Honda Insight with 1.5 liter IMA system to debut soon?

Check out the Honda Insight section on Honda Japan’s website and you’ll be greeted by the teaser image above, which seems to indicate that an Insight with a larger 1.5 liter i-VTEC IMA engine will be available soon. So far, most Honda hybrids including the Honda Insight sold here in Malaysia use the 1.3 liter system, while the 1.5 liter system is reserved for the sporty Honda CR-Z.

A larger more powerful system in the Insight would certainly be welcome for those looking for a little more fun in their green motoring, but do not want to go for the 3-door body of the CR-Z. With the hybrid tax exemptions just recently extended by the Malaysian government, perhaps Honda Malaysia can introduce this 1.5 liter variant of the Honda Insight as well? I’m sure there’s a market!

Source;
http://paultan.org/2011/10/11/honda-insight-with-1-5-liter-ima-system-to-debut-soon/

Next Honda Civic Type R will be firm’s first-ever turbo road car

The Honda Civic Type R already has a formidable reputation but the tuning experts at Mugen still think it could be improved. Sources in Japan divulged that Mugen has started development of a package for the model. Actually, the next Honda Civic Type R is believed to be its fastest version ever and is expected to be Honda’s first-ever turbo road car. The Type R is famous in the UK for its high-revving naturally aspirated engine and aggressive styling. To be able to comply with strict emissions standards, there will be some modifications.

A 2.0-litre turbo meant to comply with Euro V emissions regulations will be used instead of the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine, according to AutoExpress. Honda’s 2012 British Touring Car Championship challenger will also be tweaked and will use a similar engine. Because of the turbo, there will be more torque lower in the rev range. This means that a higher gear can be used more frequently to improve efficiency. It’s also expected to have stop-start.

The Type R’s output will increase slightly to 210bhp, enabling the vehicle to accelerate from zero to 62mph in less than 6.5 seconds and to reach a top speed nearing 150mph. The Type R will feature the standard car’s front grille, slim headlights and LED daytime running lights. However, most of the bodywork will be uprated. It will appear more stunning with a front end with large mesh air intakes, a lower chin spoiler and chunky side skirts. It will be more stable at high speeds due to its rear diffuser and extended spoiler. To improve the balance in corners, it will have the standard Civic’s longer, wider chassis. As a result, ride comfort and grip are improved as well.

Source;

http://www.4wheelsnews.com/next-honda-civic-type-r-will-be-firms-first-ever-turbo-road-car/

Honda Says No Mugen CR-Z

Brace yourself, car fans, because there’s some bad news from Honda. Top Gear recently reported that the automaker has decided not to bring the CR-Z Mugen RR Hybrid Concept to production–ever. There had been indications that the Mugen CR-Z wouldn’t go into production, but a lot of industry watchers were hoping against hope that Honda would reconsider in the face of consumer demand. Apparently, though, car enthusiasts will have to soldier on without the option of owning one of the hybrid.

Mugen serves as Honda’s official tuning arm, but it also engineers and produces unique models of its own, based on Honda vehicles. The CR-Z Mugen offers 197 horsepower, ready and rarin’ to go, and makes the trip from zero to sixty in 6.6 seconds, thanks in part to its reliance on carbon fiber. The CR-Z’s hood, fenders, doors and body tray are all made of carbon fiber; and when the vehicle is driven in Eco mode, it delivers a walloping 50 mpg.

The hybrid CR-Z, designed by Mugen’s European division, was unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year. Although the CR-Z kept the hardware of the previous model—including the iMA electric motor and the 1.5-liter gas engine—the vehicle’s performance was increased more than 50% as it was loaded with a supercharger and lots of internal upgrades. The Mugen CR-Z not only gets about 200 horsepower, but also boasts 158.6 pound-feet of torque.

Mugen’s engineers also widened the CR-Z’s tracks and added 5-step adjustable dampers, larger brakes, and a limited-slip differential—all of which combine to improve the CR-Z’s driving dynamics. The vehicle’s charms are enhanced by a twin central-exit exhaust and vented front bumpers. The four-piston monobloc brake calipers are painted a bright and distinctive orange, and paired with 18-inch forged alloy wheels. Mugen engineers modified the exterior and the interior of the CR-Z, too.

Honda didn’t play coy; the automaker always said that they had no plans for a production model. But they indicated that they might reconsider, depending upon the customer feedback they received.

Honda decided, and the CR-Z is not to be.

Source;
http://automotivediscovery.com/honda-says-no-mugen-cr-z/9210447/

HondaJet Likely To Be First Of A Family

By George C. LarsonGreensboro, N.C.

As Honda Aircraft begins its sixth year, it is advancing cautiously but relentlessly toward the 2012 scheduled certification of its $4.5 million HA-420 HondaJet.

One pacing item for the airplane’s overall approval is its turbofan engine, the HF-120. A product of GE Honda Aero Engines, the powerplant, equipped with a full authority digital engine control (Fadec), first ran in 2009 and became available for testing on a conformal aircraft for the first time in 2010. Its developers report “steady progress” and expect to receive FAA certification of the 2,095-lb.-thrust engine by year-end.

Although the aircraft program has been delayed by more than a year, the Honda organization appears to be unhurried—paced, no doubt, by the precipitous drop in the global economy and subsequent fall-off in light-jet sales. Meanwhile, it continues to be guarded about the precise health of the order book, which has stood at “over 100” for years now.

The company says aircraft testing has proceeded on schedule, and the conformal aircraft, which first flew in December 2010, recently surpassed its specified 420-kt. true airspeed with a flight to 425 kt. Five aircraft are to be involved in the certification trials.

In an industry familiar with failed startups, a visit to Honda Aircraft’s Greensboro, N.C., headquarters at Piedmont Triad International Airport makes clear very quickly that one of the world’s largest automakers is in the aircraft business for the long haul. The tidy campus, and the offices and workspaces contained therein, are austere and functional, in keeping with the company’s culture. But the amount of investment in evidence and 263,000-sq.-ft. production facility leaves no doubt that Honda is looking beyond this first light jet and toward follow-on products.

CEO Mishimasa Fujino only hints at that scenario, saying, “We cannot sustain a company with one product.” Future models might not feature the HondaJet’s unique engine-over-wing design, he has said, but would likely incorporate concepts that are equally innovative.

The company could have reduced the amount of its bet by outsourcing much of the testing and research on both its original proof-of-concept aircraft and the production conforming models in FAA certification testing now. But Honda decided to do it all in-house, and has not scrimped in the process.

One employee estimates the total investment in buildings and equipment at roughly $100 million, but that seems low. On campus are complete full-scale structural test rigs equipped with dozens of computer-controlled actuators, an advanced system-integration test facility that “flies” a virtually complete airplane as represented by its principal systems, and a fully staffed telemetry facility that can capture 2,500 data streams.

This is not to say that Honda is not availing itself of numerous suppliers from all over the world.

The plant as configured now is planned around assembly of finished components, not ab initio manufacture. Just one example: Hampson Aerospace of Grand Prairie, Texas, a subsidiary of a parent company in the U.K., will provide completed empennage assemblies. And more: GKN Aerospace, a composites fabricator in Tallassee, Ala., supplies fuselage components. Avcorp, a subcontractor in British Columbia, will supply parts of the wing. Garmin’s G3000 avionics will light up the panel.

Aircraft will follow two parallel paths and emerge from the now completed final assembly facility, empty for the moment, then undergo systems installation, completion and painting at Greensboro.

Fujino expresses satisfaction with the Carolina workers, citing “good quality” and “a strong work ethic.”

The workforce is young—tablet notebooks are everywhere—with some notable experienced heads such as Mark Ard, vice president of engineering and a former Gulfstream executive, in key management slots. Fujino notes that just four years ago the company had 40 employees; now the figure is 600-700, with another 200-300 expected in 2012 when production gets under way in earnest.

The light jet’s legend started as Fujino’s vision and a cursory sketch in 1997. The unconventional engine arrangement employing overwing mounting is said to save room in the fuselage for a total of 66 cu. ft. of baggage (9 cu. ft. in a forward compartment and 57 aft of the cabin; it’s not accessible in flight). The combination of drag-reducing natural laminar flow over the wing’s advanced airfoil and the unusually shaped bulbous nose are what Honda says provides up to 30% gains in efficiency over the competition. Efficiency may sell on paper, but Honda appears to be placing more of its marketing bet on cabin appeal. To that end, the Greensboro facility has a complete and well-equipped design studio.

Fujino says the single-pilot-certified version is marketed primarily to individuals and corporations rather than to fleet buyers, but the company portrays a 2+6 seating arrangement as well. The HondaJet faces stiff competition, particularly from Embraer’s Phenom 100 and the M2, Cessna’s new successor to the Citation CJ1+.

Photo Credit: George C. Larson/AWST
GEORGE LARSON/AVIATION WEEK

Source;

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/awst/2011/10/10/AW_10_10_2011_p61-375968.xml&headline=HondaJet%20Likely%20To%20Be%20First%20Of%20A%20Family&next=10

Ozzy Osbourne Crazy Train Honda ad

Honda is using the Ozzy Osbourne classic 'Crazy Train' done a cappella by a family in the new commercial for the Honda Pilot.

The ad is done Wayne's World style but with a family gradually all vocally doing the instruments in the song. Wayne's World kicked off the format all those years ago with Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.

Bob Daisley and Randy Rhodes wrote the song with Ozzy in 1980, a year after Osbourne left Black Sabbath. It first appeared on the 'Blizzard of Ozz' album. It is now considered Ozzy's signature song.

'Crazy Train' has grown over the years, especially in the USA, to fall into that wonderful genre . classic rock.

Source;
http://www.music-news.com/shownews.asp?H=Ozzy-Osbourne-Crazy-Train-Honda-ad&nItemID=44608

Honda UK; Honda powers up Accord range for 2012

Honda in Ireland has introduced a new 180bhp Type S diesel version of the Accord for 2012. The car aims to be an alternative to the BMW and Audi options with a more powerful engine and improved driving feel and plenty of extras as standard for a list price of €39,465 plus delivery charges.

The exterior of the Type S 180PS, with its 18” alloy wheels and aero bumpers and side sills, has a sporty look that reflects the power under the bonnet. The car is equipped with a high beam support system with Bi Xenon head lights and active cornering lights. Standard features include leather seating and electrically adjustable heated front seats. The car has an advanced dual zone climate control linked to the satellite navigation system to detect the position of the sun and set the temperature accordingly. Cabin noise has also been reduced through a new floating sub-frame structure with insulated carpets, all adding to an enriched driving experience.

Type S 180bhp is combined with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Honda claims that the aim of the engine and transmission development was to maintain the high performance driving experience whilst improving the overall efficiency of the engine resulting in lower running costs. Power output is at 180bhp at 4,000 rpm while peak torque is 380Nm at between 2000 and 2750rpm. That delivers an improved acceleration performance of 8.8 seconds in a 0-100km/hr race and a top speed of 220km/h.

Despite the extra power the CO2 emissions are below Euro 5 levels at 147g/km putting the car into Road Tax Band C with an annual road tax cost of €302. The combined fuel consumption is rated 17.8km/litre (5.6l/100km) so it’s very frugal for a big high performance car.

Source;
http://corkindependent.com/stories/item/4833/2011-40/Honda-powers-up-Accord-range-for-2012

Honda to cut exports from Japan

Honda plans to reduce exports from Japan to as little as 10% of domestic production as the strong yen erodes earnings from overseas shipments.

Honda aims to sell 80% to 90% of Japan-made vehicles in its home market, spokeswoman Tomoko Uchida said. Last year, the carmaker shipped 310,254 vehicles, or 34% of its Japanese production, overseas.

Japanese carmakers including Honda, Toyota and Nissan are moving more production out of Japan to counter the effect of the strong yen. Honda plans to maintain domestic production of about 1 million vehicles a year, Uchida said, reiterating a previous statement by the company.

Source;
http://www.freep.com/article/20111006/BUSINESS01/110060539/Honda-cut-exports-from-Japan

Detroit News: Honda says slow-selling Ridgeline stays

Honda Motor Co. refuted reports Tuesday that it was phasing out its Ridgeline pickup.

"The reports in the media that we have plans to discontinue the Ridgeline pickup truck are false," said Sage Marie, manager of truck product planning at American Honda.

"To the contrary, Ridgeline has a significant role in the Honda lineup, and it is expected to continue in the foreseeable future," he said.

Marie noted that Honda had already announced the 2012 Ridgeline will feature new styling cues, improved fuel efficiency and a new Sport variant.

U.S. sales of the Ridgeline, an unusual, award-winning pickup designed and built on a unibody platform, have slumped by half this year to 6,500 from 12,700 compared with the first nine months of 2010.

Honda has struggled this year with output disruptions because of the March earthquake, and it halted production of the Ridgeline for three months in March. During that period, the tooling to make the truck was moved to another line at the Lincoln, Ala., plant, and production resumed in August.

"It is too early to talk publicly about the details of our future plans for Ridgeline," Marie said. "It will remain an important part of the Honda product portfolio."

Source;
http://detnews.com/article/20111004/AUTO01/110040402/Honda-says-slow-selling-Ridgeline-stays#ixzz1a0e0HLYh

Honda Civic Type R is back

Hot hatch Honda legend is set to return – and the new Civic Type R will have a turbo engine
The next Honda Civic Type R will not only be the fastest version yet – it’s tipped to be Honda’s first-ever turbo road car. And our sources in Japan say tuning expert Mugen is already well underway with development.

The Type R has already achieved cult status in the UK – Europe’s biggest hot hatch market – thanks to its combination of a high-revving naturally aspirated engine and aggressive styling. But in order to meet emissions regulations, this latest model will tweak the formula slightly.

Instead of the previous 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine, it will use a 2.0-litre turbo designed to comply with Euro V emissions regulations. A similar engine will feature in Honda’s 2012 British Touring Car Championship challenger.

Adding a turbo will give more torque lower in the rev range, so a higher gear can be used more often to boost efficiency. Stop-start is also likely to be fitted.

Just as VW hiked power with its latest Golf GTI, so Honda will increase the Type R’s output – but not by much. A figure of 210bhp would allow a 0-62mph time of less than 6.5 seconds and a top speed approaching 150mph.

Based on the new Civic seen at last month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the Type R gets the standard car’s front grille, slim headlights and LED daytime running lights, although most of the bodywork will be uprated.

A front end with large mesh air intakes, a lower chin spoiler and chunky side skirts will boost the visual impact, while a rear diffuser and extended spoiler aim to increase stability at high speeds. Also helping the car’s balance in corners is the standard Civic’s longer, wider chassis; this should also improve ride comfort and grip.

Don’t expect refinement to match a Mercedes S-Class, however. The Type R has always been an extreme proposition and that’s the way it will stay.

The steering is set to be pin sharp, while the six-speed manual box will use a stubby gearlever for snappy changes. Plus, the suspension will be firm, to cope with track work as well as blasting down B-roads.

In a break from tradition that matches the turbocharged Ford Focus ST – a key competitor for the Type R – Honda will offer the car as a five-door only. Prices are expected to start from around £23,000 when it arrives in 2013.

Source;
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/273562/honda_civic_type_r_is_back.html#ixzz1a0cqzBM9

2012 Honda Pilot: The Tech-Speak Is A Real Treat

Somewhere around middle school (junior high, middle form or whatever your system calls it), if you are taking part or have taken part in any English literature class, you've probably run across the writer George Orwell and his surprising novel 1984 – written in the 1930s as a prediction of future life; a mix of science fantasy and fiction – where one of the author's favorite terms was tech-speak.

Put simply, it's Orwell's way – or his character's anyway – of saying that if you say something long and enough and loud enough and make it technical enough, people will believe it as a matter of course. It's not a hard concept to grasp and, truth to tell, it looks like some of the best practitioners of tech-speak right now are the PR guys at Honda.

Here's an example, right from their website! In describing the new Honda Pilot and its restyled front end (last year it took its styling cues from its upscale sibling Acura and made the Pilot perhaps the worst-looking SUV on the road – the front end was practically all brushed aluminum and it looked as if the Pilot had a weird, silly smile on its front end all the time. The smile was so silly, in fact, that many of us in the car world wondered if the Pilot had escaped its keepers and its meds when it was released. The 2011 Pilot had perhaps the lousiest front-end we've seen on an SUV in a long, long time; time that stretches back to the original Ford Bronco II and Jeep Grand Cherokee, neither of which set any any styling watersheds in the 1970s when they were introduced), the PR guys described it as a “sleek new grille for more upscale appearance.”

To translate the tech-speak, here it simply says that if the design team valued its continued employment they had better not only cook up a new front end (which they did and which turns what could have been quite the worse-looking SUV on the market into a real winner) and the PR guys picked up n the new front-end styling, which saved myriad jobs, and came out with that “sleek new … appearance” stuff.

To be sure, the 2012 Pilot is head and shoulder better looking that its predecessor. The design team actually had a chance to meet in one integrated conference room, apparently, instead of sitting in two or three or more competing shops, trying to find just the right lines to improve what had to be the drunken dreams of some designer (or maybe some other recreational pharmaceutical, who knows and who cares? The new styling is absolutely flawless.)

Here's what we mean – and no we're talking about the usual bunch of modern electronic goodies like streaming audio (true statement from expert author – author is also radio enthusiast and hobbyist with 30 years of experience on bandwidth and other radio issues and can speak with authority on this – wait until several Pilots are caught in the same traffic jam and then wait until they try to start streaming video from the same wireless Internet node – usually a cell tower – via 3/4G technology or WiFi;

(The result will be bunch of unhappy campers whose right to stream is being severely abridged by the people in the Pilot next door – no Congress can't do anything about it and neither can applications of technology. Technically, there is only so much bandwidth available for all devices on a frequency and there are only so many shared frequencies (there is a rather long and involved quadratic equation that will prove that the amount of bandwidth used is proportional to the amount demanded that will show this to be a true situation) available.

(The normal answer of the users would be to give them all the bandwidth at the expense of services that are already there – whether public safety, fixed, mobile or aeronautical mobile – so the demand for all bandwidth available is unlikely to occur. The result then will be unhappy kids in the back who are all complaining about buffering and slowdowns and dropouts. Really, there's nothing at all you can do about this, so you'll have to live with it. This is really a topic for another day, it's really about how tech-speak and real-speak have become accepted and have come together to produce a Honda Pilot.)

For example, where last year's Honda Pilot looked like the nightmare on Brushed Chrome street, this year's grille looks fantastic. Yes, there's still a portion of the grille that is chromed, but the bars are rather thin and the blacked-out grille in between looks just right. Indeed, the design team fared the headlight module, fenders and hood into an organic shape that seems to naturally sweep up from the valance below the bumper, through the grille and on through the narrowed, but sloping hood. The fenders are flared and work well with the overall front end design so that the Pilot now comes standard with 18-inch tires and wheels. The body is also subtly flared as it moves from a relatively wide A-pillar through the passenger section of the cabin to the nicely finished rear end.

This year, though, instead of just relying on the Odyssey as the eight-passenger vehicle, the Pilot offers an EX-L model with a third row of seats that disappears into the floor (ala the Odyssey) for carrying capacity.

Like all Hondas, the 3.5-liter V-6 iVTEC engine is at the cutting edge of technology delivering and average of 22 mpg city/highway. The engine, by the way, is one of the most flexible powerplants we have driven in a while. It will lug right down there in the lower gears of the five-speed automatic and the move out flawlessly when it comes time. The 250-horsepower/253-foot-pound of torque engine has a nice even – and flawlessly broad – powerband that enables the five-speed automatic to make the best use of the speed and power available.

Like all Honda Pilots – except the low-end LX – you have your choice of front-drive or SUV and most people choose the SUV model with its advanced traction control system and – now mandated – electronic stability system. This means you will be able to get through in conditions that would have other all-wheel-drive system slowly – or rapidly – spinning all four tires as they strive for traction. The Pilot uses an intelligent traction system that shifts power rapidly from the wheels losing traction to those with traction and brakes slightly at the same time time for control.

We found on a very wet highway recently that this is a nice feature. We also found that there are many features you can certainly live without, although they are offered in upper-end models such as Bluetooth device integration and real-time satellite display that you can easily do without. Well, maybe not the nav display as it doubles as the climate control and radio control interface, so you'd probably better order yours with the system and if you have kids the rear entertainment system is almost mandatory.

As you can tell, we liked the Honda, despite its now nearly $40,000 regular price. You'll probably lease yours for 48 months which isn't a bad idea, either.

However you choose to view it, it's time that tech-speak and real-speak come together as the “sleek new grille for ...” simply means a nicely designed front end. Actually, the way the PR crowd has put it together, it's rather nicely done.

Source;
http://www.auto-types.com/autonews/honda-the-tech-speak-is-a-real-treat-7858.html

Toyota-Honda U.S. Rebound Brings Call of ‘What Recession?': Cars

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.'s return to full production this month is boosting U.S. auto sales back near the pace reached before Japan's earthquake.

September light-vehicle sales, to be released Oct. 3, probably rose to a 12.8 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, the average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That would be the fastest pace since April, when lost output caused by Japan's tsunami crimped supply of parts and finished cars.

“Recovering inventory levels have helped to bring buyers back into the market,” said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power & Associates.

Jesse Toprak, who develops forecasts at TrueCar.com, went so far as to title his latest report “What Recession?” as the auto rebound defies consumer confidence that is near a two-year low.

Toyota has said it expects to reverse monthly U.S. sales declines beginning next month, and Honda is adding overtime shifts at two Ohio plants. Better supply also probably meant incentives rose from the lowest in almost six years.

“The big story this month was better inventory and favorable pricing” for consumers, said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst at Santa Monica, California-based Edmunds.com.

Sales declines at Toyota and Honda contributed to the U.S. auto sales pace slowing from a 13.1 million rate averaged in the year's first four months to as low as 11.6 million in June, according to researcher Autodata Corp.

Toyota Still Recovering
Toyota slipped behind Ford Motor Co. to third in U.S. sales this year through August, which was the first month in the past year that its global production increased. The Toyota City, Japan-based automaker is still recovering and may say sales dropped 15 percent, the average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, leaving it in third again.

“With the launch of the new Camry, October should be even better,” said Paul Atkinson, who operates Toyota dealerships in Bryan and Madisonville, Texas. “We're selling as fast as they're coming off the damn truck.”

Toyota, ramping up production of the redesigned Camry sedan, may say sales dropped 15 percent, the average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The Toyota City, Japan- based automaker's global production increased for the first time in 12 months in August.

Toyota shares fell 0.5 percent to 2,688 yen in Tokyo at the 3 p.m. close of Tokyo trading. Nissan Motor Co. gained 0.4 percent, while Honda fell 1.4 percent.

Overtime at Honda
Sales may decline 6.1 percent at Honda, the average of five analysts' estimates, after deliveries slid 20 percent or more in each of the past four months. The Tokyo-based automaker is scheduling overtime shifts at its Marysville and East Liberty assembly plants in Ohio, Ron Lietzke, a spokesman, said in a Sept. 28 phone interview.

Honda began the month with 32 days supply of vehicles, from 28 in August, Westlake Village, California-based J.D. Power said in a Sept. 22 statement. The industry standard is about 60 days.

General Motors Co. and Ford are anticipating that demand will keep increasing as the largest U.S. automakers negotiate labor contracts that boost production and add jobs.

GM, which reached a new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers this month, may report a 19 percent increase in September sales, the average of eight analysts' estimates. The Detroit-based automaker and union said the accord adds or retains 6,400 jobs and reopens an assembly plant in Tennessee.

Ford, Chrysler
Ford has discussed with the UAW adding as many as 10,000 union jobs in the U.S., according to three people familiar with the talks. Some of those workers would assemble Fusion sedans, which are currently made in Mexico, said one of the people who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private.

Deliveries this month may rise 5.9 percent for Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford, the average of eight analysts' estimates.

Sales at Fiat SpA-controlled Chrysler Group LLC, which has extended its UAW contract to Oct. 19, may climb 20 percent, the average of seven analysts' estimates.

GM fell 58 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $20.18 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Ford dropped 33 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $9.67.

Confidence among U.S. consumers stagnated in September near a two-year low as the share of households saying it was difficult to find a job climbed to the highest level in almost three decades. The Conference Board's sentiment index increased by 0.2 to 45.4 from an August reading that was the lowest since April 2009, the New York-based researcher said Sept. 27.

Auto Industry Shrinks
“The economy is stopped dead in its tracks,” George Magliano, a New York-based economist at IHS Automotive, said in a phone interview. “Considering that, the auto business is showing pretty good strength. The industry is hiring, it's producing more and there's pent-up demand.”
GM and Ford will be adding back only a portion of the jobs they shed during the recession that sent auto sales to a 27-year low of 10.4 million in 2009, according to Autodata Corp.

GM had about 49,000 U.S. hourly employees at the end of 2010, a year after its U.S.-backed bankruptcy. That's down from 111,000 such workers at the end of 2005, the company said in a Sept. 28 conference call with analysts.

Last year, about 962,000 U.S. workers were employed making vehicles and parts, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington. That's down 32 percent from 1.41 million in 2005.

The downsizing of the industry, achieved in part by U.S.- backed bankruptcies for GM and Chrysler, meant cutting production capacity. That prevented U.S. automakers from raising output and offsetting industrywide constraints on inventory after the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March, said Alan Baum, an industry consultant at Baum & Associates.

‘Limited Ability'
GM, Ford and Chrysler “had a fairly limited ability to capitalize because there are a lot fewer auto plants and workers than there were four years ago,” said Baum, who is based in West Bloomfield, Michigan. “You can't just add a shift willy- nilly.”

Nissan, whose better supply of parts has buoyed inventory levels above its Japan-based rivals, may say deliveries climbed 18 percent, the average of five analysts' estimates.

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., may combine to sell 20 percent more vehicles than a year earlier, according to the average of three estimates. Both automakers are based in Seoul.

J.D. Power today increased its estimate for the September auto-sales rate to 13 million from 12.9 million.

Industrywide deliveries may rise to 12.7 million cars and light trucks this year, the average of 18 analysts' estimates surveyed by Bloomberg in August. Sales may climb to 13.6 million in 2012, the average of 15 estimates. The U.S. averaged annual sales of 16.8 million vehicles from 2000 to 2007, according to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata.

The following table shows estimates for car and light-truck sales in the U.S. Estimates for companies are a percentage change from September 2010. Forecasts for the seasonally adjusted annual rate, or SAAR, are in millions of light vehicles.

September had 25 selling days, matching the year-earlier period.*T

GM Ford Chrysler SAAR
Himanshu Patel NA NA NA 12.8
(JPMorgan)
Rod Lache 21% 8.5% 22% 13.0
(Deutsche Bank)
Chris Ceraso 14% 4% 16% 12.6
(Credit Suisse)
Brian Johnson 17% 7% 25% 12.8
(Barclays)
Peter Nesvold 24% 1.6% NA 12.7
(Jefferies)
Patrick Archambault 15% -1.3% 13% 12.4
(Goldman Sachs)
Itay Michaeli NA NA NA 12.9
(Citigroup)
Adam Jonas NA NA NA 12.8
(Morgan Stanley)
George Magliano NA NA NA 12.4
(IHS Automotive)
Jeff Schuster NA NA NA 13.0
(J.D. Power)
Jessica Caldwell 19% 11% 23% 12.9
(Edmunds.com)
Jesse Toprak 21% 8.5% 20% 13.1
(TrueCar.com)
Alan Baum NA NA NA 12.8
(Baum & Associates)
Seth Weber 21% 8% 24% 12.8
(RBC)
Average 19% 5.9% 20% 12.8
*T
--Editors: Bill Koenig, Jamie Butters

Source;
http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LS9L3G1A1I4H01-31KL3EA80KPOTH5QSRJ96RFGAM

Honda to bring diesel engined cars to India: Official Word Emerges!

Sure would be nice to see a Diesel from Honda come to North America....
Honda SIEL seems to be on a resurgence of sorts. First we had superb product repositioning strategies with the Honda City Sedan and Honda Jazz Hatchback seeing big price drops on account of what Honda would like us to believe, increased localization which has led to massive cost savings. Then came the superbly priced Honda Brio, which at a starting price of INR 3.95 Lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi has all the trappings of being a best seller. Now, Honda has just come out with the most important of announcements yet, of that of Honda bringing in diesel engines for its Indian line up.

While this isn’t exactly something we hadn’t reported earlier, Honda SIEL officials openly speaking about diesel engines for Honda cars in India only means that Brand Honda is going all out to ensure that it manages to stay relevant in the Indian market by adapting itself to the growing trend of diesel engined cars outselling petrol engined cars in India owing to high petrol prices and the big difference in pricing between petrol and diesel fuel. Currently, Honda sells six models in India, the Brio, the Jazz, the City, the Civic, the CR-V and the Accord.

Of these cars, European variants of the Civic, CR-V and Accord already feature powerful and frugal common rail, turbo diesel engines. So, only three of Honda’s six cars in India actually need brand new diesel engines developed from scratch. For the record, Honda has already begun development of diesel engines on a war footing with engineers from Honda’s former F1 program actually being involved in this high stakes project. Hence, it is just a matter of time before Honda comes up with small capacity diesel engines for its Indian bread-and-butter product line up, although the firm remains tight lipped about when exactly the new small capacity diesel engines will be available.

Meanwhile, here’s official word emerging about Honda’s diesel engined car model plans for the Indian market, from Mr Jnaneswar Sen, Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) HSCI.

The Research and Development team in Japan is developing diesel engines. It is premature to say that the products will be rolled out on diesel (platform).

Source;
http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/cars/honda-bring-diesel-engined-cars-india-official-word-emerges-49690/

Honda's Asimo Can Now Copy Your Dance Moves

POSTED BY: Erico Guizzo / Fri, September 30, 2011
ASIMO, the Honda humanoid, one of the world's most loved robots, was showing off its dance moves this week at the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in San Francisco.

The robot was here to demonstrate some new tricks it's been learning from scientists at the Honda Research Institute in Mountain View, Calif.

Victor Ng-Thow-Hing, Behzad Dariush, and colleagues work with Asimo seeking to develop robotics technologies that can assist people, especially in terms of mobility.

In one demonstration, the scientists showed how Asimo can mimic a person's movements in real time. The researchers use Microsoft's Kinect 3D sensor to track selected points on a person's upper body, and their software uses an inverse kinematics approach to generate control commands to make Asimo move. The software prevents self collisions and excessive joint motions that might damage its system and is integrated with Asimo's whole-body controller in order to maintain balance. The researchers say that the ability of mimicking a person in real time could find applications in robot programming and interactive teleoperation, among other things.

In another demo, the scientists showed how they're using gestures to improve Asimo's communication skills. They're developing a gesture-generating system that takes any input text and analyzes its grammatical structure, timing, and choice of word phrases to automatically generate movements for the robot. To make the behavior more realistic, the scientists used a vision system to capture humans performing various gestures, and then they incorporated these natural movements into their gesture-generating system.

Here's a video showing these two demos:

Source (via www.autoblog.com);
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/asimo-can-copy-your-dance-moves?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IeeeSpectrum+%28IEEE+Spectrum%29

Subaru Hybrid For 2014 To Echo Honda, GM Mild-Hybrid Approach

Beyond the obvious Toyota, if any other make were to build hybrid cars, you might expect it to be Subaru.

The small Japanese company's cars are revered for durability and standard all-wheel drive, and their drivers are often assumed to be on the liberal side of center.

Subaru owners tend to cluster in mountainous enclaves of progressive politics, and data show their owners skew more Democratic than almost any other brand.

Now, at last, Subaru's hybrid plans are coming clear.

First hybrid in 2013
The company will launch its first hybrid vehicle in Japan within two years. That car will be a model of the Subaru Legacy mid-size sedan, most likely for the 2014 model year.

But according to a Subaru of America executive who briefed GreenCarReports on condition of anonymity, while development of the hybrid-electric drive technology is largely done, the company is still debating which vehicle will debut the hybrid system for the U.S. market.

Candidates include the popular Forester compact crossover utility vehicle, the equally popular Outback mid-size crossover, and perhaps the Legacy sedan as well.

Subaru could choose to put the system in its lowest-mileage vehicles (the larger Legacy and Outback), or increase the mileage of a more fuel efficient vehicle (the Impreza sedan or hatchback) to give the company a gas-mileage champion halo car.

Already the new 2012 Subaru Impreza will get 36 mpg on the highway, a substantial improvement over the 2011 model that gives it the highest gas mileage of any all-wheel drive car.

Mild hybrid a la Honda
The Subaru hybrid system, previewed in the Subaru B5 TPH Concept of 2005 and, at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, in the Subaru Hybrid Tourer concept, is a mild hybrid system very similar to Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) setup.

The General Motors eAssist system is conceptually similar, although the electric motor replaces the alternator rather than sitting between engine and transmission.

In the latest Subaru concept, a 10-kilowatt (13-horsepower) electric motor is sandwiched between a turbocharged 2.0-liter flat-four engine and the company's Lineartronic continuously variable transmission (CVT).

A lithium-ion battery pack, derived from the one used in the now-discontinued Japanese-market Stella EV electric minicar, provides power to the motor, which also recharges the battery during regenerative braking.

But unlike full hybrid systems like those used by Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, and others, the hybrid system is not powerful enough to propel the car on electricity alone.

Instead, it restarts the engine when the car begins to move away from a stop, and it contributes torque to supplement engine power, reducing the load on the engine and hence the fuel it consumes.

Toyota tech? Not so much
Since 2005, when Toyota purchased the share of Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru's parent company) previously owned by General Motors, industry analysts had assumed that the small company would adopt Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive system--as Nissan did for its 2008-2011 Altima Hybrid, and Mazda plans to do.

But Subaru is a stubbornly independent company with a strong engineering culture. Aside from Porsche, it's the sole company offering horizontally opposed engines, which are smaller and give vehicles a lower center of gravity than inline engines.

Fitting Toyota's hybrid to a pancake engine might have posed its own challenges, but Subaru's engineers developed their hybrid system internally, along with the lithium-ion battery pack. And so the Subaru hybrid that will launch as a 2014 model will be a mild hybrid--a technology that Toyota doesn't offer.

The two companies are presently cooperating on a two-door sports coupe known as the FT-86. It will be sold as a Scion in the U.S., and the Subaru version--the brand's first rear-wheel drive car for the U.S. in almost 20 years--will be called the BRZ.

Source;
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1066695_subaru-hybrid-for-2014-to-echo-honda-gm-mild-hybrid-approach

Honda Jazz EV Concept electric car debuts

There was talk about this vehicle coming to north america instead of getting the Honda FIT hybrid, not sure whether or not that's still the plan....
While most other manufacturers participating in the 2011 Frankfurt International Motor Show, were busy trying to steal the show with their new models sporting glitzy designs and displaying promising concepts, Japanese auto giant Honda seemed to focus on the greener side of things by exhibiting various plug-in hybrid and electric-vehicle concepts, including the yet-to-be-named Jazz-based Honda EV concept.

The EV Concept will be powered by a lithium-ion battery and a high-density coaxial motor which is claimed to hit a top speed of 145 kph while helping to achieve an estimated driving range of 160 kilometres per charge. Aiding efficiency would be a 3-mode electric drive system lifted straight from the Honda CR-Z hybrid, which allows the driver to select between Econ, Normal and Sport modes thereby optimising the vehicle dynamics for optimal efficiency or best performance.

Another highlight of the EV concept is a connectivity system which allows the driver to monitor the vehicle’s state of charge, initiate charging and even turn on the air conditioning system using a personal computer, mobile phone or an interactive remote from Honda. Recharging the battery takes less than 6 hours when using a 240-volt outlet. Other features include a Honda Satellite-linked Navigation System with capability to locate public charging stations, LED headlamps and tail lamps, aerodynamic bumpers and eco-friendly bio-fabric on-seating surfaces.

In a land where even simple hybrids have turned out to be epic failures, a sophisticated EV stands no chance. But we do know that the EV concept will be a Jazz on batteries when it finally reaches production stage in no more than a year.

Source;
http://www.drivearabia.com/news/2011/09/29/honda-ev-concept-honda-jazz-electric-debuts/

2012 Honda CR-V ready to drive in November

By Hawke Fracassa of Torque News
Honda has invited the auto press in Detroit to road test the all-new 2012 Honda CR-V sport-utility vehicle on Nov. 10 at the Baronette Renaissance Novi Hotel. Reporters from TorqueNews.com and others will be given an exclusive briefing and an opportunity to drive the 2012 model.

The Honda CR-V has consistently been the top-selling SUV in America. More than 140,000 CR-Vs have been sold in 2011.

Now completely transformed and heading into its fourth generation, the 2012 Honda CR-V is moving toward a more sophisticated direction with refreshed styling, improved fuel economy, innovative technology and even greater value for the money, Honda believes.

Honda wants auto critics to see for themselves "how Honda has made the benchmark for packaging and user-friendly design in the small SUV segment even better."

Members of the 2012 CR-V R&D team and American Honda product planning executives will be at the briefing in the northwest Detroit suburb to explain the CR-V development story and provide insight into Honda's sales and marketing plans.

Driving begins for the first group of reporter drivers at 10 a.m. and the second wave will be on the streets of Novi near the hotel in Oakland County at 2:30 p.m. Reporters who go to the event will not be able to share their impressions with readers until Nov. 16 because of an embargo asked for by Honda.

The all-new 2012 CR-V will have a new look inside and out, a more fuel-efficient engine and will be lighter.

Honda's big sell is the CR'V's solid track record. From 2007-10 the CR-V was the best-selling SUV in America.

The current CR-V continues to sell at a record pace and quality of one of the reasons. The 2011 CR-V was among the highest-ranked vehicles in its segment for initial quality in J.D. Power & Associates' 2011 Initial Quality Study and has been sold globally in more than 160 countries in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

It is assembled in Ohio at the East Liberty Auto Plant of Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. The plant earned a Silver Award for outstanding quality in the quality study.

The 2012 model will be in showrooms by Christmas after making its official debut in November at the Los Angeles Auto Show. A concept model (pictured) made its world debut at the Orange County Internarional Auto Show in California.

Source;
http://www.torquenews.com/1063/restyled-2012-honda-cr-v-ready-drive-november

2012 Honda City (not for North America)

Honda is ready to bring out their new Honda City into India just in time for the festive season. The car with some additional features and marked changes to its interior and exterior is bound to rake up some enthusiasm among car enthusiasts. According to the latest video released, one can surmise that Honda City will have a lot of changes to talk about.

On the exterior one would notice a shining chrome grill as against the dull grey available in older models. Headlights are the same but tail lights are brand new. New alloy wheels are also added to the new Honda City.

2012 Honda City interior is well designed and as per details revealed in the video we could make out a blue white backlit unit with an ECO meter. Its higher end model would sport a sunroof while the C Class would have a CD player. Prices are not yet revealed but there should not be any major price hikes at least for the lower end models. Since the top end variant has some exciting features it would only be fair to expect some price revisions in that category.

Source;
http://www.rushlane.com/2012-honda-city-photos-and-video-1221068.html

2012 Honda CRV Caught Testing in Europe

We've already brought pictures of prototypes, the concept version and more importantly, the official design patents of the upcoming 2012 Honda CR-V, but our persistent spy photographers just caught up with another test model of the compact SUV in Europe.

While it's only a matter of weeks before we see the final production model in North America as it is due to be revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show before hitting showroom floors by the end of the year, European consumers will have to wait another year for the new CR-V to arrive in dealerships.

The European-flavored 2012 CR-V will feature the same styling as the North American version but will be offered with a larger variety of four-cylinder engines including an all-important turbo diesel.

Source;
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/09/spied-honda-continues-testing-european.html

2012 Honda CR-V Concept Makes World Debut

Concept version of upcoming production model reveals dynamic, new look
09/22/2011 - ANAHEIM, Calif.
The 2012 Honda CR-V Concept made its public debut at the Orange County International Auto Show in Anaheim, Calif., today, and introduced the styling direction for the all-new, fourth-generation CR-V. The 2012 CR-V is set to go on sale in the United States by the end of the year and will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

"The 2012 CR-V Concept strongly hints at the more dynamic and refined look of the upcoming model," said John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda. "As the best-selling SUV in each of the past four years, the 2012 CR-V promises to build on its highly successful formula with even more style, innovative features and higher fuel economy."

The CR-V Concept embraces a distinctive and bold styling direction for the top-selling1 SUV in the United States. Compared to the current-generation CR-V, the concept model takes on a more aggressive stance with deeper sculpting of the body lines and a bolder front fascia. The front bumper's smooth-flowing lines are highlighted by a horizontal three-bar grille and deeply set multi-reflector headlights. The lower front bumper wraps smartly upward to convey SUV capability with a generous approach angle, while the lower front bumper design now integrates more smoothly with the fascia for improved aerodynamics.

The CR-V's signature vertical rear taillights remain for 2012 with a more three-dimensional style that wraps further into the design of the vehicle. The CR-V Concept's large 5-spoke machined alloy wheels and bold fender flares emphasize the vehicle's dynamic presence and capability.

The all-new 2012 CR-V will improve upon the current model in a variety of ways, and will feature a more fuel-efficient engine and reduced body weight. In addition to all-new exterior styling, the 2012 CR-V will have an all-new interior with a more accommodating and spacious design.

Currently in the fifth year of its model cycle, the CR-V continues to sell at a record pace. The 2011 CR-V was among the highest-ranked vehicles in its segment for initial quality in J.D. Power & Associates' 2011 Initial Quality Study (IQS), where it finished second to the Honda Element in the compact SUV segment. The CR-V is sold globally in more than 160 countries throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. In the U.S., CR-V is manufactured in Ohio at the East Liberty Auto Plant of Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc., using domestic and globally sourced parts. The East Liberty Auto Plant earned a Silver Award for outstanding quality in the recently released J.D. Power 2011 Initial Quality Study. The 2012 CR-V Concept will be at the Orange County International Auto Show from September 22 to 25 in the Honda display.

Connect with Honda:
Honda Media Newsroom (for journalists): www.hondanews.com
Honda Future Vehicles (for consumers): automobiles.honda.com/future-cars
Honda on YouTube: www.youtube.com/honda
Honda on Flickr: www.flickr.com/hondanews
Honda on Twitter: www.twitter.com/honda

1The CR-V is the best-selling SUV in the United States by calendar year from 2007 thru 2010.

Source;
http://www.hondanews.com/channels/corporate-headlines/releases/2012-honda-cr-v-concept-makes-world-debut

Rumor: Acura RSX sedan to be based on Civic platform for 2014

Acura is in dire need of a revamp. As of recent, their cars haven’t exactly been something to write home about and I see this as one of their few chances to step their game back up. So to kick things off, word is that Acura has just confirmed that they will be building an RSX sedan for 2014.

Rumor has it that the small sedan will be based on the 2012 Honda Civic platform, but will be far from identical. Additionally, to separate it more from its lesser roots, the RSX sedan will be more of a “true luxury model” and will be slightly larger in size.

Once the RSX sedan comes about, that would make the brand have three front-wheel drive cars that are very similar to each other. As a result, the TSX may be dropped when the RSX comes around.

More concrete details should pop up as we get closer to 2014.
- By: Chris Chin

Source;
http://www.egmcartech.com/2011/09/22/2014-acura-rsx-to-be-based-on-civic-platform/