UD adds hybrid car to its fleet

Robin Elliott, director of UD’s Department of Occupational Health and Safety: “We thought this department should be the first to have this kind of vehicle.”

2:32 p.m., June 4, 2004--The office charged with maintaining a safe and healthful campus environment is the first to add an environmentally friendly hybrid vehicle to its fleet.

“We do have environmental responsibilities,” Robin Elliott, director of UD’s Department of Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS), said “We thought this department should be the first to have this kind of vehicle.”

About a year ago, DOHS became the first at the University to purchase a Honda Civic hybrid, “We use it for going to meetings in southern Delaware and around campus,” she said.

The hybrid lowers gasoline usage and harmful emissions by combining a gasoline-powered engine with an electric motor. The hybrid uses Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) technology with a 1.3-liter VTEC engine for primary power, then—like an electric supercharger—an ultra-thin electric motor provides added power.

The U.S. Department of Energy rates the Honda hybrid at 47 miles per gallon in the city, 48 on the highway, with a cost of $556 per year to operate and an emissions discharge rate of 4.10 tons per year. In contrast, the Dodge Neon gets 25 mpg in the city and 32 on the highway, with yearly gasoline costs of $932 and emissions of 6.80 tons per year.

Bernie Alexander, fire protection engineer, said he was surprised at how much he likes driving it. “The mileage is excellent. It’s got lots of power and pickup. You can’t tell it’s a hybrid from the way it looks or the way it drives.”

Alexander explained that the car runs part of the time on batteries and part of the time on gasoline. The shift from one to the other is automatic, and, there’s no plugging in, Alexander said. “The battery charges itself while you’re driving.”

Elliott, who also drives it, said the only unusual thing about it is that you can’t hear the engine.

It’s been such a smooth ride for DOHS, that the Motor Pool is considering one or two as replacement vehicles for its fleet, according to service manager Nancy Deputy. The Motor Pool maintains a base fleet of 34 vehicles for temporary business use on the Newark, Wilmington, Georgetown and Lewes campuses.

Article by Barbara Garrison
Photo by Kathy Atkinson

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