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Honda Partners with UC-Davis and Others in Smart Car-Sharing System

3 February 1999

Honda Partners with UC-Davis and Others in Nation's First Smart Car-Sharing System

       CarLink Program Designed to Research Shared-Use Vehicle Concept

    DUBLIN, Calif., Feb. 3 -- The nation's first car-sharing
system using "smart-card" technology is being tested by a group including the
University of California's Davis Institute of Transportation Studies and
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
    The CarLink program was demonstrated at a press conference at the BART
(Bay Area Rapid Transit) Dublin-Pleasanton station.  Program members share the
use of 12 natural gas-powered Civic GX sedans, supplied by Honda.  Some
members -- daily commuters -- drive to and from the BART station, using the
cars mornings, evenings and weekends.  Others travel to jobs in the Dublin
area on BART, pick up cars at the station for use during the day and return
them at the end of the workday.  Onboard electronics monitor vehicle
logistics, customer use and vehicle location and transmit this information to
a command center.
    "Creative solutions to the transportation challenges of the 21st century
require both advanced vehicles and better integration of the automobile within
the overall transportation system," said Robert Bienenfeld, advanced
environmental vehicle marketing manager for American Honda.  "Honda's
participation in the CarLink program allows us to see how consumers respond to
the shared-use concept."
    In addition to providing the Civic GX cars and funding for the field test
of the CarLink program, all vehicle maintenance and insurance will be covered
by Honda during the year-long period of this program.
    Honda Motor Co. has been researching the shared-use concept since 1994,
when it announced its vision for an Intelligent Community Vehicle System
(ICVS).  In October 1998, Honda began conducting public ICVS test-drives at
its Twin Ring Motegi motorsports complex in Tochigi, Japan.  Using
environmentally sensitive vehicles such as small electric cars and electric
bicycles, users check out vehicles as needed using smart cards to commute
around the 1,600-acre facility.  The system helps relieve parking shortages
and traffic congestion while retaining the convenience of personal
transportation.
    For the California CarLink program, Honda is providing alternative-fuel
vehicles powered by 1.6-liter dedicated natural gas 4-cylinder engines.  The
Civic GX is the cleanest internal combustion engine vehicle ever tested by the
government.
    "An important component in the development of each of Honda's advanced
environmental vehicles is obtaining feedback from consumers under real-world,
day-to-day use," Bienenfeld said.
    In the U.S., Honda markets environmentally sensitive vehicles such as the
Civic GX fueled by compressed natural gas, the EV PLUS electric vehicle and
has just announced the first hybrid electric vehicle to go on sale in the U.S.
later this year.  In addition, for the 1999 model year, two of every three
cars sold by Honda across the U.S. will meet or exceed California's Low
Emission Vehicle (LEV) standards.