Hybrid News

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Hybrid, MPG, Honda, Green Daily, Japan

We got our first look at Honda’s Ecological Drive Assist System in LA last week. Now, Honda has released images of the Japanese Insight’s EDAS which shows us the color-changing speedometer background that is used in the system’s guidance function. If the color behind the number is green, you’re driving efficiently. Get a little sloppy, and a bit of blue appears. When you’re driving in the least economical fashion, the whole screen turns blue. While this should be easy to understand on the road, if sure messes up that “blue is the new green” thing the Europeans are doing.

The Japan version of the Insight will also be able to integrate with the optional Honda HDD InterNavi System. When combined with this system, the EDAS can give more advice on how to enhance fuel economy while driving, specifically by looking through a driver’s history and suggesting driver-specific changes. Look for the new Insight with EDAS in the spring of 2009.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading More details on Honda’s color-changing Ecological Drive Assist System

More details on Honda’s color-changing Ecological Drive Assist System originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Hybrid, Honda, LA Auto Show

Honda joins Ford in the green dash race with its latest piece of clever technology, the Eco Assist dashboard, which the automaker has revealed here in LA and will come with the 2009 Insight hybrid. There’s an ECON button on the dash that increases fuel efficiency by changing settings on the CVT transmission and air conditioning unit and by increasing regenerative braking capabilities and a more aggressive anti-idling algorithm.

The Insight’s new dash will also change colors between shades of green and blue to tell the driver how they’re driving. There is also an an “economy scoring function” that keeps track of the way the car is driven and gives eco-scores to the pilot. Ford has taken a similar approach with its new Fusion hybrid, which will be equipped with an LCD gauge cluster called SmartGauge[TM] with EcoGuide.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading LA 2008: Honda shows off Insight’s Eco Assist dashboard

LA 2008: Honda shows off Insight’s Eco Assist dashboard originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Hydrogen, Honda, LA Auto Show

digg_url =
‘http://digg.com/autos/A_Honda_surprise_FC_Sport_is_beautiful_hydrogen_powered’;
In an age when there are fewer and fewer surprises at auto shows as embargoes get broken and information leaks out early, Honda pulled off a big surprise at the LA Auto Show this morning. After showing the year old CR-Z concept and the Insight hybrid concept that debuted at the Paris show, product planning manager Dan Bonawitz unveiled a brand new concept. The FC Sport was created to show off the packaging flexibility that is possible with hydrogen fuel cells. Using the V-Flow fuel cell stack and electric drivetrain from the FCX Clarity, the FC Sport is a three-seat sports car. The stack and drive system are moved to the back of the car for a mid-ship arrangement. The seating arrangement is similar to that of the McLaren F1 supercar of the ’90s with the driver front and center and the two passengers set back on either side. For now the car is strictly a non-functional styling concept but such concepts from Honda don’t usually stay that way for long.

[Source: Honda]
Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid and Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading LA 2008: Honda pulls a surprise with FC Sport concept

LA 2008: Honda pulls a surprise with FC Sport concept originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Honda, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, In The AutoblogGreen Garage

One of the big success stories in Honda’s lineup recently has been its smallest car (in the U.S. market at least) the Fit. Since its U.S. debut two years ago, Honda has been moving Fits out the door as fast they can build them. That pace really accelerated in 2008 as gas prices topped $4 per gallon during the spring and summer and most of the popular hybrid models were sold out. With October being the most dismal sales month in memory for virtually every automaker, even Honda saw its sales tank. The lone exception was the Fit.

As summer ended and the kids went back to school, the all-new second generation Fit began to arrive in U.S. showrooms just in time for the implosion on Wall Street. Nonetheless, so far the new Fit has done well in the market despite the increasing difficulty for customers to get car loans. In an absolutely miserable October, the Fit was the only Honda brand vehicle to show a year-over-year sales gain with a 28 percent jump compared to 2007. When we first drove the new Fit back in August, we came away very impressed with its fun to drive qualities. Now it’s time to find out what it’s like to live with on a day-to-day basis. The answer lies after the jump.

Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2009 Honda Fit Sport 5AT

In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2009 Honda Fit Sport 5AT originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

An Insightful future

New CAFE regulations are going to be a “game changer” for the auto industry according to Honda. Unfortunately, for consumers, that is almost certainly going to mean more expensive vehicles reports Green Car Congress.

While Honda believes fuel cells are still the future, the automaker acknowledges that fuel cells are more than a decade away from even small mass production numbers. In the interim, Honda is following electrification, but the automaker believes the battery technology for electrification is still too early to call winners. Thus, in the immediate short term, Honda “will focus on more compact and affordable hybrid technology applied to smaller vehicles.”

Hopefully, US automakers don’t let Honda and Japan dominate the market for small hybrid cars much the same they did small vehicles in decades past.

Original post by Dahcredyns

Filed under: Solar, Honda

Honda’s Soltec subsidiary has been selling smaller scale photo-voltaic panels for residential use for the past year. Honda Soltec has just expanded its capacity to build larger panels more suitable for large scale installations like factories and public buildings. As of this week, the large scale solar systems are available for sale from Honda. The company has been testing these systems for some time with a variety of installations ranging from the solar-powered hydrogen generating station at the Honda R&D campus in Torrance, CA to a car-carrying ship operated by ACT Maritime Co. Honda′s press release is after the jump.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading Honda Soltec PV panels now available for public/industrial applications

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Honda

While other manufacturers, notably Ford and General Motors, have been canceling programs to develop new V8 engines, Honda may be yet again be hearing the beat of a different drummer. Automotive News is reporting that Honda’s Takeo Fukui has confirmed that the next-generation Acura RL will be powered by the company’s first production V8 engine. Even in with high fuel prices, Acura and its dealers apparently feel that that a V8 is necessary to compete with other German and Japanese luxury brands. Acura sales are down over 15 percent in 2008 and the current RL with a 3.7L V6 has never been a strong seller despite having competitive performance. It is believed that the image a V8 projects is necessary to compete in this segment. In all likelihood, if Honda has produce a V8, they will do something different with it that will set it apart and provide better fuel efficiency. Perhaps Honda will do a small displacement V8 (3.0-3.5L) with its IMA hybrid system.

Nonetheless, General Motors canceled plans earlier this year to produce a new Ultra V8 for Cadillac to replace the current aging NorthStar. Cadillac general manager Jim Taylor explained the reason as falling demand for V8s with increased sales of six cylinder engines. It will be interesting to see if Honda has made a mistake here.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req’d]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Honda predicted gas-guzzler fade?

While calling loans to US automakers the right thing for the US government to do, Honda CEO Takeo Fukui blamed US automakers for many of their problems saying, “Their response (to fuel economy) was too slow,” according to the DetroitNews.

Fukui also indicated that even though the large truck and SUV market was highly profitable at one time, Honda didn’t invest much in that segment because the company didn’t believe gas-guzzling was sustainably profitable.

Ironically, when Honda was making this decision, the Big 3 were, collectively, betting the farm on gas-guzzlers, even after events like 9/11.

Yet, even today, it is very distressing how little effort the Big 3 are putting into hybrid cars to challenge the Toyota Prius and the soon-to-be-released Honda Insight. Do hybrid cars not make sense to Detroit the same way that large SUVs and trucks made so much sense just a few years ago?

Original post by Dahcredyns

Filed under: Hybrid, Honda

Honda has launched a new mini-site - oh, excuse me, a mini-insight - that displays information about its hybrid vehicle lineup in all sorts of flashy goodness. Of course, the star of the show is the new Honda Insight, which was unveiled in Paris last week. On top of that, the dedicated site has information on the old Insight, the Accord hybrid, the Civic hybrid, the CR-Z and the Jazz hybrid, along with press releases from 2007 and 2008 about the latest models. To visit the site, go here and click on the “launch” button.

This is Honda’s second major online development that features the Insight. The first is the Insight blog, “a Honda blog that follows the journey of our latest hybrid.” Whether you prefer the chatty nature of the Honda blog or the more straightforward minisite, Honda wants you to know that their Prius-fighter has arrived online. We’ve noticed, but we’re really waiting for the car to show up in dealer lots.

[Source: Honda]

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, On Two Wheels

Honda is one of those companies with its hands in nearly everything. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you, as Honda always seems to be able to add something unique to the design of any given product, incrementally improving it along the way. Big Red’s next pet-project may well be hybrid motorcycles. Anybody following these pages is well aware that Honda helped kick off the whole hybrid car thing with its Insight two-seater, and the brand is set to reintroduce that nameplate as an aerodynamic and inexpensive people-mover.

Reports now indicate that Honda believes it can inject some of that hybrid technology to its motorcycles. This wouldn′t be the first time that Honda infused its bikes with automotive DNA, as the the manufacturer once used an automatic transmission for some of its two-wheelers with technology straight from its then-new Civic. Will Honda do it again? Fuel mileage could truly be astronomical with a machine like this, so we look forward to finding out if these early rumors are accurate. Thanks for the tip, yash!

[Source: The Earth Times]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Honda, Natural Gas, Green Daily, USA

We′re suckers for a good conspiracy theory, and we′ve stumbled upon one involving getting our nations off imported oil. Perfect! After reading through it, though, we’re a little less enthusiastic. The whole thing centers around the Honda Civic GX, which is powered by natural gas as opposed to liquid petroleum. Sure, it’s still coming from the ground, but it burns cleaner in an internal combustion engine and there is lots of it around these parts. So, is the Civic GX the perfect car to wean ourselves on? Maybe not. While the gas is available almost anywhere right in your home, the car takes a very long time to fill with the home-based Phill device and it’s pretty pricey. So, you′d better have a CNG filling station nearby.

Here’s a possible scenario. Honda builds about 1,000 Civic GXs a year and supply is short. Those are sold in California and New York only - states with strict environmental standards. Spokane Community College, which is in Washington State (not California or New York), wants to buy a fleet of GXs, as they have lots of CNG there, but the order is denied. Conspiracy! Or not. Maybe it costs Honda a bit more to make these than normal Civics. Maybe there really aren’t enough of them to go around. We hope the cars become more widely available, but for now they aren’t. Phill was just sold to Clean Energy Fuels, which could make them more prominent, but kills the idea that Honda is only interested in limiting its use. Feel free to read the whole thing here.

[Source: The Auto Channel / Edwin Black]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Etc., Chevrolet, GM, Honda, Toyota

Bloggers love environmentally friendly cars. Or so it seems, according to research performed by J.D. Power and Associates. The most commonly referenced brands in blog posts over the last six months are Toyota, Honda and General Motors. This shouldn’t come as shocking news, considering that the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Chevy Volt are all hot topics right now and are all expected to be thoroughly redesigned or first introduced within the next few years. Naturally, then, these are the brands that are getting the most publicity and are likely the ones that you are most interested in hearing about.

Not all of the blog posts were positive, though, and JDP therefore kept separate numbers for each manufacturer counting how many good things were written about their sustainability and efforts to reduce global warming. The surprising winner of that group was Nissan, though that brand only got two percent of all mentions overall. We blog, they watch, we blog. Fun!

[Source: The Car Connection]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Honda, On Two Wheels, Japan

“Make hay while the sun shines ‘cuz we’re on our way and we’re bringing some serious rain,” is the message Honda and Yamaha are sending to the new electric motorcycle companies that have been springing up like daisies. Only one of the two long-established Japanese brands has shown off battery-powered concepts in the recent past and neither has offered any for sale to the public. This has allowed new start-ups like Vectrix to begin establishing a strong presence. No more. Well, in a year or two, no more. Maybe.

Honda and Yamaha have reportedly both set launch dates for electric motorcycles. YaMoCo is looking at 2010 to offer a bike with 50cc-like performance with a 100km (62 mile) range. Not too impressive, but it’s a start. HoMoCo Honda, for their part, is targeting a model for a 2011 launch that is suited for the Japanese postal service who are said to be moving their 90,000-strong bike fleet to electric power. Lithium ion seems to be their battery chemistry of choice for the Japanese firms. While not seemingly overwhelming in the performance department, we suspect the two may be able to offer their wares at very competitive prices.

[Source: Reuters]

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Original post by Domenick Yoney

Filed under: Honda, Natural Gas

Since Honda started offering a natural gas-powered version of the Civic (the GX) several years ago they have also offered buyers a device called the Phill. Phill is a home natural gas compressor that hooks up to the household gas supply and fuels the car. The device is built by a Honda-owned company called FuelMaker Corp in Toronto. Honda has now sold FuelMaker to Clean Energy Fuels Corp. for $17 million. Clean Energy already sells compressed and liquefied natural gas for transportation fleets in North America and wants to use the Phill technology to expand the market for natural gas vehicles in North America and worldwide. In particular, the company sees an international market for the Phill in places like Europe and India where natural gas is more popular as a vehicle fuel.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req’d]

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Original post by Sam Abuelsamid

Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, UK, Paris Motor Show

The big news coming from Honda for the Paris Motor Show is the introduction of the Insight hybrid concept. We are glad that previous reports that the name would be changed were incorrect. For the rest of their booth, Honda has other things to show off as well, and we’ve pasted the official press release after the break. The next big debut is the Euro-market Honda Jazz, which is known in most of the rest of the world as the Fit. We tested the U.S. Sport version and you can read all about that here. Although everybody knows what the Jazz looks like, Honda will be trotting out the entire line, which includes 1.2, 1.4 and 1.4 i-SHIFT Automated Manual Transmission models.

Along with the Insight and Jazz, Honda will show off its newly-updated Civic hybrid for the first time. Drivers who want an automatic with their 2.2-liter diesel engine will get that option for the first time ever. Lastly, Honda will bring along its latest FCX Clarity and the CR-Z concept that we’ve all seen a million times already. Anything we left out? No? All righty then, there you have it.

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading Honda reveals its plans for Paris

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski