Okay so why would Honda make the hybrids (ULEV) with such crummy ratings? I just bought mine and they didn't have any manual PZEVs...at least at the dealer that let me buy for invoice. Now I'm upset because looking at the EPA charts it looks like my hybrid is WORSE (emissions wise) than the average car??? How can that be? Does that mean that some SUVs are better (cleaner burning) than my ULEV vehicle? What good is the ULEV if it gets a 3/10 rating? How much worse do they get!!!

 

So I just looked up a SUV to see. Yes...it appears that the Honda CRV has a better rating (3points higher) than my Civic Hybrid ULEV!! 6/10 vs. 3/10. Is this rating based on classes of cars? I don't get it

 

Check out (under compact) how many cars beat out the ULEV civic hybrid. Sort of makes me mad. I know I know that our greenhouse gas score rocks (based on mpg etc) but STILL. I thought I was buying a car good for the air too!!! What good is ULTRA LOW when it gets beat out by pretty much all compact cars out there!!!???

 

It's probably ultra low in regards to hydrocarbon emissions, it's the NOx emissions that push it down to 3/10 and Bin 9, so for the most part it's clean, except for the nitrogen oxides.

 

My VERY first post at Green hybrid was about this very same topic. On a Honda lot, I noticed a 2005 non-hybrid Element had far lower emissions that an '05 Civic Hybrid. I still love the HCH's but you'd think Honda would have made them cleaner across the board, not just in some select states. I wonder what the emissions will be like for the '06 Civc hybrid?