To:
[email protected]
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2003 4:26 PM
Subject: Fw: Low Carbon emmisions from motor vehicles
Hi there!
Hey great job on an excellent Honda Insight website!
I like the concept but I must say I was put off this car when I visited your fair country last September (2002). I flew into LAX and went to Budget to hire a car - they had the GM EV1 and Honda Insight available. I got the Insight - threw my huge ruck sack in the back - and smaller bag in the trunk and drove off looking forward to environmentally effecient and fun travel - I passed the check out barrier and turned towards Airport Bvd and Imperial Hwy - but then things went downhill - the car started to misfire and lurch - loots of flashing lights appeared on the dashboard and the electric windows went up and down - I stopped immediately and turned the ignition off - then tried again - nothing - even the windows stayed down. Now, 11pm in LA in a broken down car is not my idea of fun! Alas i had to leave the car and grab my belongings and trek back to Budget who appologised - sent for a tow truck and meantime got me another car - that epitome of American consumption! - a Ford Mustang! and that for 20 bucks a day less than the Insight! Crazy world.
Oh well - I was hoping for better as I'd had such fun in my Mk1 MR2 for several years and wanted to drive another japanese coupe around.
The car has sold 200 copies here in the UK - where 5speed manual and air con are standard. It gets a £1000 grant (1500US) from the UK Govt when bought new but even with that reduction costs around £16000 (24000US).
Now I'm home I've just invested in another amazingly efficient car - we pay 4.55 US Dollars per US galllon over here (80 pence per litre) so mpg is very important.
It's an Audi A2 1.2 TDI - not available in UK or US but everywhere in europe.
Here's some general info:
New price in Europe : 18500 Euro (17800 USD)
I paid approx .£9500 (14250US) for an 18 month old example with 9000 miles on it from an Audi dealer in Germany.
Cd (drag coeff) 0.25 - same as Insight but this baby can carry 4 adults and their luggage.
Aluminium body - 855 kg empty - max wt 1225 kg
61bhp/140NM from 1800 thro 2400 rpm from 1191cc 3 cylinder turbo diesel - (cf Insight 76 bhp/113NM at 2000rpm)
81 to 86 g/km CO2 (cf Insight 80 g/km)
Euro 3 version: (aircon, powersteering, etc...)
CO 0.228 g/km
NOx: 0.240 g/km
HC+ NOx 0.261 g/km
Particulates: 0.0021g/km
Fuel consumption: 2.80 to 3.80 ltrs / 100km or 88 to 101 mpg. This is for a 4 seater, 5 door hatchback capable of 0-60mph in 14 secs and 106 mph on the autobahn.
The Euro 4 version has a bench rear seat and no air con or power steering but is capable of better mpg and lower emissions - particulate trap etc....
Now about your arguement over the VW Beetle TDI - yes it's worse than the Insight on Smog emissions but the reason it is so much more efficient than the petrol Beatle has nothing to do with volumes of fuel!
All chemical energy is based on calorific values not density or volumes! The truth is Petroleum (US gas) and Diesel have very similar calorific values.
Diesel power is more efficient because
iesel engines combust fuel through compression alone (800 deg C at 750 psi). Petrol requires spark plugs.
The higher the compression ratio, the higher the thermodynamic efficiency so diesel engines have much higher compression ratios (18 to 24 to 1 cf petrol 9 to 13 to 1). Petrol is more liable to "pinking"/detonation as it is more volatile. A petrol engine typically returns 25 to 30 % thermal efficency comapred with 40 to 50 (truck engines) percent for diesel.
Diesel fuel is injected into the cylinder at very high pressure in neat form - whereas petrol requires a specific fuel/air mix and associated swirl depending on driver demands. This also means there are fewer pumping losses as the downward motion of the piston is not resisted by the vacuum of a partially closed throttle valve. As the piston passes TDC on the expansion stroke, diesel can be pumped in for longer than the comparable petrol engine example giving a more sustained power stroke - which enhances torque at lower engine speeds.
For a given amount of work, around a third less diesel is required cf petrol. Yes diesel is denser (heavier per litre or gallon) but it's calorific value is much the same - it's more compact!
Diesel is a simpler fuel requiring less energy in the distillation process than petrol.
Safety: It has a much higher boiling point and is less flammable at ambient temperatures (eg: auto accident)
Reliability/Durability: Diesel is greasy, smelly stuff! It doesn't evaporate at the earliest opportunity but it is a lubricant (petrol is a cutting fluid!)which combined with lower rpms used per mile is why diesel engines last longer and emit relatively constant emissions throughout their lives cf petrol which worsens with age.
The advent of Bio diesel is not the entire answer but it offers a unique way of reducing overall carbon consumption by changing the cycle at source
Anyway keep up the good work! Now if Honda would do a diesel hybrid Insight........ hmmmmmm!
If you would like to know more about my car please contact me:
Lukas
First A2 1.2 TDI in UK
Style pack + Chorus + Advance pack + winter wheels + iRiver MP3CD
