Toyota, which already sells the hybrid Prius sedan in Japan, plans to introduce the vehicle here in late 2000. It's the direction we would like to see the rest of the auto industry go. But to date, only Honda and Toyota have announced production plans. The vehicle's structural elements are aluminum, and its body panels are made of aluminum or plastic. It weighs just 1,740 pounds, compared with about 2,500 for a Civic subcompact.
Lower weight helps the vehicle far exceed the fuel economy of the best vehicles now on the market.
It can go more than 600 miles between fuel stops, Honda estimates. Developed under the code name V, the Honda hybrid is based on the J-VX concept car that the automaker first displayed at the Tokyo Auto Show in 1997. A prototype of the hybrid will be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit early next month. The battery is, in turn, rechargedby a generator that recovers energy from braking. The coupe will be built in Japan at the same plant that makes the EV Plus electric vehicle, which is now sold in California and New York, and the aluminum-bodied Acura NSX sports coupe.