2010 Acura RL rumours

Looks like Honda is going to be listening to the critic's and will be adding a RWD V8 RL for 2010! Another rumour is that Honda is working on a 420-horsepower 4.8-liter V8 which will incorporate the Variable Cylinder Management System currently employed in the Honda Accord V6's, (VCM = Cylinder deactivation), to manage fuel better.

The car will supposedly feature an FR layout with SH-AWD, which is the setup that Honda says will underpin the next generation NSX.

Green Cars that Automakers WON'T Sell You

Here's one that I didn't know about;

The new 2008 Honda Accord boasts an environmental first: a six-cylinder gasoline engine that's cleaner than many hybrid systems.

There's only one catch: You can't actually buy this ultra-green Accord, or the four-cylinder version that also produces near-zero pollution. That is, unless you live in California, New York or six other northeast states that follow California's tougher pollution rules. Only there can you buy this Accord, or the roughly two dozen other models that meet so-called Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle standards, PZEV for short.

Not only can't you buy one, but the government says it's currently illegal for automakers to sell these green cars outside of the special states. Under terms of the Clean Air Act—in the kind of delicious irony only our government can pull off—anyone (dealer, consumer, automaker) involved in an out-of-bounds PZEV sale could be subject to civil fines of up to $27,500.

So, just how green is a PZEV machine? Well, if you just cut your lawn with a gas mower, congratulations, you just put out more pollution in one hour than these cars do in 2,000 miles of driving. Grill a single juicy burger, and you've cooked up the same hydrocarbon emissions as a three-hour drive in a Ford Focus PZEV. As the California Air Resources Board has noted, the tailpipe emissions of these cars can be cleaner than the outside air in smoggy cities.

That's amazing stuff. But what's more amazing is how few people have a clue that the gas-powered, internal combustion engine could ever be this clean.

Naturally, no company wants to bring too much attention to a car that most people can't buy, unless it's Ferrari. And there's the catch. PZEV models are already available from Honda, Toyota, Subaru, VW, Volvo, Ford, and yes, GM. They're scrubbed-up versions of familiar models.

It's not all the fault of the car companies. The crazy quilt of environmental regulations is forcing carmakers to design and build two versions of the same cars. And it costs real money to make a car this green. So in states where there are no regulations to force their hand,automakers don't want to have to boost their prices for the green versions—or to simply eat the extra cost and make less profit.

Honda appears to be doing just that. It currently charges Californians and other green-staters about $150 extra for these solid-citizen models. But experts suggest that it costs carmakers closer to $400 a pop to install the gear.

Another issue: The PZEV cars don't get any better mileage than conventional versions. Would most self-interested Americans even pay a lousy 100 bucks for cleaner air that doesn't put fuel savings back in their pocket? "With hybrids, the selling point is fuel economy, so there's a dollar amount on that," said William Walton, Honda's product planning chief for U.S. cars. "We want to give people the cleanest vehicles we can produce, but how much are people willing to pay for clean air?"

As often as automakers express envy and resentment over Toyota's image, you might think Honda would be filming TV ads, erecting billboards, shouting from rooftops that the Accord is the world's cleanest six-cylinder car. In the green game that Toyota has played like a chess master, it seems like this is a lost opportunity for Honda, Nissan and the rest to siphon off some of Toyota's goodwill.

So give Honda's talented engineers credit for this clean-burning Accord. But give its marketing department a big, smoggy raspberry for keeping it a virtual secret—and keeping it off-limits to buyers in 42 states.

Source: http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=434502
By Lawrence Ulrich

3 Funny Honda Ads

This ad may be in bad taste but I couldn't resist.

400,000 Hybrids by 2012

Last year Honda sold just 55,000 Hybirds, the next four years Honda is looking to sell 400,000 Hybrids per year. A lofty but achievable goal, with the right product (ahem, Accord Hybrid [performance Hybrid or should they have come out with a Gas Miser Hybrid]). Toyota sold approx. 430,000 Hybrids last year. Honda plans on releasing three new Hybrids in the next few years, including a sports model and a family car.

Source: http://www.leftlanenews.com/honda-targets-hybrid-sales-of-400000-per-year.html#more-6669

Car & Driver's 10 Closet Hogs, No Honda's

Car and Driver Magazine has a pretty cool article about 10 vehicles that have been 'hiding serious drinking problems'. No Honda's on this list, but I thought that some of you would appreciate the article none the less.

BY JARED HOLSTEIN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON KILEY AND THE MANUFACTURERS February 2008

It’s not just big trucks that get lousy fuel economy, either. The culprits of poor fuel economy are many, but common underlying causes include portly curb weights, older drivetrains, and the conscious exclusion of fuel-saving technologies to keep production and purchase prices down. Before you spend your money on a new car, make sure you pay attention to the equipment list, because with the wrong engine or transmission choice, heinous fuel economy is sometimes just a checkbox away.

2008 Saab 9-7X Aero
6.0-liter V-8, 4-speed auto, 4-wheel drive
Link; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-2.html

2008 Jeep Wrangler
3.8-liter V-6, 4-speed auto, 4-wheel drive
Link; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-3.html

2008 Jeep Liberty
3.7-liter V-6, 4-speed auto, 4-wheel drive
Link; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-4.html

2008 Saturn VUE XE
3.5-liter V-6, 6-speed auto, 4-wheel drive
Link; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-5.html

2008 Pontiac G6 GT Convertible
3.9-liter V-6, 4-speed auto, front-wheel drive
Link; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-6.html

2008 Mazda RX-8
1.3-liter 2-rotor, 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Link; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-7.html

2008 Mazda CX-7
2.3-liter inline-4, 6-speed auto, 4-wheel drive
Link; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-8.html

2008 Volvo S80
3.2-liter inline-6, 6-speed auto, front-wheel drive
Link; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-9.html

2008 Pontiac Solstice/2008 Saturn Sky
2.4-liter inline-4, 5-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Link; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-10.html

Anything on E85
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/features_classic_cars/closet_gas_hogs_feature+page-11.html

Car and Driver Magazine Comparison Test; North America's Favourite Sedans

The Buzzard-and-Baloney Brigade - Comparison Test
We compare seven of America’s most popular family sedans, searching for value and verve, and whether there’s really any meat in the middle.

BY JOHN PHILLIPS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON KILEY March 2008
1st Place: 2008 Honda Accord EX Sedan
In its 32-year existence, the Accord has landed on C/D’s 10Best Cars list 22 times. We must have cost Honda a pile of cash in trophy cases alone. In this group, our Accord carried the highest base price, but it was because we wanted to sample the 190 horsepower that comes with the EX, rather than the base LX’s 177. It paid off. Our test car was the second quickest to 60 mph.
The Accord’s essential goodness, however, doesn’t derive from power alone. Even with the standard stability control chipping away, our EX was also the fastest through our lane-change test.

Honda has simply nailed the econosedan formula, and it isn’t just a matter of building the highest-revving engine, the most competent suspension, and the most ergonomic interior. The trick is getting every component talking openly and honestly to every other component. It’s that sonorous mechanical interplay that lends the Accord its agility and charm. Throttle tip-in reminds us of a BMW 3’s, and there’s steady power delivery right up to 7100 rpm. Steering heft and linearity are spot-on, although some of us noted that this new rack doesn’t transmit road textures as clearly as did its forebear. The taut-yet-frictionless chassis makes up for it, however, posting regular updates on available grip. The brakes are easy to modulate. The thin A-pillars let you see around turns. In short, no car in our cast was as eager to establish a friendly rhythm when the roads got tricky.

Although the Accord was tied with the Avenger for loudest idle, it was merely a matter of our microphones registering quantity of sound versus quality.

Like the Sonata, the Accord is now officially a large sedan, with the extra room paying dividends abaft. For two or three adults, the rear seat proved the most spacious in this group. But try it yourself—the seatback is steeply reclined. We loved the three-tier dash, whose bulges and contours place all secondary controls at your fingertips. Which is lucky, because the center stack—ahem—contains 34 buttons.

We wish the Accord came with a manumatic, but you can shift manually by pulling straight back from D, to D3, to 2, to 1. Left to its own devices, the five-speed is prescient about holding lower gears on downhill grades and during spirited driving.

Like its predecessors, this latest Accord contains real meat in the middle. And that ain’t no baloney

Highs: Telepathic interplay among chassis, engine, and transmission.
Lows: Needlessly complex center stack, could use more steering feel.
The Verdict: Another Accord? We’ve pretty much run out of nice things to say.

2nd Place: 2008 Nissan Altima 2.5S Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-7.html
Highs: Drag-strip king, a real corner carver, a Mosler vault of a platform.
Lows: CVT not to everyone’s liking, no stability control, dour cockpit.
The Verdict: True dual personality—fun in the hills, serene on the interstates.

3rd Place: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LT Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-6.html
Highs: Elegant cockpit, superb engine isolation, a handsome lad.
Lows: A little heavy, needs more than four gears, fat A- and C-pillars.
The Verdict: The best four-cylinder mainstream car GM has ever built.

4th Place: 2009 Hyundai Sonata Limited Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-5.html
Highs: Soothing interstate cruiser, pillowy ride, delectable manumatic.
Lows: Too much body roll, could do with a stiffer platform.
The Verdict: One foot deeper into Honda Accord territory.

5th Place: 2009 Toyota Camry LE Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-4.html
Highs: Eerily quiet, Lexus-like switchgear, limousine ride.
Lows: Early understeer, too much body roll, plastic hubcaps.
The Verdict: Practical and tranquil but not much of a dancer.

6th Place: 2008 Ford Fusion SEL Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-3.html
Highs: Sharp styling, leather interior, thoughtful ride-and-handling trade-off.
Lows: Too little power and a transmission that spoils the party.
The Verdict: Right face, wrong drivetrain.

7th Place: Dodge Avenger SXT Sedan
Write up; http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/the_buzzard_and_baloney_brigade_comparison_test+page-2.html
Highs: Good fuel economy, easy-to-read gauges, inexpensive.
Lows: A festival of NVH, hard interior surfaces, feels insubstantial.
The Verdict: A mid-size sedan relying almost entirely on its sticker price.

2009 Honda FIT to debut at New York International Auto Show

Looks like the new Honda FIT will be making an appearance at this years New York International Auto Show, alongside that of the 2009 Honda Pilot Prototype and the Honda FCX Clarity.

Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda: ”The all-new Honda Fit will reconfirm that small can in fact be big.”

Movie Fake becomes Reality; sQuba

Not Honda related, but too cool to pass up. With the “sQuba,” the world’s first real submersible car, the movie fake now becomes reality for visitors of the Geneva Motor Show (March 6th - 16th, 2008).

It is a sure bet that the “sQuba” will steal the show from any ‘Baywatch’ beauty on the beach. And easily, too: You drive the car into the water and the car floats. That is, until you crack the door to let the water in. Immediately the “sQuba” starts on his way to the underwater world.

Anyway, here's the link to the full write up, BTW, I want one;
http://www.autospies.com/news/2008-GENEVA-MOTOR-SHOW-Can-Your-BMW-or-Lexus-Drive-UNDERWATER-26588/