Another impressive piece of engineering...

Kelgar · Post by **Kelgar** » October 10, 2004, 7:25 am

http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.asp ... 7&src=News

More Power, Better Fuel Economy
The stats: An Accord Hybrid produces 255 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque, 90 percent of which is available below 4000 rpm. This represents a 6.3 percent increase in horsepower, while torque is up 9.4 percent. That's good enough to knock about half a second off the time it takes to reach 60 mph from a standstill.

While performance of the new Accord Hybrid is impressive, so are its fuel economy improvements. More stats: fuel economy in the city is rated at 30 mpg; highway is 37 mpg. This is a 43 percent improvement in the city, 23 percent on the highway over the standard Accord V6 sedan. To put this in perspective, a Honda Civic (not the Civic Hybrid) gets 31 mpg city/38 mpg highway. Maximum range on one tank of fuel increases to by 23 percent to 633 miles.

Kelgar · Post by **Kelgar** » October 10, 2004, 7:44 am

Now if only Honda could learn to make their sedans anything other than ugly pieces of shit (Mazda's makeover looks really nice), then maybe I'd be more excited about buying one!

Drasta · Post by **Drasta** » October 10, 2004, 9:50 am

my tiburon sits at around 29 mpg ... and i can get about 280 out of a tank .... before i get scared and refuel ... im happy with it

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » October 10, 2004, 5:09 pm

Yeah, maybe if they considered making these hybrids look sporty, someone other than green peace members would own them.

archeiron · Post by **archeiron** » October 10, 2004, 6:30 pm

I don't understand the hybrid vehicles, or why they are thought to be so impressive. I can buy a Golf GLS Diesel that will get 38mpg/46mpg and has a range of 500+ without utilizing hybrid engine technologies. This diesel engine can run off of the agriculture diesel products without conversion.

In order to make progress, we need to be efficient in our energy usage. Electronics that uses less power, fewer extraneous moving parts, better engine designs, and lighter vehicles can all contribute to improvements in energy consumption.

I believe that it is in our interest to pursue energy sources that do not rely upon fossil fuels at any point, but these hybrids do not strike me as anything like an amazing leap forward.

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » October 13, 2004, 12:35 pm

I actually like the redesigned accord in '03 save for the tail lamps. The interior is especially well designed, from the gauges to the cup holders to the adjustable armrests etc. The battery takes up some of the trunk space(which is already considered small compared to the Altima and Camry) but it's used effectivly. I haven't had a chance to test drive it yet but it sounds great. The regular v6 is a pretty good mover.

Diesel cars can't even be purchased by nearly 75 millions americans because certain states prohibit it's sale. In addition, the hybrids here and ones that are arriving soon are all PZEV compliant.