Temple of VTEC Rumors and News - Honda Civic GX and Civic Hybrid Serve as Official Vehicles for Peace Message Trek

The natural gas powered Honda Civic GX and the Civic Hybrid have been chosen as the official vehicles for the traditional "Peace, Youth and the Environment" message trek between past and future Winter Olympic cities. A team of cyclists, hikers, rowers and sail-boaters will travel from Salt Lake City to New York State and on to Torino, Italy to share a message of peace with youth and civic groups in towns and cities along the route. The nearly zero emission Honda sedans will serve as support vehicles to the volunteers carrying the message for the American portion of the route, which begins on April 4.

The team's message will be a special delivery from the mayor of Salt Lake City to the mayor of Torino, Italy, demonstrating the commitment and importance of the environment, young people and peace throughout the world while on the world's stage.

"The ideals of peace, youth and the environment closely match Honda's corporate philosophy," said Gunnar Lindstrom, Senior Manager of Alternative Fuels for American Honda, "We are proud to have this opportunity to demonstrate that Honda offers clean technology compatible with the goals of this trek."

Manufacturing vehicles that are safe, environmentally friendly and socially responsible, Honda pursues a philosophy of being a company that society wants to exist. The development of cleaner and more efficient vehicles and alternatives like the Civic GX are part of Honda's commitment to reducing the impact of the automobile on our environment.

For example, the gasoline-powered Honda Insight and Civic Hybrid captured four of the top five spots in the EPA's 2004 fuel economy rankings. And with the introduction of the Accord Hybrid in 2004, Honda become the only automaker to offer U.S. customers three distinct hybrid models and the first company to offer a V6-powered hybrid. Additionally, the Civic GX was dubbed the "cleanest internal combustion engine ever tested" by the USEPA. For 2005, Honda is the only manufacturer to offer a natural gas powered vehicle on a light duty platform. The promise of tomorrow, alive today, is the hydrogen-powered Honda FCX, the only fuel cell vehicle certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and U.S. EPA for everyday commercial use. Honda undertook fuel cell research in 1989 and has been road-testing vehicles in the US since 1999; Honda also began rolling out vehicles in a demonstration fleet in December 2002 and currently has 14 vehicles in regular daily operation with 6 customers in 3 states.