With the arrival of the seventh generation Honda Civic comes the launch of the 2001 Civic GX, powered by the cleanest-burning internal-combustion engine in the world. With its development parallel to the Civic, the GX was not created as an afterthought, but instead from the ground up as a reflection of Honda's dedication to the environment. The 2001 Civic GX is the third generation CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) vehicle for Honda.
Throughout production of the new Civic GX, specific goals were set to ensure that the GX remains one of the world's most environmentally friendly automobiles. First, the 2001 Civic GX was designed to comply with P-ZEV (Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle) criterion. This means that the GX falls under the California ZEV mandate designed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which calls for 10 percent of all cars offered for sale in California in 2003 and beyond to satisfy ZEV vehicle standards.
Another goal was to achieve a SULEV (Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle) certification. Civic GX will produce the same emission levels as a 120,000 mile SULEV while maintaining the emissions durability and warranty provisions at 150,000 miles.
The final goal of the new Civic GX concept was to add a CVT (Continuous Variable Transmission), to achieve greater fuel-efficiency and operation smoothness, while reducing the amount of cabin noise.