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... is a full, self-charging hybrid ...
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No need to plug in ... so, there's no need to plug-in or
plan a journey around charging stations – it
generates power as you drive.
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The Honda ads
for promoting their 'self-charging hybrid' cars are highly misleading
nonsense. The ad claims that their 'self-charging' hybrid cars have a big
advantage above plug-in hybrid
cars because you don't need to plug in. In reality, all power of so-called
'self-charging' non-plug-in hybrid cars comes from fossil fuel. So, their 'self-charging' miracle hybrid cars are just fossil fuel cars!
Honda suggests the secret of 'self-charging' is Regenerative Braking.
This technique
enables the vehicle’s kinetic energy (when it is in motion) to be
converted back to electrical energy and store it in the battery. All
gasoline cars completely waste braking energy as heat. So, for hybrids
it is true that regenerative braking harnesses some of the energy that
otherwise would have dissipated as heat. But no energy is 'generated'
or 'created'. You cannot drive a Honda around the world by only
braking! One can only brake when the vehicle is in motion. It is in motion because of an engine burning fossil fuel. So, ultimately all the electricity generated
by braking comes from gasoline. The efficiency of the regenerative
braking is at most 60-70%. Never more than 100%! You don't
gain energy! You only loose less energy. You always have
a net loss of range by braking.
Above that, 'self-charging' without qualification suggests that the
whole battery is charged. But it is only a small percentage of the
battery that is charged by regenerative braking.
Therefore Honda's ad is misleading, stupid and unworthy of a serious
car manufacturer. Honda's ad is a statement against electric cars and all car manufacturers producing electric cars. What Honda does is telling customers half-truths and
hiding the whole truth. Honda is obscuring the most important fact
(full electric cars are the most climate-friendly cars) by an
exclusive focus on a minor truth about regenerative braking.
And now the most stunning fact. Honda does produce a full electric
car: the Honda e. Yes, a nice looking little car, but far too
expensive for its small range of 170 km (105 miles) and its price. It
costs 36.000 - 39.000 euro. The Renault Zoe ZE50 R110 has
twice the range for the same amount. The Honda e would be a
good buy 7 years ago. But now, Honda seems to be saying: please don't
buy it! Indeed, according to the logic of the ad the Honda e is not a
'self-charging' car! It needs to be plugged in!
Does a self-charging car exist? Yes, there is only one type of car that
is really self-charging: a solar car. For example the Dutch
Lightyear One. You don't need to plug in to go!
You may plug in, but you don't need to.
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Dutch ad for self-charging Honda hybrids: "Trade your Nissan
Leaf for the new self-charging Honda HR-V Hybrid"
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On top of all that, a Honda advertising brochure in the Netherlands
offered me to trade in my fully electric Nissan Leaf for a new hybrid
Honda! This insane proposal proves a complete lack of knowledge of the
reasons why people buy a fully electric car. What are they thinking?
Of course an owner of a fully electric car never, never in his entire
life would return to a fossil fuel car. Unthinkable.
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"De CR-V is een zelfopladende hybride. U moet dus niet aansluiten op een stopcontact of uw reis plannen in functie van de beschikbare oplaadstations. De CR-V genereert zelf energie tijjdens het rijden." (honda.nl)
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"Gemaakt voor het milieubewuste rijden". Designed for enviromental-friendly driving.
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An additional false claim is that these hybrid cars are environment-friendly! All non-plug-in hybrid cars are fossil fuel cars and bad for the
environment, climate and your health.
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Honda hybrid JAZZ CROSSTAR. Honda e:Technology
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Conclusion
If Honda needs to promote its hybrid cars with nonsense
arguments, those cars cannot be any good. Good cars don't need bad
arguments.
Honda's is sending contradictory messages to customers: plug-in cars are bad, plug-in cars are good.
Honda does not contribute to the solution of the energy and climate crisis. On the contrary.
Honda needs a sanity check.
Sources
This Wikipedia article about
Regenerative braking
is a good start. Honda did not invent regenerative braking. Regenerative
braking has been in extensive use on railways in the early 1930s.
Norway Calls Lexus's Self-Charging-Hybrid Ads Misleading,
Jan 28, 2020
Honda.nl
How TESLA Rescued Honda, youtube 4 May 2022. very interesting video. It shows that Honda is not able or willing to reduce CO2 emissions of its cars.