The last time a Honda-powered car won the F1 Championship was 1991[Ayrton Senna, McLaren Honda].The following year, Honda announced their withdrawal from F1 and re-assigned their R&D team to work on alternative energy vehicles and improving fuel economy of their fleet. They have pursued a slightly different path from Toyota but appear to have reached similar conclusions [more on that later].

Basically, Honda hybrids start out with a small gas engine [I.C.E. for Internal Combustion Engine], which also recovers kinetic energy from the braking system, as F1 cars do, to charge a storage battery and it powers an electric motor on demand. Toyota’s system starts with electric & uses ICE on demand.

Both companies have technology-sharing agreements with competitors and both quickly discovered the limiting factor in pure electrics-the battery. The head of Toyota’s R&D opined that the person who invents the “breakthrough” battery should win the Nobel Prize but that he wasn’t convinced this person had been born yet! Jay Leno has a 300+ classic car collection including an electric-powered 1922 Ford with substantially the same technology as Honda, Toyota & Tesla.

In other words, a century later & hundreds of electric golf carts, electric buses etc. we haven’t made much progress in BEVs. Both Honda & Toyota have Hydrogen-powered vehicles driving around southern California. These are no more expensive than Hybrids or pure BEVs, but they drive like regular vehicles & it would be easier to power hydrogen generators at gas stations than to power charging stations in everyone’s garage. As well, the maximum range of BEVs seems to top out at 400Kms, whereas Hybrids & Hydrogen vehicles have at least as good range as conventional ICE units.

Honda Canada’s fleet already has the best fuel economy & they have plans in place to comply with government-mandated 50% Hybrid & Battery-Electrics by 2024. As we face different mandates in various Provinces & States [not to mention European jurisdictions], drafted by lawyers, not engineers, this is a very challenging time. History shows that it is much wiser to target a variable [e.g. emissions reduction, fuel economy] and NOT to prescribe the method[s] to achieve same. Opening it up to creative inventions & market forces works: Central Planning, not so much.

Wishing everyone compliments of the season!

John Purkiss

*Disclaimer: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this article, belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.