promote global
warming or exhaust our fossil fuel supplies.

Hence a continuing focus, by researchers, engineers, and manufacturers
on battery technology to perfect conventional electric vehicles--but
also new attention to viable alternatives such as fuel cells, natural
gas power and hybrid vehicles.

And Dr. G's mailbag indicates that public confusion reigns. Must
hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles be plugged in overnight? [No.]
[...]
New emissions and mileage standards and a push by environmentalists to
extend those rules to sport-utility vehicles, pickup trucks and
minivans open the field to the next generation of engine design.  The
hybrid engine, which is new technology, and direct injection, which is
already used in diesel engines, are close to or being used in
production vehicles.

The hybrid power plant, which uses a smaller gasoline engine in tandem
with an electric motor-generator, is in Honda Motor Co.'s V V, a 2000
model coupe due in the U.S. this fall, and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius,
also due out late this year.

The V V uses a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder ultra-lean-burn gasoline
engine, assisted by the electric motor when more power is needed. The
car's batteries are recharged through regenerative braking.  The
result, says Honda spokesman Art Garner, is a vehicle with very high
mileage and very low emissions, but performance is in line with a
standard 1.5-liter Civic. However, the similarity ends there.

The V V achieves its mileage, emissions rating and performance not
only from the new-age power plant but also from aerodynamics and low
weight, achieved through the use of aluminum and plastic for frame and
body parts. The car weighs less than 2,000 pounds but will meet safety
standards, Honda says.

Although Honda already has an electric car, the EV Plus minivan, owner
feedback indicates that the limited range remains a major stumbling
block, Garner says.  But with a fuel efficiency of more than 70 miles
per gallon, the V V would have a range of about 700 miles, depending
on how large a gas tank is used in production models.

"The car is a technological showcase for Honda," Garner said. "It
combines the performance that customers would expect from this class
of vehicle, plus very high efficiency and low emissions." Emissions
low enough, he notes, to meet California's new super-ultra-low
emission regulations, which will be required of all automobiles by
2007.

The Prius carries a $17,000 price tag in Japan, but that is believed
to be about half of what it costs to make the vehicle.

As for Honda's V V, Garner says it won't be a big profit maker for
Honda at a projected price of $20,000.

"It's more of an investment," he said. "Some of the things that we
feature in the V V will find their way into other products."
  *
[...] Although these variations on the gasoline engine offer near
-term promise for meeting emissions standards, industry observers 
see them as a bridge to something completely clean, such as fuel 
cells.  The advantage gasoline engines have over alternatives such
as compressed natural gas and propane is the existing distribution
network for gasoline.

Because fuel cells will use a liquid, perhaps methanol, the places and
means of fueling those vehicles will be very much like what we have
today.  And that familiarity, plus "step on the gas and go"
reliability, are the two things the market demands.
  *
E-mail questions and comments for Dr. Gear Head to
highway1@latimes.com
 ...
 http://www.latimes.com/  feedback@latimes.com  Letters@latimes.com
Copyright Los Angeles Times, All rights reserved. 800-252-9141 
Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053 USA (213) 237-3700
 ---
{Statements may not be my Employer's}_____ Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter 
  ____           BruceDP@iname.com   http://members.aol.com/brucedp/ 
~/__|o\__                     EAA Board member  http://www.eaaev.org 
'@----- @'---(= Get Amp'd   'Electric cruis'n the Santa Clara Valley'
SJEAA EVents officer  http://members.aol.com/sjeaa/   
EV List News Editor   http://crest.org/ev-list-archive/
Renewable Energy News contributing Editor