The nation’s first super-ultra-low-emission vehicles, described as the cleanest gasoline-powered automobiles in the world, will go on sale in California early next year, the state Air Resources Board said yesterday. The cars — special models of the Honda Accord and Nissan Sentra — have super-efficient catalytic converters that reduce tailpipe emissions to one-eighth the level of the cleanest gasoline engines now sold in California. They are also outfitted with technology that dramatically reduces evaporative emissions and liquid emissions, such as those from a dripping tailpipe. Prices for the cars are expected to be the same as or only slightly higher than prices for comparable models with traditional engines.
