Honda will be releasing a Hydrogen home filling station for their hydrogen cars. It can also supply hydrogen power for your home. I believe they have a solar powered and one that runs off natural gas.

Go buy some Honda stock immediately!

Honda Home Energy Station

 

in the older gens, they had a significant difference in fuel economy between the hybrids and the regulars....

in the new models, the hybrid (49/51) does not get as much of a difference (especially when you consider the 8th gen auto sedans can average 35mpg, and 40+ on the highway when driven responsibly 30/40 officially) though it depends on where you drive... if you drive primarily highway, the gas powered is more effective for the added cost of say 1/4 of a gallon..... if you drive city, the hybrid is worth it.. the natural gas version definitely is not worth the added costs, as you get lower fuel economy than the regular gas version...

with the hybrids though, some states offer tax incentives, as well as other incentives... in Virginia, with special hybrid license plates you can drive in the HOV lanes with only one passenger

the new hybrid accords definitely aren't worth it for the extra 1mpg you might get in highway driving

 

Pop Sci showed the natural gas station, but since it doesn't pressurise the gas, it takes overnight to fill your tank. As i said, how do you compare economy? I also see some of the work Honda is doing on hydrogen cell tech. Ain't going to happen overnight, but I have more faith in them than Detroit (who are now paying the price for the short term profits of SUV's).

I believe in conservation, our energy headaches (mid-east oil and war associated with it, etc,) would be much less of a problem if we small car fans could get more of our peers on the same page, as well as get city commuters to support mass transit to get to work in downtown.
Take a closer look at the crowded East Asian culture that produces these cars we enjoy.

 

Cheers!

 

Just a side note but according to Edmunds.com there are 40 "wagons" available for sale in the US. Some or different trims of same model.

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpconta...ttribute=wagon

 

I will +1 all that he has said. I mean look at ford, they tried to do it with the focus look at how many they have sold wow alot eh. I am lucky if I see one trolling around my city and there is atleast half a million people in my city. I do not know to much about the civic hybrid but I would look into getting one.

 

If Honda had offered the Civic in wagon form, "I'd" have bought one! I can use the additional interior space.

As for the hybrid vs standards cars, about the time I started seriously considering an economy car, I was looking at hybrids. I think I'd have probably gone with the Prius before the Civic Hybrid but that's a moot point now. Anyway, one or two of the major automotive magazines did comparison tests between the hybrids and their gasoline only counterparts. They only used cars like the Civic that were offered in both forms so the tests could be a fair as possible. Bottom line with the Civic was, at $3.00/gal gas prices, I'd have had to drive the hybrid almost 160,000 miles before "breaking even" on the added cost of the hybrid model up front. Considering the added complexities involved, that just didn't seem worth it to me. I also spend a lot of time on the road and not really that much in true city traffic so the hybrid wasn't going to net me as much of an advantage as it would have otherwise been capable of.

At any rate, I'm happy with the decision I made.

FWIW!
Drive Safe,
Steve R.

 

For most of here who are car enthusiasts, the hybrid is kind of a non-issue. The issue with hybrids is this: do you commute more than an hour to work into the city every day? How much time do you spend creeping along a 20-30, just to reach the toll booth? If your commute is less than 150mis total, why have gas at all (the upper reach of all electric cars up to now)?Hybrids are a band-aid. I need the space, and what I haul (guitar amps) would likely cancel the benefits of batteries.

All I can add is, boycott Exxon/Mobil, search for gasoline sources that are American, stomp on the pedal only when out to have fun on open road, and just be frugal in general. That much will keep the price of gas reasonable.

Oh, and drive Honda.

 

I have an 06 Civic Hybrid and just love it. I'm seeing 46 to 51 mpg in mixed driving. I commute 60 miles RT to work.The 08 Civic with the 1.8 boasts 26 to 35 MPG wheras the hybrid boast 49-51. The gas cost difference between 35 and 48 mpg at $3 a gallon is $25 a month for my commute. That's equivalant to a tank of gas or over 500 miles. The hybrid doesnt idle, which saves more fuel and reduces C02.

Money aside, we need to do what's better for the Earth, and many of us agree the C02 is bad. We need to produce less of it. I bought my Civic used and saved a big chunk o money. If you want to save your bank account, **** of the oil companies, and save the world, buy a hybrid.

BTW, the batteries are designed to last the life of the car and 90% recycleable. Thier warrantied for 8/80 or even 10/150 in some states.

Just my 2 cents worth, don't beat me up too badly. [:@]

 

I would like to know how the heater in a hybrid works in winter (with no engine running) and how the AC works in the hot weather (also with no engine running)? A friend of mine with a Prius complains about window fogging in cooler weather.