Honda Adds 1998 Civics to Cars it Will Sell Nationally With Advanced Low Emission Technology

6 August 1997
Honda Adds 1998 Civics to Cars it Will Sell Nationally With Advanced Low Emission Technology

    TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 6 -- Honda will add nearly 200,000 1998 Civics to
the number of cars it will voluntarily sell in all 50 states meeting
California's stringent "Low Emission Vehicle" (LEV) standard, American Honda
Motor Company, Inc., announced today.
    Honda previously announced that about 240,000 cars from the all-new 1998
Accord lineup would be sold nationally with the advanced LEV technology.  The
Civic and Accord models also will be sold throughout Canada.  The California
LEV standard is about 70 percent lower for NMOG (non-methane organic gases,
the main ingredient of smog) than the most stringent U.S. federal standard.
    "Honda is committed to expanding its environmental efforts," said Tom
Elliott, American Honda executive vice president.  "More than half of all the
Honda vehicles sold throughout the U.S. will now be equipped with advanced low
emission technology."
    The LEV Civics include all CX, DX and LX Hatchbacks, Sedans and Coupes and
are powered by a 16-valve, 106-horsepower, 4-cylinder engine.  EPA
city/highway fuel economy ratings should be about 32/38 mpg.  Final '98
pricing has not been set, but will remain in the current price range.
    The 1996 Civic was the first gasoline-powered car certified by the
California Air Resources Board as meeting LEV requirements.  The Civic also
was the first gasoline-LEV to be sold in New York and Massachusetts.
    The Civic line has a long history of environmental leadership, dating back
to 1975 when the Civic CVCC became the first car in the world to meet the
strict emission requirements of the 1970 Clean Air Act without the use of a
catalytic converter.
    Often the fuel economy leader over the years, four Civic models rate among
the EPA's Top 10 most fuel efficient vehicles for 1997, including the Civic HX
equipped with a CVT (continuously variable transmission), the only car
equipped with an automatic transmission in the Top 10.
    In addition, a new Civic model will be offered during 1998, the Civic
GX powered by natural gas, which will be the cleanest vehicle ever made with
an internal combustion engine, producing "almost zero" emissions.
    The 1998 Civic and Accord models will go on sale in September.  The 1998
Accord will be built exclusively by Honda of America Manufacturing (HAM) in
Marysville, Ohio, while the 1998 Civics will be built by HAM in East Liberty,
Ohio and by Honda of Canada Manufacturing in Alliston, Ontario.

SOURCE  American Honda Motor Co.