Archive for Honda

Future automobile products are planned a few years in advance and with the volatile world markets these days the job of a product engineering team as well as a product planner is getting harder and harder.

Autonews.com has a very interesting story they managed to squeeze out of Honda’s management at the 2009 Tokyo show centering around one of Honda’s most vital platforms – the Civic platform.

The Civic platform forms the basis of other vehicles like the Stream, the CR-V, and even other Hondas not found in our market such as the Honda Element. The interview revealed that Honda’s original intentions was for the next generation Honda Civic to be even larger and more plush than the current Civic, which has already grown to last decade Accord-ish proportions in terms of length and wheelbase.

The Civic hatchback platform differs from the sedan’s and is smaller.

But that plan has been scrapped. Honda engineers have instead been told to make the Civic smaller and lighter. It’s not 100% clear what this means – the Civic may not necessarily become smaller than the current generation. It could probably mean smaller and lighter than originally intended to be, which would hopefully put it around the same size as the current generation. Honda wants to try creating an increased perception of interior space but keep the exterior dimensions within control.

Another rumour that surfaced a few months ago was that Honda could be splitting the Civic into two lines like Toyota’s Corolla and Corolla Altis, a smaller one for Japanese tax regulations and a larger one for markets that like more metal for their money.

Stream is based on the Civic platform

But such a mid-way change has caused the project to be somewhat delayed. The current Civic has just been facelifted and a new one is supposed to arrive in 2011, a 5 year cycle after its introduction in 2006. But Honda is putting in more manpower to try to meet the target. If that doesn’t happen, the Civic could be delayed for a year or so. Honda president Takanobu Ito admitted the team was struggling.

This is not unprecedented, the previous generation Corolla Altis was also delayed and we still ended up with an all-new Altis that was pretty much a reskinned previous gen.

Other new upcoming Honda products include the implementation of the hybrid IMA system across more models. Right now it is only available in small to medium cars – the Insight, the Civic Hybrid, and pretty soon the CR-Z. A hybrid minivan is coming – this could mean a few things such as an USDM Odyssey Hybrid or even a Stream Hybrid. Not much else was revealed about which minivan model. There used to be an Accord Hybrid but that was scrapped due to discouraging sales. But larger hybrid vehicles like the Accord Hyrbid is going to make a comeback soon.

Honda revealed that a dual-motor IMA system is currently under development. The dual motor system will be configured in a way that it is able to function as an e-CVT in full electric mode, much like the series-parallel system in the Toyota Prius.

This means Honda will have a two-prong hybrid strategy – a motor assist parallel mode hybrid system for smaller cars and a full hybrid series-parallel system that can be used in larger cars. A series-parallel hybrid is of course more costly and complicated to implement thus more suitable for larger vehicles that are able to carry higher price tags.

For those who weren’t there live at the 2009 Tokyo Motorshow, you can still have a glimpse at what an international motorshow is like. Because of the high costs of travel, alot of us will probably only get to visit the KL motorshow or perhaps the ones up north in Thailand or down south in Singapore (which was really bad last year). Honda has recorded some videos of their HELLO! Zone exhibition launch, including their President’s opening speech.

The HELLO! (Honda Electric mobility Loop) Zone features electricity-based products, including products that supply electricity, vehicles that run on electricity and other electricity-related products.

Basically the HELLO! Zone covered the main stage of the Honda booth, but the rest of the area was filled with other models, like the Honda Freed.

On the overall, the entire motorshow was really downsized this year. There were only Japanese manufacturers and a handful of 3 to 4 overseas brands, but even then they weren’t big players. The organisers had to fill the spaces up with various other displays such as an awards showcase and a gallery of paintings.

It was much more massive two years ago, with the displays covering two different halls. The bikes, buses and trucks were in a separate hall which you had to walk a good distance to reach – and it was quite tiring when you have to lug around all the press kits and your heavy bag. This year, everything is in one hall and just over half a working day was enough to cover everything complete with photos.

Click here to read the rest of Honda’s HELLO! Zone at the Tokyo Motorshow

The Honda CR-Z Concept you see here is very, very near to production. In fact, the production car probably already exists somewhere in Honda R&D, since it’s supposed to go into production in February 2010. That’s just a few months away. Honda has been talking about this car for a few years now, and a design concept study was already shown at the motorshow back in 2007.

Since then it has evolved and the result is this concept, with even a proper close-to-production interior. I don’t particularly like its gaping mouthed looks (another manufacturer to go Audi-ized?) but things start to get better towards the rear. I hope they don’t settle on this front end for its next generation of cars – that would ruin the next generation Civic.

Under the hood is a 1.5 liter version of Honda’s IMA system (currently available as a 1.3 liter in the Civic Hybrid and Insight), so we don’t really have any power output numbers yet. What’s interesting is that it will be paired to a 6-speed manual transmission. I can’t recall any other hybrid car with a manual. The motor assist will probably kick in according to road incline, etc as well as a data feed from the throttle position sensor.

Look after the jump for live photos and live videos of the CR-Z.

Click here to read the rest of Tokyo 2009 Live: Honda CR-Z Concept Hybrid

The Twin Ring Motegi is a racetrack in Motegi, Japan built by Honda to bring the IndyCar Series to Japan. So naturally you’d find a number of Honda-centric features at the track, such as the Honda Collection Hall.

Way before the Ridgeline, Honda already made trucks. Not a common thing in the present though.

The Honda Collection Hall features historic racing cars, production cars and motorcycles, mostly Hondas but not necessarily. There are a total of approximately 350 completely restored items in the hall.

The main display of the ground floor lobby

It is divided into three floors including the ground floor. At the ground floor there is not much – a few special key exhibits, a cafe, shop and reading room.

The Honda N360 is likely the design inspiration for the new EV-N

Go up one floor and you get to see the production stuff. There are bikes, cars and even power products, since Honda also makes generators and etc. Finally on the top floor, there are exhibits of racing cars and racing motorcycles.

There are even “modern classics”, such as the Honda NSX

At the facility itself there is a restoration room where the restoration is done. You can even watch the restoration process through a window if there is one that happens to be going on during the time that you are visiting the hall.

Look after the jump for a total of over 100 photos I snapped of the displays.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi

With the Honda FR-V (also called the Edix) now gone, many are calling this new Skydeck concept a preview of what could end up being the next generation 6-seater Honda. But in reality while it seats 6, the seating positions are quite different from the Edix.

The Edix was Honda’s take on the Fiat Multipla’s seating configuration – it sat three people each in two rows.

This new Honda Skydeck Concept sits 6, but in three rows of 2 individual seats each. This makes it look more like a Japanese Mercedes-Benz R-Class instead. The seats are quite interesting – it uses a mesh construction for the backrest, much like the ergonomic office chairs that you see on sale very often these days.

The Skydeck’s interior is actually quite bare and devoid of any details, with the dashboard instead just being paneled mostly with a light wood grain. The rest of the cabin also carries a minimalist theme.

I managed to snap up-close shots of the interior. The above knob shows that Honda might be up to a new iDrive-like interface for its cars. What we can see here is a knob flanked by three buttons saying Back, Audio/Navi and Menu. It might just be a funky position for a main audio system control knob though.

Look after the jump for the gallery of Skydeck photos I snapped.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Skydeck: live from Tokyo Motorshow 2009

MUGEN Euro has confirmed that it will roll out 20 Honda Civic Type Rs prepped by the tuner. Each will be powered by a 2.0 liter i-VTEC engine capable or producing 240 PS (Civic Type R sedan sold in Malaysia is capable of 225 PS). Major Improvements made to the powerplant include new camshafts, a modified intake system, a custom stainless steel exhaust system as well as a bespoke Mugen map for the ECU.

MUGEN also worked its magic on the handling by improving the suspension set-up with custom-made springs and dampers. The Type R Mugen also comes with a limited slip differential. Stopping power has been improved with bespoke four-piston mono-block racing brake calipers. There are also high-density, lightweight forged alloy wheels.

Exterior wise the Civic Type R MUGEN is treated to a large rear wing, new front and rear skirts, a new grille wearing the MUGEN emblem and a Championship White body finish. The colour is Honda’s the traditional racing colour that was first seen on the brand’s 1964 Formula 1 car. Buyers can also opt for a Track Pack that is made up by Recaro front seats, water and oil temperature/pressure gauges, data recording equipment and track-ready road-legal tires. However the package will take away the rear seat bench to help reduce weight.

The Honda Civic Type R MUGEN will cost £38,599 and each of the Type Rs will be built to the buyer’s exact specification. In fact, the ECU mapping can be adjusted to suit specific customer tastes or driving style.

Contrary to what other industry leaders are saying regarding the world economic situation, the worst is not over yet. That is the opinion of Takanobu Ito, the new President and CEO of Honda Motor Co, shared with the Malaysian media during an interview earlier today at the 2009 Tokyo Motorshow. It was quite an interesting interview as he had just taken over Takeo Fukui who has been the big boss for 6 years.

According to Ito-san, so far the situation has subsided enough to the point that financial institutions can begin getting back onto their feet again and start issuing credit, but this optimism does not follow through down to the grassroots where the actual customers are.

Ito says Honda is in the business of selling cars and when you look at actual customers, the economy is not yet at a point where customers have regained their appetites for making purchases. This is because they do not feel secure or rather are not confident enough that they have the disposable income to make a big purchase like a car, yet. This applies not only with the US market but to other markets such as Europe as well.

But Ito expects certain markets to continue to show growth such as the Asian market and that includes us in the ASEAN region. For now, Ito’s biggest challenge is to ensure that Honda continues to remain relevant in the global automotive scene. Ito is from an engineering background, specializing in chassis design. He was the Large Project Leader (LPL) for the Honda NSX.

Ito says Honda has to continue to develop enticing products and new technology to keep the Honda brand in people’s minds. In fact, it has to be so to keep people interested in cars altogether – apparently in Japan the young Japanese are starting to lose interest in cars thanks to their extremely efficient and usable public transportation system.A select but alarmingly growing few feel cars are no cool to own – they prefer the latest handphones or gadgets.

But new products are just one part of the picture. Ito has to revamp the company’s very financial foundation to ensure that even in times of reduces sales volume, the company can still make a bit of profit – not just breaking even or dipping down into the red.

Ito stressed that this has to be done as soon as possible, and it has to be done without compromising things like its Fundamental Technology Research Centre (held under Honda R&D Co Ltd) which employs 700 people who work on random pieces of advanced technology such as the ASIMO robot, the Honda Jet, and even things like nanotechnology and brain-machine interface systems. But of course as consumers I think we’d appreciate things like R&D to develop a 7-speed automatic that can be equipped at the cost of a 4-speed!

The first thing that was chopped is their F1 program (which has since evolved into the successful Brawn GP) and Ito regrets that the move was inevitable. Encouraging its engineers to have out-of-the-box thinking and develop breakthrough ideas are more important than racing a really fast single seater around racetracks.

Honda’s Tokyo 2009 exhibits also included a mix of alternative fuel vehicles. We have the hybrids of course and the Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell car which has started to become familiar to us, but Honda also exhibited a few new zero emissions electric (battery-powered) products such as the Honda EV-N Concept, a retro-styled compact city car that looks like a tribute to the Honda N360.

Does this mean Honda has shifted its focus to EVs instead of FCVs? Ito says no – Honda’s product strategy does not assume the fact that EV is the set way of future automobile propulsion. Ito says EVs are not the solution to everything, and will remain far from so in the future if battery technology does not improve.

In fact, these alternative fuel vehicles are currently so costly that they may really never make their way full-scale in poorer third world countries such as most of the ASEAN region, with the exception of perhaps Singapore. A cheaper way to make a difference would be to make more fuel efficient engines and reduce vehicle weight so that power to weight ratio improves, and when power needs reduce, fuel consumption will reduce.

Finally we asked Ito-san: What kind of company is Honda right now? With it quitting F1 and scrapping its new NSX program, the company seems to be distant from its past identity that consisted of cars such as the Honda NSX, the Honda Integra, and etc. With the cancellation of the NSX, Honda is pretty much left without a flagship model, and I think the closest that Honda has to something like a flagship now is the FCX Clarity which is a very large fuel cell hatchback. Yes, see what I mean?

Having been heavily involved in the old NSX, Ito says he of course would be very happy to have another car like the NSX like the flagship but Honda has to find a way to do it while remaining relevant to current environmental and economic issues first.

But if he were to dream up what a new Honda flagship would be like – it would be much like the old NSX with a very lightweight body, but powered by powerful motors fed energy by hydrogen fuel cells instead of the NSX’s petrol-powered VTEC V6. But that’s not going to happen for the moment – it looks like funds are being used quite conservatively. Honda expects to post a US$111 million operating loss for its first half earnings this fiscal year, which is already better than expected as the effect of the weak dollar versus strong yen (91 yen to a dollar) was cushioned by the China market which is doing well, as well as sales in Japan.

Honda has confirmed that the production version of the CR-Z will be introduced in February 2010. Japan will receive the CR-Z first followed by the North American and European markets. The production version will also be shown at next year’s Detroit Motor Show in the United States.

The CR-Z Concept 2009 features a 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine that is part of the auto maker’s IMA hybrid system. The system also includes a 6-speed manual transmission which is the world’s first for a hybrid vehicle. Since the 2009 version of the concept looks very much production ready, expect only minor changes for the actual production model.

Click here to read the rest of Production version of the Honda CR-Z hybrid to be released in February 2010

The Honda Civic is now available in Tafetta White, making it the third model in the Honda Malaysia line-up to offer the new colour. Both the 1.8 liter and 2.0 liter models will get the new colour. Tafetta White Civics are expected to be quite high in demand, accounting for 30% of projected 600 units sales per month.

“After conducting research and analyzing customer feedback, coupled with the positive response from the introduction of the colour for Honda Accord and Honda CR-V, we decided to incorporate the Taffeta White in the Honda Civic 1.8L and 2.0L as well,” said Honda Malaysia’s new CEO Toru Takahashi.

Mr Takahashi also revealed that the two CBU Civic models – the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Honda Civic Type R – have surpassed over 200 units each in Malaysia. The Type R is currently sold out for the moment and it’s not known when the next batch will come in. The last unit was sold by Honda Global Amity in Seri Kembangan.

An all-new fourth generation Honda StepWGN was launched in Japan last week. You can expect probably expect some units to arrive in Malaysia early next year as there is an “active” importer for the StepWGN – USF-Hicom Sdn Bhd which brings in a few Honda MPVs that Honda Malaysia does not bring in. The third generation went for RM180,000 for the 2.0 liter model when it was first announced by USF.

The new Honda StepWGN is like its predecessors, a tall and boxy MPV. These bodyshapes are pretty much acquired tastes compared to sleeker-looking people movers but there are definitely advantages to the simple box – it serves its function well. A big box allows for a straight-ish and tall roofline means consistently good headroom which enhances passenger comfort. The new StepWGN seats a total of 8 in its 3 rows.

With the new model, the StepWGN grows in length (4,690mm) and height (1,815mm) but the width and wheelbase of 2,855mm remains the same, leading me to believe this is a reengineering of the third generation’s platform, which was launched in 2005.

The cabin height is a pretty tall 1,395mm thanks to its high roof and low floor packaging, and the cabin feels very airy thanks to the larger windows and the massive 1,400mm by 840mm skyroof.

Under the hood is the sole engine option of a 2.0 liter R20A SOHC i-VTEC engine mated to either a CVT for front wheel drive or a 5-speed auto for all-wheel drive options. This is the same engine that you can find in the Honda CR-V in Malaysia. The R20A puts out 150 PS and 193Nm of torque, which should be just about enough for a full load though you won’t be making swift progress on the roads. There used to be a 2.4 liter model with the 3rd gen but that is no longer available.

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Honda StepWGN launched in Japan