American Honda to Lead 2001 Tour de Sol With Two Greenest Vehicles on Sale Nationwide

    WASHINGTON, May 17 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. returns
as Gold Sponsor of The 13th Annual Tour de Sol, a green car rally organized by
the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), the largest grassroots
environmental group in the U.S.
    To be held May 19-26, the 2001 Tour covers more than 300 miles, starting
in Waterbury, CT, driving west to Albany, NY, then heading east through
central Massachusetts to finish in Boston, MA.
    Honda will lead the Tour with two pace cars that are the greenest vehicles
on the U.S. market* --

    *  The 2001 gasoline-electric hybrid Insight, now entering its second
       model year. In addition to its five-speed, manual transmission model,
       Honda's Insight line now offers a model with a 'Continuously Variable
       Transmission' (CVT), to offer smooth and stepless shifting with maximum
       efficiency and performance.

       With an EPA-rated 57-mpg in city driving, the CVT Insight is the most
       fuel-efficient, gasoline-powered vehicle with an automatic transmission
       on the U.S. market.

    *  The 2001 Civic GX, powered by dedicated natural gas. With near-zero
       emissions, the GX has been named by U.S. EPA as "Cleanest on Earth"
       with an internal combustion engine.

    Both automobiles, on sale nationwide, meet the most stringent exhaust
emissions standard in the world -- California's Super Ultra-Low Emission
Vehicle (SULEV) standard, emitting 96 percent less pollutants than a typical
car. The Civic GX is the only SULEV sedan on the market nationwide.
    "The Insight and the Civic GX are two more steps of many Honda has already
taken to reduce the impact of the automobile on the environment," said Robert
Bienenfeld, senior manager of product planning for American Honda.  "These two
production vehicles represent Honda's commitment to develop real-world,
market-ready solutions to meet this challenge."
    The annual event typically features manufacturer-built prototypes and
futuristic student-designed concepts. Last year, for the first time in the
history of the Tour de Sol, an affordable, mass-produced environmental vehicle
-- the 2000 Honda Insight -- led the road rally as the official pace car.
    The Honda Insight took top honors in the 2000 Tour de Sol, achieving an
average of 92-mpg over more than 300 miles, from New York City to Washington,
DC.

    The progress of the Tour, which starts on Mon., May 21, can be tracked on
NESEA's website -- http://www.nesea.org .

    * American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's "Green Book: The
      Environmental Guide To Cars and Trucks," 2001 rankings

    2001 Honda Insight

    * Introduced in 1999 as the first gas-electric hybrid on sale in the U.S.

    * Marketed as a vehicle for the urban commuter; as a second or third
      family car; and to young buyers who care about good fuel economy and the
      environment.

    * Features Honda's Integrated Motor Assist(TM) (IMA) system -- a 1.0-
      liter, 3-cylinder gasoline engine combined with a lightweight and
      compact 144-volt electric motor. The electric motor is powered by a
      nickel-metal hydride battery pack, which is charged by the gasoline
      engine and by recapturing the vehicle's momentum during braking.

    * Five-speed, manual transmission Insight model is EPA-rated with 61-mpg
      city/68-mpg highway; CVT automatic Insight model is EPA-rated with 57-
      mpg city/56-mpg highway. Both 2001 Insight models are certified to
      California's Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) standard --
      emitting 96 percent less pollutants than a typical car.

    * Does not require an outside source of electric power -- unlike pure
      electric vehicles, it never needs to be plugged in.

    2001 Civic GX

    * Powered by a dedicated compressed natural gas engine.

    * Certified to California's Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV)
      standard -- emitting 96 percent less pollutants than a typical car.

    * Driving range of 200 miles in 'real world' driving, 250 miles on the
      highway.

    * Driven from California to Washington, DC, the Civic GX emits fewer smog-
      producing hydrocarbons than what would be released by spilling a single
      teaspoon of gasoline.

    * Contains an advanced 'Continuously Variable Transmission' (CVT) to offer
      the convenience of an automatic with both the performance and fuel
      efficiency of a manual transmission.

    * In 1998, U.S. EPA named the GX as "Cleanest on Earth" with an internal
      combustion engine.

    To download high-resolution images of the 2001 Insight and/or the 2001
Civic GX, on the Internet go to http://hondanews.com .

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