Cars are rated one (forget it) to four ('bout as good as it gets) James Deans

 GOOD STUFF

     Super-clean emissions - and no compromises!
     Looks, runs and drives like a regular Sentra
     Handsome interior



 BAD STUFF

     Noisy engine
     Bumpy ride

• Style: SULEV-compliant compact sedan, front engine, front-wheel-drive
• Engine: 1.8 liter inline 4-cylinder
• Transmission: four-speed automatic
• Drivetrain: rear-wheel-drive
• Horsepower: 122 hp @ 6,000 rpm
• Torque: 122 ft-lbs. @ 4,200 rpm
• EPA mileage: 26 city/ 33 highway
• Weight: 2,633 lb..
• Base price: $14,799
• As tested: $15,398

Everyone's talking about environmentally-friendly vehicles. Most of us, especially those who follow the automotive scene, are familiar with electric cars, gas-electric hybrids, and natural gas cars. All are friendly to Mother Earth, but they all have limitations. Nobody seems to want an electric car. Natural gas cars can only be fueled at select locations. The Toyota Prius hybrid is probably the least inconvenient, though it's expensive. Honda's Insight hybrid - which, by the way, I really do love - is tiny and cramped (and it's almost impossible to park without being questioned by passers-by).

"What do you expect?" you say. "If you want to be environmentally friendly, you have to be willing to put up with some inconvenience."

Oh, yeah?

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Nissan Sentra CA.

The Sentra CA is only available in California, but I think it's important that everyone know about this very important car. So far as I can tell, only about 17 people have heard of it, and 12 of them work for Nissan.

The Sentra CA meets California's SULEV (Super Low Emissions Vehicle) standards, meaning it's over 90 percent cleaner than a new car with California emissions. It's also a zero-evaporative emissions car. That means that if you leave your ordinary car in the driveway all day and take the Sentra CA on a 10-mile drive to work, the Sentra will actually pollute less on the round trip than your other car will while it's sitting still with the engine off.

But the best part is that the Sentra CA requires absolutely no owner intervention. You just gas it and go. Nothing to plug in, no special fueling stations, no fancy high-tech powertrain, no massive price increase. The Sentra CA looks, runs, sounds and drives like a regular Sentra. It accelerates about the same, and gets about the same gas mileage. And it costs about the same as a comparably equipped Sentra GXE.

The secret behind the CA? It's built to take advantage of low-sulfer gasoline.

Here's the deal: Automobile engines pollute most in the first 100 seconds after a cold start, when the fuel mixture is rich (higher ratio of fuel to air) and the catalytic converter isn't warm enough to scrub the exhaust of pollutants. Low-sulfer fuel allows the use of alternate catalysts that can start working sooner. Currently, California is the only state with low-sulfer gas; in fact, all of our gas is low-sulfer. In other words, SULEVing your way around in the Sentra CA is a no-brainer. The modified exhaust, plus some modifications to the fuel system, are all it takes to make the Sentra CA do its thing. If you travel out of state where low-sulfer fuel isn't available, that's not a problem. The Sentra CA runs fine on high-sulfer fuel. The exhaust just won't be quite as clean.

So where's the catch? That's my point: There is none. The Sentra CA uses the same 1.8-liter engine as the Sentra XE and GXE, with modifications to the exhaust and fuel system. The CA's engine produces 122 horsepower and 122 ft-lbs of torque - just four fewer horsepower and seven fewer ft-lbs than the standard Sentra motor. The only available transmission is the 4-speed automatic, and EPA fuel figures - 26 city, 33 highway - are identical to other 1.8-liter automatic Sentras.

In the real world, the Sentra's got plenty of zip - response is good and acceleration is snappy, certainly more than we expect from an economy car. The engine is willing to rev, and feels just as happy at 5,500 RPM as it does at 2,000. It's only vice? It's noisy, even at moderate revs. Oh well.

But the Sentra CA's exhaust emissions are only part of the story.

Remember we mentioned that a regular car will pollute more when it's standing still than the CA will while it's running? Here's the deal: One major source of pollution is evaporative emissions. For those unfamiliar, that's simply gasoline sneaking through the tiniest pores in the fuel system and evaporating into the atmosphere. (Those funky rubber hoods you'll find on some gas pump nozzles are an anti-evap measure on a much lesser scale.) The Sentra's system is completely sealed, so nothing evaporates, hence the zero-evap label.

Had enough? The CA's not done yet: the radiator is coated with a special ozone-scrubbing material. In highly polluted areas, the air in the Sentra CA's wake - exhaust and all - may be cleaner than the air it's driving into!

Bottom line: Nissan claims that over 150,000 miles, the Sentra CA will produce about the same amount of pollutants you'd get if you spilled a gallon of gas on the street.

So why hasn't anyone heard of this car?

Maybe because it looks, runs, sounds and drives like a regular Sentra. The Prius, the Insight, and the EV-1 electric all look really cool and futuristic. Which means they get more attention on the 6 o'clock news. But how many people will want to go beyond looking, and actually make the compromises necessary to drive one of these cars?

Another problem is the fuel. Low sulfer fuel raises production costs. You can blame the oil companies for wanting to maximize profits, or you can sympathize with them for knowing that rising energy prices make consumers mad. Personally, I choose the former route - aren't these the same people who jacked up gas prices at the onset of the Gulf war, long before we would have actually felt the repercussions of the reduced supply? Save the earth, as long as it doesn't affect the shareholder's profits. Here in Los Angeles, we're paying around $1.45 for 87 octane (and remember, it's all low-sulfer), and that's just fine with me.

So why only three James Deans? Blame that on the wrapper: the Sentra is nicely sized and it's got a very handsome interior, and the CA is well equipped with standard features like power windows and locks, remote keyless entry, a CD player and alloy wheels. But like other Sentras, it's noisy and bumpy compared to the competition. Were it not for the super-green technology, I'd rather have a Mazda Protégé or a Ford Focus.

  Parting Shots

Most of us would like to do our part for the environment. But the fact is that most greenmobiles require compromises that do not fit the average person's lifestyle.

Let's take my situation. A natural gas car is not a good solution for me - I don't stick to a regular route, and I need a car that runs on widely available fuel. The short range of an electric car doesn't suit me, either. I like the hybrids, but my budget won't allow spending $20K on a compact sedan. I like to keep cars forever, and I'd be wary of new technology as a long-term investment. Were I a short-term owner, I'd be concerned about resale values.

But what if the only inconvenience was an extra couple of bucks on my monthly payment? I could live with that.

Let's face it: If we're serious about getting Americans to drive low-pollution vehicles, the Sentra CA is a major step in the right direction. Let's just hope that more people take notice.

'Nuff said.

Home, James