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Honda Develops Gasoline Engine With 'Zero Level Emissions'

20 October 1997

Honda Develops Gasoline Engine With 'Zero Level Emissions'

    TOCHIGI, Japan, Oct. 20 -- Honda has developed an internal
combustion gasoline automobile engine that is virtually pollution-free, Honda
Motor Co., Ltd., announced today at a press conference prior to the opening of
the Tokyo Motor Show.
    The Honda Z-LEV (Zero Level Emission Vehicle) engine produces just
one-tenth the emissions of California's Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standard,
the most stringent standard in the world.
    "A car equipped with this engine could drive through a high smog area and
the smog producing emissions coming out of the tailpipe would actually be
lower than they are in the surrounding air," said Nobuhiko Kawamoto, Honda's
president and chief executive officer, in making the announcement.  "This
engine also represents a feasible approach, one we believe can be applied to
Honda products in the future."
    Test results were achieved using 100,000-mile aged-catalysts and low
sulfur reformulated gasoline currently available only in California.
Development work and testing is continuing on the engine, which is still
several years away from the marketplace.  Remaining challenges include
reducing costs and confirming the long-term durability of the system.
    "This is a remarkable breakthrough," said John Dunlap, chairman of the
California Air Resources Board.  "A gasoline engine with nearly zero emissions
would have been unthinkable just 10 years ago.  But Honda has been committed
to developing advanced emission control systems and this achievement provides
an indication of what is now possible."
    The prototype engine is based on the current 2.3-liter, 4-cylinder engine
found in the new 1998 Honda Accord.  A version of the current Accord engine
already meets California's ULEV standard and is the cleanest gasoline
engine being sold in the world today.
    The breakthrough was made possible through the development of Honda's new
Three Stage Emission Management System, which features the first use of a
Honda-developed "dual function" (or hybrid) catalyst.
    During Stage One, the critical period immediately following engine
startup, Honda's patented VTEC engine allows for a leaner air/fuel mixture
than other engines in cold-start conditions.  At this point the dual function
catalyst serves as a trap for hydrocarbons while the two catalysts are warming
up to operating temperatures.
    Stage Two provides for quick catalyst warm-up through  the use of a close-
coupled catalyst and electric heating of a portion of the underfloor catalyst.
All of this takes less than a minute, after which the trapped hydrocarbons are
released for cleaning and the dual function catalyst begins to operate as a
typical, although highly efficient, catalyst.
    During Stage Three or regular driving period, a powerful 32-bit Risc
computer and VTEC engine design provide for stable and precise combustion,
combined with the two high efficiency catalysts to maintain emissions at
virtually zero.
    Honda established itself as the leader in low emission technology in
1975 when it introduced the Civic CVCC, the first car to meet the Clean Air
Act emission standards without the use of a catalytic converter.  The 1996
Civic later became the first gasoline-powered car to meet California's Low
Emission Vehicle (LEV) standard.
    Beginning with the 1998 model year, Honda is voluntarily selling Civic and
Accord models meeting California's LEV standard in all 50 states.  As a
result, more than half of all the Hondas sold in America will feature advanced
low emission technology.
    In California, Honda is currently leasing the EV PLUS, the first
production electric vehicle to use advanced nickel-metal hydride battery
technology.  In addition, the company is now taking orders for its new Civic
GX natural gas-powered vehicle for delivery in the spring of next year, which
like the Z-LEV, produces almost zero emissions.
    "We must focus our energy on being a leader in protecting the environment
for future generations,"  Kawamoto  said.  "We believe the survival of our
industry -- and the future of our company -- depend on it."

SOURCE  American Honda Motor Company, Inc.