Finally, green means go
Forget Ferrari and Lamborghini. For those of certain sympathies and convictions, the Honda Accord Hybrid may be the sexiest thing on four wheels.
Are you one of them? Take this simple test to find out:
Do you think Ralph Nader a villain or a secular saint? If the latter, give yourself one point (if you think Ralph is sexy, give yourself two points).
Do you believe global warming is pseudo-science trumped up by alarmist researchers enriching themselves on research grants, or do you believe it poses an imminent threat to life on Earth? If the latter, give yourself three points. Sports talk radio or NPR? If the latter, four points. Hummer hater? Five points. Do you know your Starbucks barista by name? Six points.
Do you believe the secret Cheney energy task force was not unduly influenced by oil and coal lobbyists? Deduct 10 points and check your watch. It might be time for your meds.
In some ways, the Accord Hybrid, which is available starting Friday, is extraordinary in its ordinariness. It’s the same solid, if not stolid, four-door, five-seat, mid-size sedan as the regular Accord, a nameplate that for years has been to suburban domesticity what Windows is to the PC -- a ubiquitous operating system, reliable, invisible. Redesigned last year, the Accord’s exterior styling is intensely relaxed, furiously bland, a car that seems to be not of this world but merely passing through it, Rumi-like.
The interior gestalt of the car isn’t that different from the Accords of a decade ago; sure, the lines and geometry are different, but it’s still the same patented gray plastic, still the same silver H on the steering wheel, still the same sweet reek of adhesives and colorfast dyes.
Its engineering is not quite as radical as that of the Toyota Prius, which is a “strong” hybrid compared to the Accord’s “mild” hybrid design, though these designations are somewhat misleading. There is nothing second-tier about the Accord Hybrid system. Honda’s hybrid approach revolves around its Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) unit, which is essentially a big electric motor/generator/starter sandwiched between the motor and the transmission, wrapped around the output shaft. When maximum acceleration is called for, this unit draws juice from the nickel metal-hydride battery pack to impart up to 15 horsepower and 100 pound-feet of torque to the twisty bits.
The car also has regenerative braking, which captures kinetic energy otherwise lost as heat in the brakes and converting it to electrical energy to charge the battery. Like the Prius and other hybrids, the Accord Hybrid has auto-stop programming, which is to say, when the car is slowing to a full stop, the engine shuts off. When the throttle is opened again, the IMA unit, acting as a huge starter motor (and kicked over by the car’s oversized battery), spins the motor back up.
The biggest difference between the Prius and the Accord hybrids is that the Prius can run on its electric traction motor alone while the Accord’s V-6 motor is always running.
But the Accord can do some things the Prius can’t -- like get out of its own way. The Honda is quick, silly quick, Tickle-Me-Elmo quick: 0-60 mph in 6.7 seconds, say my friends at Car and Driver magazine. This thanks to the car’s 3-liter, 240-horsepower V-6 engine plus a 15-horsepower assist from Mr. Faraday.
Whenever the full resources of the Honda motor are not required, one bank of cylinders is deactivated. Much of the time the car is essentially a three-cylinder vehicle; a green ECO icon lights up when the car is in full-thrift mode. Also in the instrument cluster are LED lights that slide back and forth to indicate the direction of electrons to and from the battery.
Like the Prius’ flow-chart animation display, these indicators are a subtle mechanism of behavior modification, teaching drivers how to massage the throttle and brake to extract maximum efficiency.
Drum roll, please: The Accord Hybrid received an EPA mileage rating of 29 miles per gallon city, 37 highway, substantially better than the Accord with the four-cylinder engine.
What a pain this car must have been to engineer. It’s not simply that all the noise and vibrations must be managed (a V-6 engine doesn’t come on like a light bulb) or that all the forces -- electro-motive and otherwise -- must be regimented by computerized gatekeepers. It’s that the hybrid’s to-and-fro energy must flow serenely together with a kind of symphonic dynamism.
To null out vibrations in the moment of transition between six and three cylinders, the car is equipped with an electrically actuated hydraulic motor mount. To mute the low-frequency booming generated by the cylinder deactivation, the car borrows Acura’s Active Noise Cancellation audio system. The only time you are aware of the car’s hybridized soul is when the car stops and starts and it shudders with the barest frisson.
The Accord Hybrid has only one option available, a $2,000 nav system (and a very sleepy one too, taking agonizing seconds to boot up). The car comes with leather and heated seats, automatic transmission (conventional, not continuously variable as in the Prius), AM/FM/six-disc, in-dash CD/XM satellite radio. Unlike the gas-only Accord, no sunroof is available. Due to the hybrid system’s plumbing, the spare tire has been replaced with an electric air pump and a can of tire sealant; the rear seatbacks don’t fold down; and the trunk is a little smaller.
The Accord Hybrid’s price premium is about $3,400 more than a similarly equipped standard V-6 (which is, however, not as quick). I can already hear harrumphing along the lines of: You can’t save enough on gas to make up the difference in price. That depends. Assuming $2.25 per gallon and a daily commute of 100 miles (not at all unusual in Southern California), you would recoup the price difference in about 6 1/2 years.
Ultimately, though, this car is not really for penny-pinchers but for tree-huggers, people who would happily pay a little extra to reduce the size of their ecological footprint.
It’s not whether you believe the automobile is a significant threat. It’s whether you care.
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Let hybrids into the HOV lanes?
On Nov. 19 Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) introduced a bill to the U.S. House of Representatives that would allow solo drivers of hybrid cars to use the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. California passed a law in September allowing hybrids that get at least 45 miles per gallon unrestricted access to HOV lanes, but because HOV lanes are built with federal funds, they are governed by federal regulations. Sherman’s bill is a waiver of the passenger requirement that applies to all states. Even if the bill does pass, the Accord Hybrid’s mpg’s would keep it from qualifying; however, the Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius would.
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2005 Honda Accord Hybrid
Price, as tested: $32,510
Powertrain: 3.0-liter single overhead cam V-6 with variable-valve timing and lift and cylinder deactivation mode; 15-hp AC-motor; five-speed automatic transmission; front-wheel drive
Horsepower: 255 at 6,000 rpm
Torque: 232 pound-feet at 5,000 rpm
Curb weight: 3,513 pounds
0-60 mph: 6.7 seconds
Wheelbase: 107.9 inches
Overall length: 189.5 inches
EPA fuel economy: 29 miles per gallon city, 37 highway
Final thoughts: Green meanie
Automotive critic Dan Neil
can be reached at dan.neil@latimes.com.
