On the road to zero emissions

The number of motor vehicles in the world will triple by 2050 - but carbon dioxide emissions from vehicle exhausts will have to halve in that time. A big ask? Yes, but it must be done, a Japanese motor industry expert tells Rob Maetzig .
When Michio Shinohara sat down to chat with the news media in Auckland last week, one of the first things he did was to bombard the journalists with some rather sobering statistics.

While the world's motor vehicle fleet is currently less than one billion, the trouble is that more than 60 per cent of that fleet is in developed countries.

Big growth is now taking place in the less developed countries including China and India, warned Mr Shinohara, who is the general manager and chief engineer of Honda Motor Company's environment and safety planning office.

This means that the worldwide fleet is expected to rise to 1.3 billion vehicles inside 20 years, and to two billion by 2050 - a massive increase.

But it is generally recognised that for the sake of the world's environment the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from vehicle exhausts will have to be cut by half during that same time, said Mr Shinohara.

"So this means that by 2050 the average fuel economy of the world's cars will have to be one- sixth of what it was in 2000," he told the journalists.

"Only that way will we be able to achieve the aim of reducing CO2 emissions to 51 grams per kilometre," he added.

It didn't take long for the journalists at the function to absorb the significance of that statement. A CO2 reduction to just 51 g/km is an extraordinarily big ask - after all, even the Honda ultra-low emission vehicles of today pour out considerably more than double that amount.

Not only that, but the next super-efficient Honda to go on the New Zealand market, the new Insight petrol-electric hybrid that is scheduled for launch here in August, will average 101 g/km of CO2. So quite obviously there's going to be a tremendous amount of research and development work required over the next few decades.

"It is a very difficult challenge," admitted Mr Shinohara.

"But we must meet that challenge if we are going to reduce fuel consumption to one- sixth of what it is now." Mr Shinohara was in New Zealand to be a keynote speaker at an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority- organised biofuels and electric vehicles conference in Wellington.

He has an impressive CV. A Honda employee since 1982 when he joined the company's research and development arm as a mechanical engineer, he has been heavily involved in the development of new-generation petrol and diesel engines, and more recently in environmental and safety planning.

Now he is an integral part of a Honda initiative the company calls Blue Skies For Our Children, and which is researching a wide variety of means of reducing society's impact on the environment, particularly by the motor vehicle.

The future will see a major shift to what Honda describes as electromotive technology, said Mr Shinohara. This will involve continued development of various means of using electricity - either via petrol-electric technology, hydrogen fuel cells, or pure electricity via the use of battery packs.

And each has its challenges: Hybrids need to be made as affordable as ordinary petrol- powered cars, and their performance characteristics need to continue to be improved.

Fuel cell technology is currently far too expensive, so costs need to be dramatically reduced.

There's also a need for consumers to better understand how this technology works so it can become mainstream.

Battery-powered electric vehicles need to be developed so their performance is better, and their range on a single charge needs to be substantially improved.

Cost is a problem, because the price of even the smallest electric car is currently at least double that of a petrol equivalent. And there are also environmental issues over the need for the power source to be renewable. Mr Shinohara sees the immediate future - from Honda's perspective anyway - as primarily involving hybrid vehicles.

"In the long term it will be electric vehicles, because since they have no emissions there is no pollution. They are also quiet and smooth," he said.

"But it will take a long time and a lot of effort to switch to electric cars. So for the time being it will be petrol-electric hybrid vehicles that will be the mainstream. We see the hybrid as the obvious way to go in our efforts to reduce CO2 emissions." Honda has been producing hybrids since 1999, and so far has sold 488,000 of the vehicles and the sales rate is increasing. The Insight was launched in Japan and the United States last year, and already sales have passed 150,000.

Coming up are CR-Z and Jazz hybrids, and these will be followed by further hybrids, said Mr Shinohara.

"At the moment there are production capacity issues, but these will be overcome. We can expect much larger vehicles within the next two years." Meanwhile, research work will continue with fuel cell and full electric vehicles because they will eventually be the future of motoring, he said.

In fact, the fuel cell could represent the future of family living, Mr Shinohara forecast. One of Honda's research projects involves creation of a home energy station that would put natural gas through a reformer to do everything from supplying the hydrogen for the family fuel cell vehicle, to supplying heat and electricity for the home.

Theoretically, such a process could also use solar energy to meet the same ends, he added.

"We think it is possible to create a society where no such things as power lines will be required.

"Honda dreams such a dream of a sustainable society."

Source;
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/business/3621811/On-the-road-to-zero-emissions

Honda CEO “Not Satisfied” With Automaker’s Recent Performance

Honda CEO Takanobu Ito criticized the “complacent” nature of his company at the Beijing Auto Show, taking aim at poor sales figures, a lack of product direction and a need to focus on improving the company’s hybrid systems.
Honda’s market share slid by 0.4 percent, with Ito citing the disappointing sales of the Insight hybrid as a particular sore spot. In Insight has been pitched as an alternative to the Prius, but poor reviews, lower fuel economy numbers and the lack of cachet surrounding the vehicle has seen the Insight get trounced in the sales race, with Toyota selling 5 times as many Prius hybrids.

The most surprising part of this candid interview was Ito’s admission that “It’s possible we grew complacent about the good performance of the Accord, Civic and CR-V.” The Accord recently lost a major Car and Driver comparison test to the Hyundai Sonata, while the CR-V has gone nearly 8 years without a re-design (that must be Bejing specific b/c the current CRV was redesigned in 2007 here in North America). Ito also cited Hyundai as a major threat, and said that Honda must change its course to compete with the Korean giant. “The biggest problem is we’re not selling the value of our products. We have to improve the performance of our products as well.”

Ito also announced plans for a new hybrid system for large cars, involving two large electric motors, one which charges the battery, the other which gives the gasoline engine a power boost. The system will be used on an upcoming Acura hybrid, as well as minivans and mid-size cars.

Honda has traditionally resisted a number of technologies employed by its competitors, including turbochargers, rear-wheel drive and V8 engines, and stuck to their formula of light-weight, efficient and practical vehicles. But Ito’s comments could indicate that the “Honda way” is beginning to falter, and some new direction is needed at the venerable Japanese firm.

Source;
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2010/04/honda-ceo-not-satisfied-with-automakers-recent-performance.html

2010 Honda Accord EX vs. 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE, 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5i - Comparison Tests

Here's a really good comparison test between three really good cars....
Practically Chic: Does style really matter in these mid-size schleppers armed with just four cylinders and slushboxes?

For all the ascendance of crossovers—certainly the most amoebic of all automotive classifications—mid-size sedans continue to be one of autodom’s biggest sales categories. There are many reasons for this—all-around family usefulness, resistance to the swollen SUV bulk of crossovers, respectable fuel economy—but double-take glamour is rarely one of them.

This mid-size dedication to stylistic timidity has always mystified us. Given a choice between two implements that function with more or less equal efficiency, wouldn’t you be inclined to pick the one that looks the best? This is not a trick question. As a Detroit design chief observed long ago, “If practicality was all that mattered, they’d have to put a roof over Kalamazoo so they could build enough Checkers to satisfy demand.”

Checker sedans were terrific taxicabs. But their mass-market appeal was limited. Kalamazoo was never in danger of requiring a big roof, and the factory shut down in 1982.

It’s true that several purveyors of mid-size sedans have tried to raise the curbside wattage of recent offerings—the Chevy Malibu, Ford Fusion, Mazda 6, Nissan Altima, and even the Toyota Camry have all snazzed up a couple of notches compared with their predecessors. But how many actually turn heads? Very few; none, maybe. Staying visible in a 15-minutes-of-fame society requires some risk taking. Daring. Chutzpah.

The 2006–’10 Hyundai Sonata played to solid reviews that praised, in particular, its extensive array of standard features and a marked improvement in overall quality. But it’s safe to say that the styling failed to provoke any oohs or aahs. Responses were more of the ho and hum variety.

If you’ve been following our previews and show coverage on our website, or if you saw Hyundai’s myriad Super Bowl commercials, you already know that the Sonata, like the ugly duckling, has matured into a handsome swan. If it’s not the sleekest thing in its class, we’d like to know what is.

Of course, looks aren’t everything. If they were, Megan Fox would be president. Or, perhaps even scarier, Sarah Palin. There’s gotta be substance, too, which, in our constituency, translates as supple ride, all-day comfort, decent power, competitive fuel economy, contemporary safety features, high-quality fit and finish, and, of course, a high fun-to-drive quotient.

How does the 2011 Sonata grade out on the full report card? The quickest way to place it in the mid-size-sedan continuum is to pit it against a couple of prominent players in this class. The new Subaru Legacy—redesigned inside and out for 2010—needed to be on the menu since it has yet to be tested against its peer group. And, of course, we had to include the reigning mid-size champ—the Honda Accord, a perennial 10Best Cars titlist (24 trophies in 28 years) and winner of our last three mid-size showdowns.

The group’s specifications were constrained by the Sonata’s powertrain limitations. The Accord and the Legacy both offer six-cylinder options, but the new Sonata’s only engine, at least for now, is a naturally aspirated four-cylinder; a manual transmission comes only in the base model. Thus we specified automatics and fours in all three cars—a combination that accounts for a little more than 80 percent of the mid-size, mid-price sedan market.

Our Sonata was the slightly sportier SE model. We requested a midrange Accord EX, and the Legacy was a basic 2.5i with a CVT automatic. Base prices ranged from $20,690 (for the Subaru) to $24,540 (the Honda).

Could one of these newbies knock the Accord off its throne? We assembled our threesome in Southern California to find out.

To continue to the article...click on this link--> Continued...

Source;
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparisons/10q1/2010_honda_accord_ex_vs._2011_hyundai_sonata_se_2010_subaru_legacy_2.5i-comparison_tests

Beijing 2010: Honda Li Nian Everus sedan concept

I can't help but think that this concept is showing the direction that Honda may be going with the next generation Honda Civic....
The Beijing Motor Show is well under way, and Honda is showing off a new concept slated for the Chinese market. Called the Li Nian Everus, the car is the fruit of a partnership between the Japanese automaker and its Chinese partner, Guangqi Honda Automobile. We don't have too many details on the sedan other than the fact that at this point, it's nothing more than a concept.

Judging by the renderings, we're tempted to guess this thing has more than a little Civic DNA swimming around in its blood stream, though it looks like Honda raided the Acura design department for the car's less-than-traditional nose and rear-end.

Speaking of the Civic, it would make some sense if Honda swapped a little sheet metal and called it a day. Honda's compact is sold under the Dongfeng Honda banner, leaving Guangqi Honda Automobile without a comparable model. Our guess is that when the Everus comes to market, it will be slightly more upscale and boast more standard niceties than its sibling.

Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/23/honda-li-nisn-everus-sedan-concept/

Happy Earth Day from The Honda Portal!

FT-86 Price and Range Out Of Control?

According to sources,”…ballooning development costs will result in a more expensive Toyota FT-86 when it arrives late next year…”

This is without mentioning the disputes over the origin of the power plants…

According to Toyota, the boxer engine is ill-favored, saying, “The Subaru boxer engine planned for the car is not considered to be that clean or fuel-efficient.”

…and that prices with the boxer in tow, could top,”…the Japanese price up to around £15,000 ( $23,000 ), with the range-topper costing £17,000 ( $26,000 ).”

Quite the hike in cost, wouldn’t you agree?

The FT86 is one of the biggest cars to come out in decades and already it is marred in controversy with very little to show for its actual form.

One key element is the internal shift for Toyota: significant where Tetsuya Tada spoke of his team increasing the target age group for the FT-86 by 10 years, from the 30s to 40s, after market research showed that fewer younger buyers would opt for the sleeker coupé than first thought.

7tune is here to make sure things are told as they are.

Source;
http://www.7tune.com/ft-86-price-and-range-out-of-control/

Honda Freed “premium compact MPV” launched: RM112,980 in Malaysia

This would do well here, 6X seater, looks like power sliding doors, seats fold up in the 3rd row like the Element....what's not to like?
Honda Malaysia has launched the Freed, which the company describes as a “premium compact MPV” in a new market segment. The “premium” slant is meant to distance this seven-seater from rivals’ compact MPVs, and the Freed’s price of RM112,980 (OTR with insurance) backs up the positioning – it’s costlier than the Nissan Grand Livina 1.8 and the much larger Toyota Innova, for instance.

The Freed has a unique trump card however – automatic sliding doors that can be operated from the key fob (and from within the car, of course). These doors come with anti-pinch sensors and open to a gap of 600 mm. Honda also points out the low 410 mm height from the ground to the Freed’s floor; this plus grip handles enable easy access for children and the elderly, it says.

The doors open to a “walkthrough cabin” that has four “captain chairs” for the first two rows and third row seats that fold up sideways, like in old scool 4X4s. Up front is a dual layer dashboard with the instrument binnacle situated ahead of the driver. Everything else is in the middle – an aftermarket 2-DIN Alpine stereo with USB port, a chunky gearknob and the air-con controls. The parking brake is a foot brake. Safety kit wise, the Freed comes with dual airbags, ABS with EBD, Brake Assist and “neck-shock mitigation seat” – the latter basically reduces whiplash injury in an accident, although Honda’s term for it sounds very bombastic.

The Freed sits on the Jazz/City platform, although its 2,740 mm wheelbase is quite a bit longer than the City’s 2,550 mm. The wheelbase is actually 140 mm longer than the Grand Livina’s although the Nissan is longer overall. The drivetrain is similar to the what we’re familiar with in the City – a 1.5-litre single-cam i-VTEC paired to five-speed automatic. For this application, the gear ratios are shorter and the 116 bhp/146 Nm engine makes 2 bhp less and 1 Nm more than the City. The steering is EPS, suspension consists of MacPherson struts up front and torsion beam at the rear, while the brakes are front discs and rear drums.

We’ve already driven the Freed and visited the Indonesian plant where it rolls out from, and our impressions and verdict will be coming your way soon. For the meantime, check out the live images from this morning’s launch.

Source;
http://paultan.org/2010/04/22/honda-freed-premium-compact-mpv-launched-rm112980/

GM pays back government loans in full

Here's a bit of good news....
Kansas City, Kansas – General Motors has made its final payment of US$5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada, paying back its government loans in full and ahead of schedule. The payment includes $4.7 billion to the U.S. Treasury, and $1.1 billion to Export Development Canada.

The announcement was made by GM chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre at a ceremony in Fairfax, Kansas to announce an investment of $257 million in Fairfax and Detroit Hamtramck assembly centres. The investment will prepare Fairfax to build the next-generation Chevrolet Malibu and make Detroit Hamtramck a second source for the model. Fairfax currently builds the current Malibu and the Buick LaCrosse.

As part of the launch of the new GM, the U.S., Canadian and Ontario governments provided loans of $8.4 billion and took equity stakes in the new company. The latest payment completes the payback of the loans.

“GM’s ability to pay back the loans ahead of schedule is a sign that our plan is working, and that we are on the right track,” Whitacre said. “It is also an important first step toward allowing our stockholders to reduce their equity investments in GM. We still have much hard work ahead of us, but we are making progress toward our vision of designing, building and selling the world’s best vehicles. We appreciate the support the taxpayers have given GM, and our new great products are tangible results of that support.”

Source;
http://www.canadiandriver.com/2010/04/21/gm-pays-back-government-loans-in-full.htm

Volkswagen’s electric Milano Taxi concept

Now, that's just too cool....
This is the taxi of the future, according to Volkswagen. VW, which will launch its first production electric vehicles in 2013 has shown this electric driven taxi at the Hanover Trade Show. Called the Milano Taxi concept, it is a city MPV tailored to the needs of taxi drivers and passengers with innovative details such as a swivel-sliding door that opens in a forward direction and customisable taxi touchscreens.

The green and black paint of the concept cab is a tribute to the fashion capital of Milan, where taxis were once painted like this. VW says that the Milano’s styling bears similarities to the iconic Volkswagen Samba Bus of the 1950s, and this plus its emissions-free drive and practicality could “make it a highly coveted vehicle in cities like New York and Tokyo”.

“One door less is all the more for a taxi,” said Walter de Silva, VW Group’s Head of Design. The safest way to enter and exit a taxi is on the sidewalk side, which explains why the LHD Milano’s single swivel-sliding door opens on the right side. The door also extends well into the roof, so the opening is very tall. The Milano’s dimensions is 1.60 m tall, 3.73 m long and 1.66 m wide. Like the Samba Bus, the outer roof areas are transparent; combined with a panoramic glass roof, passengers get a spacious feel and great views of the cityscape above.

Also, the need for passengers to always have to gaze at the taximeter in front to see the current charges is now a thing of the past (the meter in our Proton Iswara cabs are always conveniently shielded by the gear stick!). An 8-inch touchscreen in the Milano’s rear not only displays charges, but incorporates a credit card reader as well!

This cute cab has a top speed of 120 km/h and is driven by an electric motor with 85 kW (50 kW continuous power) powered by a lithium-ion battery located underfloor. VW says that the battery’s storage capacity of 45 Kilowatt-hours (kWh) and the Milano’s relatively low weight (1,500 kg) allows it to cover distances of up to 300 km. The battery can be recharged to 80% capacity in just over one hour.

Source (check it out with more pic's);
http://paultan.org/2010/04/21/volkswagens-electric-milano-taxi-concept-is-very-cool/

Huge New Fuel Source Found: Old Cars

Talk about unfortunate timing: Just as the scrapping incentives all around the world are running out, a Japanese company found a way to turn old cars into fuel.

According to The Nikkei [sub], Japan’s JFE Engineering Corp. is set to open an automobile recycling center that turns the increasing amounts of plastics found in a car back into fuel.

The Nikkei says that the Kanagawa plant (halfway between Tokyo and Yokohama) will open in July. It has the capacity to process some 40,000 tons of scrap a year, which comes from automobile crushing sites in the Tokyo area. When the plant is through with the scrap, 9,000 tons of steel, copper and other valuable metals will have been sorted out. The sorting magnets are especially green: They use wind power. The many plastics in the cars will be put under pressure to create 30,000 tons of fuel a year.

Europe will be taking note of the new technology. Japan and Europe have strict end-of-life regulations on the books. In Europe, the manufacturer has to bear the cost to remove the dead vehicle off the road in an environmentally responsible way. In Japan, the cost is born by the consumer, in form of a deposit when the new car is bought. In the end, the consumer always pays. The new technology possibly could lessen the burden.

The cost of the new plant is vaguely described as “billions of yen,” but the return of investment promises to be considerable. JFE wants to generate 1.5 billion yen in revenue by fiscal 2013.

They get their money through disposal and from selling recovered metals and the produced fuel. Imagine a refinery that gets paid for graciously taking the crude.

Source;
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/huge-new-fuel-source-found-old-cars/

THE HONDA CR-Z SPORTY HYBRID COUPE

Pure eye candy....this car is looking better and better the more I see it....
THE HONDA CR-Z SPORTY HYBRID COUPE

The Honda CR-Z is a unique new car, combining the advantages of a clean, efficient petrol electric hybrid powertrain with a 6-speed manual transmission and a stylish coupe body.

This exciting new coupe will change current perceptions of hybrids, with its driver-focussed, chassis and responsive 1.5-litre engine.

-All-new, sporty, aerodynamic, 2+2 coupe form
-Wide track, short wheelbase chassis for agile and responsive handling
-Unique 3-Mode Drive System to tailor steering, throttle response and IMA assistance to the driver's needs
-1.5-litre i-VTEC engine coupled to the Honda IMA parallel hybrid system with CO2 emissions of 117 g/km and 5.0 l/100km fuel economy in combined mode
-World's first 6-speed manual transmission combined with a hybrid drive train
-Driver focussed cockpit design with 3D gauges
-European market cars to be equipped with flexible 2+2 seating arrangement

INTRODUCTION

The CR-Z‘s exterior styling is formed around a "one-motion wedge" concept with a low bonnet line and wide stance giving the car a confident, athletic look. Signature Honda design features, such as the split level rear glass hatch and aerodynamic, shallow raked roofline have been referenced in the design of the sleek coupe and then combined with a curvaceous and deeply sculpted exterior form.

The overall power output of the engine and IMA system is 124 PS and a healthy 174 Nm of torque. The peak torque figure is identical to that of the 1.8-litre Civic and arrives at just 1500 rpm, a level where previously only turbocharged engines deliver their maximum. Even with torque levels directly comparable with a Civic, the CR-Z emits 35 g/km** less CO2 than its conventionally powered cousin. Other harmful exhaust emissions are also very low and the Nickel Metal Hydride battery pack can be recycled through Honda dealers, at the end of the vehicle's life.

For the first time, a fuel efficient, low emission parallel hybrid system is combined with an ultra precise 6-speed manual gearbox. The manual gearbox is a core part of the driver engagement Honda's engineers wanted to bring to the CR-Z model. The flexibility of Honda's unique IMA parallel hybrid system allows it to be used with a range of transmissions, not just CVT-based gearboxes.

The manual transmission is complemented by a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder i-VTEC engine, which is new to Europe and is a key component in the CR-Z's unique character. This powerful, yet efficient engine is based on the engine fitted to some non-European versions of the Jazz. The eager to rev nature of the medium capacity engine, is enhanced by the additional 78 Nm of torque provided by the 14 PS electric motor, which is situated between the engine and clutch. The electric motor boosts torque at low and medium revs, which gives the CR-Z in-gear flexibility more usually associated with turbocharged engines.

To maximise driver choice and enhance the day to day driveability of the car, the CR-Z is fitted with a 3-Mode Drive System. This unique feature allows the driver to choose between three driving modes, which alter the responses of the throttle, steering, climate control and the level of assistance provided by the IMA system. In developing this new facility, Honda allows the driver to adapt the car's settings to enjoy their favourite road, maximise economy, or strike a balance between the two.

Sport buttons have become commonplace, usually offering a sharper throttle response, but Honda's 3-Mode Drive System is different. The new system alters the behaviour of the hybrid drivetrain and the power steering assistance as well as the throttle mapping between the three modes.

When the CR-Z driver is away from the town or city and wanting to enjoy the open road, they can put the car into SPORT mode. This sharpens the throttle response, changes the behaviour of the IMA hybrid system to provide more electric motor assistance and increases the weight of the electric power steering.

Honda recognises that even the most enthusiastic driver may regularly experience heavy traffic, where maximising fuel economy is more desirable than the perfect line through a corner. In these situations ECON mode can be selected, which prioritises fuel economy in the operation of the drive-by-wire throttle, ECU, air conditioning and the hybrid system. For those times when spirited driving is not possible or desirable, the Eco Assist function, in conjunction with the ECON mode, allows the driver to enjoy beating their best economy score on the way to work, or in heavy traffic.

At all times the car can be run in NORMAL mode, which provides a balance between performance, economy and emissions and suits most driving situations. The ambient lighting of the speedometer is used in the same way as in the Insight to guide the driver in driving more economically and ecologically. In addition to the Eco Assist function, the CR-Z's meter lighting is linked to the 3-mode drive system. In NORMAL mode and ECON mode the speedometer is illuminated blue, glowing green when driven economically. In ECON mode it has a green eco flower lit in the mode indicator. When the speedometer is illuminated in a red ambient light, this indicates the CR-Z is in SPORT mode.

Careful consideration was given to exhaust design to ensure that as well as being efficient, the CR-Z is a car that encourages the enthusiastic driver and sounds quite unlike any previous compact hybrid. Other components including engine mounts and sound deadening were tuned to ensure that the sporting elements of the exhaust were heard by the driver, but less desirable noises often associated with sports exhausts were attenuated. The exterior design of CR-Z deliberately evokes the iconic style of the 1980s CR-X, which was originally developed to provide a small, stylish car that could achieve spectacular economy. Signature features of the CR-X, like the split level rear glass hatch and low shallow raked roofline have been referenced in the design of the sleek coupe and then combined with a curvaceous and deeply sculpted exterior form.

The shallow raked roofline and sharply truncated tail of the CR-Z is a feature shared with many Hondas past and present, including the CR-X, 1999 Insight and the FCX Clarity. All of these cars have been designed to cut through the air with minimal disturbance, reducing drag to lower fuel consumption and emissions. The CR-Zs headlights are accented with LED day time running lights, which are positioned in the lower section of the front lights. This is the first time LED running lights have been applied to the front of any production Honda car and help to emphasise the wide sporting stance of the new hybrid coupe.

The interior of the production car has been influenced by the cabin of the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show CR-Z Concept, especially the 3D speedometer and driver focussed cabin. The high-technology instrument binnacle places all of the commonly used controls close to the driver's hands, allowing full concentration on driving at all times.

For the rest of the article, follow the link;
http://www.hondanews.eu/en/news/index.pmode/modul,detail,0,1461-DEFAULT,21,text,1/index.pmode

Next Generation Honda Civic Rendering

Hmmm, not sure what to say about this one, looks an awful lot like that small car sold in Asia by Honda.... if what they're saying is true, the code name for the new Honda Civic project is "2 HC"....
2011-2012 Honda Civic (2 HC codename) Rendering and speculationThere are reports emerging concerning the next generation Civic (nine generation) that is set to be introduced in september 2011 as a 2012 model year car. Knowing the traditional way of doing things by Honda, the different markets in Japan, Europe, and America, will be getting their own variant of the famous Civic.

rumore to reduce width from arond 1750 mm to 1695 mm as the car that width below 1700 mm will get a special reduce tax benefit in japan. the Next generation Honda Civic (2 HC codename) will not get the big revolution in term of styling as the current model (Eighth generationor codename FD) is big revolution from Seventh generation

2012 Honda Civic hybrid to get a 1.5-liter gasoline-powered engine From Honda CR-Z
As you would expect, there will be a hybrid version of the 2012 Civic, and it’s again slated to get a 1.5-liter gasoline-powered engine mated to Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist technology. This powerplant will reportedly be shared with the upcoming CR-Z hybrid hatchback where it will be available with either an automatic CVT transmission or six-speed manual.

Source;
http://autoten.com/2010/03/08/2011-2012-honda-civic-2-hc-codename-rendering-and-speculation/

Honda's first truck tops in reliability

Guess which pickup truck has the top reliability rating of any consumer truck sold in the United States. Two hints: It's built by a company that's known for fuel-efficient car, and it's not one of the best-selling trucks in the country.

The answer: The Honda Ridgeline.

Introduced in spring 2005 as Honda's first pickup, the Ridgeline isn't a brawny brute capable of towing 8,500 pounds and climbing over sizable rocks off road.

Rather, the Ridgeline is a four-door, five-passenger, four-wheel drive, mid-size truck that's agile for everyday driving and comfortable for outdoor getaways on less-aggressive off-road terrain. Towing capacity is 5,000 pounds.

And the Ridgeline remains the only truck with some innovative features, such as a lockable trunk in the floor of its pickup bed and a tailgate that can flip down the usual way or swing out, like a car door, for easier access to the bed. The Ridgeline also has car-like unibody construction to help provide a smooth ride.

Unlike many other trucks, there's no bargain-basement version of Ridgeline, which helps to explain the lagging sales.

The well-equipped Ridgeline has a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, with destination charge, of $29,160. This includes a V-6, five-speed automatic transmission and standard four-wheel drive and compares with $26,840 for a V-6-powered, 2010 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab SE with four-wheel drive and automatic transmission.

A 2010 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab with four doors, V-6, four-wheel drive and automatic transmission has a starting retail price of $27,550.

The Frontier and Tacoma have body-on-frame construction typical of trucks. They also are offered in lower-priced versions that have less equipment. For example, a 2010 Tacoma with regular cab with only front seats, four-cylinder engine and manual transmission starts at $16,145.

Clearly, Honda officials had something different in mind for the crew cab-only Ridgeline, and it was mostly the owners of Honda cars like the Accord and Civic who also have pickups parked in the driveways.

In 2005, Honda officials estimated about 18 percent of the millions of Honda owners in America were in this category, and they projected annual Ridgeline sales of 50,000. Alas, Ridgeline hasn't caught on, despite the stellar reliability rating of Consumer Reports, where the Ridgeline is a recommended buy and reliability is "better than average."

Even the Tacoma, another recommended buy, doesn't have that reliability rating. Neither do top-selling trucks like the full-size Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado.

The test Ridgeline, a top RTL model with navigation system and voice recognition, leather-trimmed seats, satellite radio, moonroof and alloy wheels, would never be confused with a truck taking guys to a construction site.

The interior was spacious, front and back, and excellent in fit and finish. Controls were large and easy to understand and doors closed solidly.

I marveled at how wide the Ridgeline interior is. My front passenger and I had wide seats and good-sized center console with lots of storage between us. I especially appreciated the deep center storage that could swallow my purse and keep it invisible under a closed cover.

Front-seat headroom of 40.7 inches in Ridgelines with no moonroof is more than the 40.1 inches in a Tacoma Double Cab and the 40 inches in a Frontier Crew Cab. The test Ridgeline with the power-operated moonroof had 38.7 inches of headroom up front, and it was still roomy for me and a 6-foot passenger.

Back-seat headroom in the Ridgeline totals 36.4 inches, which is less than the Tacoma's 38.5 inches and the 38.7 inches in the Frontier.

But shoulder room of 62.6 inches in the Ridgeline back seat is noteworthy. The Frontier only has 58.3 inches of rear-seat shoulder room, while the Tacoma has 59.3 inches.

Yet from the outside, the Ridgeline doesn't appear as big as it is. The Ridgeline is Honda's longest vehicle, more than 17 feet long from bumper to bumper. This is longer than even the Honda Odyssey minivan.

But drivers don't feel that they're wheeling around in a big, wallow-y vehicle. Rather, the Ridgeline moves amid city traffic easily, and there's no need to worry about crowding the next lane or sticking out in the grocery parking lot.

There is a sizable turning circle, however, of 42.6 feet, and the test Ridgeline bounced a bit over choppy pavement. Road noise can be loud on rough road surfaces. I didn't notice much wind noise.

There's one engine for the Ridgeline — a 250-horsepower, 3.5-liter, single overhead cam V-6. It's the same V-6 used in the Honda Pilot sport utility vehicle and has strong, confident sounds.

With torque peaking at 247 foot-pounds at 4,700 rpm, this V-6 moves the more than 4,500-pound Ridgeline capably, even if there's not instant get-up-and-go when the accelerator pedal is pressed.

I was impressed with how smoothly the automatic transmission channeled the engine power. Passengers didn't notice shift points.

Too bad, though, that the Ridgeline doesn't come with Honda's notorious fuel-sipping qualities.

Instead, the Ridgeline's federal government fuel mileage ratings of 15 miles per gallon in the city and 20 mpg on the highway are about middle of the range for 2010 pickup trucks. A Tacoma with V-6 and four-wheel drive is rated at 17/21 mpg.

The 5-foot-long Ridgeline bed is made of composite and has no wheel arches intruding.

All safety equipment, including curtain air bags, traction control and electronic stability control, is standard.

Source;
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5itU1WrlwPBj9_UygNZQ1t8N336IQD9EPNIE00

What's really behind the Toyota debacle

Interesting read, a lot of things that I didn't know....
(Fortune) -- At 77, Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of Toyota, is still causing trouble for the automaker.

He is being painted, most recently in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal, as both the architect of a global expansion that proved ruinous and an enemy of the Toyoda family.

But blaming Okuda for what has gone wrong at Toyota (TM) recently hardly gets to the root cause of the company's problems.

For that, Toyota executives will have to look deeper into themselves. If they are diligent, they will find an anachronistic management structure that has proved inefficient and counterproductive, and could be potentially ruinous.

Toyota is basically organized the same way it was half-a-century ago when it first began selling cars in the U.S. None of its operations are functionally integrated -- and all report back to Japan.

It is a caricature of a chimneyed company with vertical structures and no coordination.
While it may have suited the much smaller company of a generation ago, it no longer does. Toyota has expanded its presence in the U.S. significantly.

Indeed, if Toyota's North American operations were pushed together, the company would resemble one of the Detroit Three, with engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, and sales all housed under one roof. If any of those functions detected, say, a quality problem with an accelerator pedal, it could quickly relay the news and work with the others until a solution was found.

That kind of functional integration is one of the big reasons for the current success at Ford (F, Fortune 500). CEO Alan Mulally holds a meeting on Thursdays at which all of his top managers attend and at which they share information.

At Toyota, by comparison, engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, and sales report back to headquarters in Japan. Only there is the information disseminated among regions and functions.

It is an organizational scheme more befitting of a tiny manufacturer from a developing country than a global behemoth with aspirations to dominate the industry.

So when Jim Lentz, the American head of Toyota Motor Sales, testified that he had no power to order the recall of a vehicle, he was merely stating a longstanding fact of life at Toyota. He had neither the necessary information nor the authority to do so.

Executives at other automakers were stunned. As one competitor said, "Jim Lentz saying the American management team had no say in recalls was the thing that surprised me most. There was not a lot of cross divisional communication."

Toyota's archaic management structure has been an issue with its American executives for at least two decades.

According to one insider, action has been delayed in part because of a power struggle that pits the powerful U.S. sales arm against other divisions of the company.

Most recently that friction has been reflected by a dispute over the role of Toyota Motor North America, the New York-based holding company for North American operations.

In an effort to speed integration, a respected executive, Jim Press was moved from his job as head of Toyota Motor Sales to head of Toyota Motor North America.

In September 2006, Press made a presentation to Toyota's corporate board asking that his North American organization be kept informed of quality efforts by strengthening communication with Toyota Motor Sales, Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing, and company headquarters in Japan.

Presciently, Press was worried about safety. He detected a steady rise in Toyota's safety recalls, which, he warned, were denting customer loyalty.

To improve the company's relationship with NHTSA, the government's car safety agency, Press argued for better communication between North America and the company's technical side: "We need faster information flow, and more technical support when hot issues arrive."

Press's plea fell on deaf ears and Press became frustrated. Feeling he had been made into a "window worker," a Japanese term for an older employee with no responsibilities, Press left Toyota to join Chrysler a year later.

Belatedly, Toyota has shifted more power to Toyota Motor North America by appointing a popular executive, Yoshimi Inaba, to oversee both it and Toyota Motor Sales.

Inaba is said to have the ear of Toyota President Akio Toyoda. So far, however, any reforms he has put in place have been overwhelmed by the sudden acceleration recall crisis.

Toyota seems to have learned one lesson from all this: it now moves faster when controversies arise. It halted sales of the Lexus GX 460 within hours after Consumer Reports labeled it a safety risk.

Now it needs to move just as fast to fix its dysfunctional management structure.

Source;
http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/14/autos/toyota_management.fortune/

Report: Toyota Prius minivan coming in 2011

Nice concept, 2011 (if true) seems like an accelerated launch date for something like this, let's hope that Toyota is learning a little from what's going on right now and not just forcing something through in a attempt to draw attention to them elsewhere....We've been hearing the rumors for over a year, and it's now looking increasingly likely that Toyota is getting ready to launch a new hybrid minivan that will wear the Prius nameplate. If true, this would be the first completely new vehicle added to the Prius stable, where it would join the well-known hatchback sometime in 2011.

According to Reuters (which is citing the Japanese Nikkei), this new Prius hybrid minivan may be the first such vehicle from Toyota equipped with an in-house developed lithium ion battery pack. The three-row vehicle, which we can only presume would also have sliding doors, would potentially seat up to seven people, expanding Toyota's hybrid technology further into the family-use market.

No other details are available other than the notion that Toyota would like to keep the price close to that of standard minivans currently on the market. Stay tuned for more as we hear it.

Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/16/report-toyota-prius-minivan-coming-in-2011/

DRIVEN: HONDA CR-Z

Has Honda really made the world's first genuinely sporty hybrid?

I really want to like the Honda CR-Z. Whatever you think of hybrids (and I can think of plenty of unpublishable but appropriate adjectives), they are here to stay. So if we have to put up with their existence, then making them sporty can be no bad thing.

Question is: can you really make a truly fun hybrid, or is the CR-Z too much of a compromise, a car that's neither sporty enough nor green enough?

Honda is certainly keen to talk up the CR-Z's sporting CV. "During the development of the CR-Z the Lotus Elise kept on inspiring us throughout the whole development process", says Terukazu Torikai, the CR-Z's chief chassis engineer. That's big talk.

Still, despite the Norfolk-sourced inspiration, Torikai-san says the CR-Z is really aiming at slightly less extreme rivals. "The base concept of this car is the fun-to-drive," he says. "We therefore wanted to realise the agile handling of the Mini and easy to drive performance for daily use."

But the CR-Z's development team are naturally going to be biased - we're not going to just take their word on the CR-Z's abilities as Gospel. Which is why I find myself at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport - to get the PH-eye view on the CR-Z. Is it indeed a Lotus-inspired Mini-beating hybrid coupe or, er, something else?

Visually the CR-Z seems to set the right tones, to these eyes at least. The bold nose has an aggression to it that telegraphs its sporting intent, while the wedgy profile will put those with long memories in mind of the chunky, nippy and well-liked 1980s CR-X. It can look a little gawky from some angles, though - whether you can forgive that is the key to whether you will like the way it looks.

The CR-Z's on-paper credentials are definitely a bit mixed, however. There's a six-speed manual gearbox (a first for a hybrid - although the original 1999 Honda Insight hybrid had a five-speed manual), which is a good thing, as is the relatively light 1198kg kerb weight.

Less exciting on paper is the 122bhp power output engine, which comes from a combination of a 113bhp 1.5-litre four-pot and a 14bhp electric motor, both driving the front wheels. This translates to a 0-62mph time of 9.9secs (10.1secs if you go for the equipment-laden top-spec version) and a top speed of 124mph - the CR-Z is not a car that is going to set the Tarmac alight.

On the road the CR-Z begins impressively. The gearchange is a typically light, accurate and direct Honda shift, while the zippy engine provides a pleasingly sharp throttle response, especially with the 'sport' mode engaged (the usage of which also tweaks the exhaust for a sportier note and firms up the electric power steering). The 6300rpm red line is disappointingly low for a company famed for its revvy motors, but the extra shove of low-down torque (available from 1500rpm) that the electric motor provides helps to make up for the absence of a stratospheric top end.

Find a decent bend or two (which we managed to do once or twice on our Dutch drive - the Swiss Alps the Netherlands is not), and the CR-Z does reveal a light-on-its-toes agility and an essentially neutral, balanced chassis. Perhaps there's something in this Elise inspiration, although the accurate but numb electronic power steering is hardly the stuff of Lotus dreams.

Push on beyond the grip limits of the modest 195/55 R16 tyres with the ESP off, however, and you'll soon experience pretty terminal understeer. Keep the electronics working, though, and the understeer is unobtrusively kept in check.

The CR-Z's brain works equally hard to keep the brakes controlled, too. A perennial problem with hybrids is how to effectively remove the electric power from the driveline, with the result that brake feel is often an unpredictable affair. The CR-Z deals with this by constantly monitoring braking pressure from both the pedal and the engine and creating a braking curve of how the driver will expect to stop. The result is a predictable, if wooden brake pedal.

The CR-Z is so close to being a modern day Ford Puma with a green twist that it hurts - a lively chassis coupled to a lively if not super-fast motor. Ultimately, though, the hybrid drivetrain forces the CR-Z to make too many compromises. Oh, and at £20k for the top-end model and £17k for the cheapest version it's hardly the bargain of the century either. Like I said, I really want to like this car. It just won't let me.

Source;

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=21797