"The 2000 Accord SULEV represents Honda's ongoing efforts to reduce emissions from gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines," said Robert Bienenfeld, senior manager of Automobile Product Planning for American Honda. "Honda is committed to bringing advances in low emissions technology to the market as soon as they are technically possible, and the Accord SULEV was the first gasoline SULEV on the market when it went on sale in California in February 2000."
Building on Honda's advanced Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) technology, the 2000 Accord SULEV complies with a voluntary tailpipe standard for motor vehicle manufacturers that is approximately 80 percent cleaner than the ULEV standard, formerly the most stringent standard for internal combustion engines.
Honda has a long history of environmental leadership, which began in 1975 with the introduction of the Civic CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) engine, the first gasoline vehicle to meet the clean air act standards of 1975 without a catalytic converter. Honda was first to introduce a gasoline vehicle meeting California's LEV (Low Emission Vehicle) standard and the first to voluntarily sell LEVs nationwide. With the 1998 Accord, Honda was also the first automaker to sell a gasoline vehicle meeting California's ULEV standard. Earlier this year, Honda was the first to distribute ULEV vehicles nationwide with the introduction of the 2001 Civic. The South Coast Air Quality Management District is the air pollution control agency for the four-county region, including Los Angeles and Orange counties and parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. SCAQMD, by law, is required to achieve and maintain healthful air quality for its residents. This is accomplished through a comprehensive program of planning, regulation, compliance assistance, enforcement, monitoring, technology enhancement and public education.