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Integrated Motor Assist (commonly abbreviated as IMA) is Honda's hybrid car technology, introduced in 1999 on the Insight. It is a specific implementation of a parallel hybrid. It uses an electric motor mounted between the internal combustion engine and transmission to act as a starter motor, power generator, engine balancer, and assist traction motor.
In its first generation, IMA could not power the car on electricity alone, and could only use the motor to assist or start the engine. 2006 Civic Hybrid, however, can activate the electric motor while the vehicle is coasting without turning on the internal combustion engine, though in contrast to Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) or General Motors and DaimlerChrysler's Global Hybrid Cooperation, the IMA has a less powerful motor/generator which allows the car to slow or stop its rate of deceleration to a lesser extent; it cannot operate without turning over the engine which is directly coupled to its electric motor.
The IMA uses regenerative braking to capture some of the energy that would otherwise be lost as heat during braking and reuse that energy later to help accelerate the vehicle. This has three effects: it increases the rate of acceleration, reduces the work required of the engine, and reduces the frequency of brake hardware replacement. The acceleration boost is important as it allows the engine to be scaled down to a smaller but more fuel-efficient variant without rendering the vehicle unacceptably slow or weak. This smaller engine is the primary reason cars equipped with IMA get better highway mileage than their more conventional counterparts.
Additionally, vehicles equipped with IMA can shut off their engine when the vehicle stops and use the electric motor to rapidly spin it back up when the driver releases the brake pedal (or in the manual transmission variant, when the shifter is placed into gear from neutral). They also have a conventional starter as a backup, making it the only production hybrid system which can operate with its high voltage electric system disabled, using only its engine like a traditional vehicle. However, since the IMA also acts as the vehicle's alternator, eventually the 12 volt accessory battery would require an external charge.
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
A vehicle start-stop system or stop-start system automatically shuts down and restarts the internal combustion engine to reduce the amount of time the engine spends idling, thereby reducing fuel consumption and emissions. This is most advantageous for vehicles which spend significant amounts of time waiting at traffic lights or frequently come to a stop in traffic jams. Start-stop technology may become more common with more stringent government fuel economy and emissions regulations. This feature is present in hybrid electric vehicles, but has also appeared in vehicles which lack a hybrid electric powertrain. For non-electric vehicles fuel economy gains from this technology are typically in the range of 3–10%, potentially as high as 12%. In the United States, idling wastes approximately 14.8 billion liters of gasoline per year.
The Honda Insight is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its third generation, it became a four-door sedan (2018–2022). It was Honda's first model with Integrated Motor Assist system and the most fuel efficient gasoline-powered car available in the U.S. without plug-in capability — for the length of its production run.
A diesel–electric transmission, or diesel–electric powertrain, is a transmission system for vehicles powered by diesel engines in road, rail, and marine transport. Diesel–electric transmission is based on petrol–electric transmission, a transmission system used for petrol engines.
The Saturn Vue is a compact SUV that was built and marketed by Saturn, and it was Saturn's best-selling model. It was the first vehicle to use the GM Theta platform when it was introduced in 2001 for the 2002 model year. The Vue was facelifted for the 2006 model year. A second generation model was launched in 2007 for the 2008 model year as a rebadged Opel Antara.
Global Hybrid Cooperation, formerly Advanced Hybrid System 2 (AHS2), is a set of hybrid vehicle technologies jointly developed by General Motors, Daimler, and Chrysler LLC, with BMW joining in 2005. It uses 2 or 3 planetary gearsets in an automatic transmission: one on the internal combustion engine (ICE) side paired with a second, forming the compound split, and possibly one third additional planetary gearset to multiply the number of fixed gear ratios. General Motors has stopped using the "AHS2" name as of 2006, preferring to call it simply a two-mode hybrid system.
Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD), also known as Toyota Hybrid System II, is the brand name of Toyota Motor Corporation for the hybrid car drive train technology used in vehicles with the Toyota and Lexus marques. First introduced on the Prius, the technology is an option on several other Toyota and Lexus vehicles and has been adapted for the electric drive system of the hydrogen-powered Mirai, and for a plug-in hybrid version of the Prius. Previously, Toyota also licensed its HSD technology to Nissan for use in its Nissan Altima Hybrid. Its parts supplier Aisin offers similar hybrid transmissions to other car companies.
BAS is a category of automotive parallel hybrid technology that uses an electric motor to contribute power to the internal combustion engine's crankshaft via a serpentine belt. By mounting this motor generator unit in the conventional location traditionally used for the standard automotive alternator, it permits a low-cost method of adding mild hybrid capabilities such as start-stop, power assist, and mild levels of regenerative braking. BAS systems differ from other mild hybrid systems as they are not run off the vehicle's crankshaft.
Mild hybrids (MHEV) are generally cars with an internal combustion engine (ICE) equipped with a minimally extended battery and an auxiliary electric combined motor and generator in a parallel hybrid configuration that is not enough for an electric-only mode of propulsion but does allow the engine to be stopped whenever the car is coasting, braking, or stopped, and then restarted once power is required again. Mild hybrids may employ regenerative braking and some level of power assist to the internal combustion engine.
The Honda Civic GX is the only car factory-built to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) in the United States available to non-fleet customers. The GX was based on the Honda Civic and available for fleet sales in all 50 states. It was previously available for retail sales in four states, but later was made available to retail consumers in 35 states throughout the United States. The GX was manufactured in Honda's Greensburg, Indiana, plant together with the production of conventional Civics from late 2009. It was previously produced in East Liberty, Ohio.
Hybrid vehicle drivetrains transmit power to the driving wheels for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle has multiple forms of motive power.
A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle or better performance. There is a variety of HEV types and the degree to which each functions as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is the hybrid electric car, although hybrid electric trucks, buses, boats, and aircraft also exist.
The Honda CR-Z is a sport compact hybrid electric car manufactured by Honda and marketed as a "sport hybrid coupe." The CR-Z combines a hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain with traditional sports car elements, including a 2+2 seating arrangement and a standard 6-speed manual transmission. The CR-Z is regarded as the spiritual successor to the second-generation Honda CR-X in both name and exterior design.
The seventh-generation Honda Civic is an automobile produced by Honda from 2000 until 2005. It debuted in September 2000 as a 2001 model. Its exterior dimensions stayed similar to the outgoing predecessor, with interior space significantly increased, bumping it up to the compact car size designation. A notable feature was the flat rear floor that gave better comfort to the rear seat passengers. This generation abandoned the front double wishbone suspension, used previously from fourth to sixth generations, replacing it with MacPherson struts. This generation was the last to offer 4WD variants.
The eighth-generation Honda Civic is a range of compact cars (C-segment) manufactured by Honda between 2005 and 2012, replacing the seventh-generation Civic. Four body styles were introduced throughout its production run, which are sedan, coupe, and both three-door and five-door hatchback. The sedan version was introduced with two distinct styling for different markets, with one of them sold as the Acura CSX in Canada and as the Ciimo 1.8 in China from 2012 until 2016. The hatchback versions formed the European-market Civic range, which received a different architecture, body design and smaller footprint, and solely produced in Swindon, United Kingdom.
Honda Advanced Technology is part of Honda's long-standing research and development program focused on building new models for their automotive products and automotive-related technologies, with many of the advances pertaining to engine technology. Honda's research has led to practical solutions ranging from fuel-efficient vehicles and engines, to more sophisticated applications such as the humanoid robot, ASIMO, and the Honda HA-420 Honda-jet, a six-passenger business jet.
In the U.S., the seventh generation North American Honda Accord is a mid-size car that was available as a four-door sedan or a two-door coupe and was produced by Honda from September 2002 to 2007. The sedan was also marketed in parts of Latin America, Asia, Middle East, Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand markets, and also known as the Honda Inspire in Japan from 2003. The North American Honda Accord, with modifications for local market needs, was the launch vehicle of Honda in the South Korean market with sales beginning from May 20, 2004.
An alternator is a type of electric generator used in modern automobiles to charge the battery and to power the electrical system when its engine is running.
Petrol–electric transmission or gasoline–electric transmission or gas–electric transmission is a transmission system for vehicles powered by petrol engines. Petrol–electric transmission was used for a variety of applications in road, rail, and marine transport, in the early 20th century. After World War I, it was largely superseded by diesel–electric transmission, a similar transmission system used for diesel engines; but petrol–electric has become popular again in modern hybrid electric vehicles.
There are numerous versions of vehicle propulsion systems. Many of those came into fruition due to need for cleaner vehicles. Each of them might have many abbreviations and some might be misleading. This article explains shortly what defines them.