zero2sixty

The welfare of the environment is everybody’s business.  That is why last May 22, 2010, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. gathered six (6) green organizations representing different members of society for a common cause.  Tagged as the Green Warriors’ Edition, Honda recently staged another leg of its fuel efficiency driving competition called Honda Challenge Cup as part of its non-stop crusade for a greener future.  Together, government agencies and NGOs that work towards environment protection convened to promote fuel economy awareness in the face of unstable fuel prices, depleting fuel supply and excessive exhaust emissions.   Present during the competition were representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Energy (DOE), Bantay Kalikasan, Philippine Business for the Environment (PBE), National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) and Honda Club of the Philippines (HCP).

Long before fuel price hike was an issue, Honda has already been staging fuel economy runs as early as 1996.  Through this type of event, Honda advocates driving every drop of fuel by considering three basic factors:  vehicle, driver and fuel.  A proper vehicle equipped with advanced technologies like the i-VTEC engine and 5-speed automatic transmission, driven using proper techniques and powered with high grade fuel that has better combustion properties, all contribute in optimizing fuel economy.  Fuel consumption indicator also helps the motorist to be mindful of his driving pattern and earn better fuel mileage in the process.  Take for instance the City, Jazz and CR-V models.  These models have a fuel meter on the LCD display to indicate both instantaneous and average fuel consumption.  

Honda Challenge Cup educates regular motorists some fuel efficient driving techniques that are applicable in practical, day-to-day setting.  In testing the usefulness of these techniques under real-world situations, Honda provided its complete model line-up namely City, Jazz, Civic, CR-V and Accord for the activity and loaded these vehicles with Petron XCS gasoline.  Competition posed realistic challenges in both city and highway driving conditions using normal driving style and with a running airconditioning system.  Applying the basic formula, VEHICLE plus DRIVER plus FUEL equals FUEL ECONOMY, these green warriors accomplished amazing results despite the accident that happened along NLEX which caused heavy traffic in the area. The 1.3 City AT driven by John Paul Balayon and Ricky de Leon of Bantay Kalikasan bested its category and posted 13.35 km/li.  The team of Noli Diega and Othello Tongio of National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) registered 19.15 km/li  using 1.3 Jazz AT.  Luis Antonio and Lisa Antonio of Philippine Business for the Environment (PBE) topped the 1.8 Civic AT class with 13.50 km/li.  Meanwhile, Cedric Alagar and Mary Rose Alagar of Honda Club of the Philippines led the 2.0 CR-V AT category with 12.38 km/li.  Ronaldo Parreno, Jr. and Max Marquez of the Department of Energy took control of the 3.5 Accord AT category with 10.74 km/li.  

Being one of the largest engine manufacturers in the world, Honda is dedicated in developing innovative products and technologies that have minimal impact on the environment.  A true testament to Honda’s quest for cleaner and more fuel efficient engines can be traced way back in the 70’s with its CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) engine.  The CVCC’s low emission was the first in the world to comply with the U.S. Clean Air Act.  Moving forward to today’s generation, all Honda models sold locally reach EURO 4 levels, even if Philippine regulations only require EURO 2 compliance.  European Emission Standards regulate the acceptable limits for exhaust emissions and is considered one of the strictest in the world.  Honda targets mass-market models to realize great impact on fuel economy and clean air that is why as early as 2004, it has already introduced models with EURO 4 levels in the local market.  This translates to a total of 77,370 cumulative units sold.  

For fuel saving tips and technologies that reduce harmful emissions, kindly visit www.hondaphil.com.  Watch out for more updates and upcoming editions of Honda Challenge Cup.  

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