 In 1974, the Civic CVCC was introduced as the first car to meet 1970 U.S. Clean Air Act requirements without the need for a catalytic converter and using either regular or unleaded gasoline, and was also rated #1 in fuel economy by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in its first ranking of America's most fuel-efficient automobiles.In December 1999, it launched the Honda Insight, America's first gas-electric hybrid car.It later released the Civic Hybrid, the first application of hybrid technology to an existing, mass-produced automobile; and the Accord Hybrid, the U.S. market's first V-6 hybrid car.