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In order to contribute to the resolution of global environmental problems and to respond to the issue of diminishing resources, the Civic Hybrid, a hybrid passenger automobile has been developed to achieve both low emissions and low fuel consumption. The hybrid system takes the conventional Honda IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) system as its foundation. 4-cylinder, 1.3L SOHC, 2-plug engine i-DSI (DSI: Dual and Sequential Ignition) has been selected and modified for lean burn combustion. In addition, a cylinder idling system to increase the amount of electrical energy regenerated during deceleration has been adopted, among other technology. The ultra-thin DC brushless motor has been modified with its magnetic circuit to improve maximum regenerative torque by approximately 30%. Thanks to a new power train that improves CVT transfer efficiency, low fuel consumption of 48mpg in the city and 47mpg on the highway (the 5MT vehicle is 46mpg in the city and 51mpg on the highway) is achieved.

The natural gas vehicle has high potential as a clean alternative fuel vehicle because of its clean burning characteristics. Honda has been developing a dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle since 1998. It has achieved near-zero emissions and the 2001 model year Civic GX was the first vehicle to be certified as AT P-ZEV (Advanced Technology, Partial-credit, Zero Emission Vehicle) by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). A key technology for low emissions is precise air-fuel ratio control. We adopted a fuel supply system with multi-point injectors and 2-stage pressure regulators. A power control module (PCM) calculates the fuel injection rate by receiving signals from the fuel pressure sensor and the fuel temperature sensor. The PCM maintains an optimum air-fuel ratio using two newly developed heated oxygen sensors.

The mixture formation processes of methane and air in an optical access engine operating steadily at 200 RPM have been explored in order to study charge inhomogeneity in a natural gas powered spark ignition engine during transient engine cranking. Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence has been used to create fuel/air equivalence ratio maps as a function of injection timing for various image planes at intervals throughout the intake and compression strokes. The work has been done using a Honda VTEC-E engine head that features port injection, four valves per cylinder, a pentroof style combustion chamber for the generation of tumble motion, and one nearly deactivated intake valve to generate swirl motion at low engine speeds in order to enhance mixing.

Most currently produced lean-burn engines can achieve good fuel economy, but must be further developed to gain better vehicle performance and driveability. Honda has developed a new lean-burn engine which incorporates 3-stage variable valve timing and lift mechanism, swirl promotion at low engine speed, and a new intake port configuration. This engine generates approximately 40% more power over our current lean burn engine and improves the dynamic performance of the vehicle. At the same time, it maintains a fuel consumption level equal to that of the current engine.