Honda cleans up

TOKYO: Honda Japan will sell a natural gas-powered Civic sedan from next June. Honda claims its tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions are 20 percent less than a petrol-powered car, and other toxic gases have been slashed to almost "zero". The car will cost about US$22,800. Honda expects to sell 100 a year.

Honda will also release in February a 50cc scooter with an engine minimizing emission pollutants. The leading motorcyclemaker hopes to grab more market share by beating its rivals to market with a low-pollution model.

Limits on emissions by scooters with engines 50cc and smaller will be tightened in October 1998. Honda has set a sales target of 20,000 scooters annually.

The new model cuts emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants to less than 10 percent of those of current scooters, Honda says. The engine is equipped with a catalytic converter based on stainless steel plates coated with platinum and rhodium.