Honda will recall about 344,000 Odysseys and 68,000 Elements in the US from 2007 and 2008 model years to fix the “vehicle stability assist modulator” after receiving customer complaints about “brake pedals that feel ’soft’ or that gradually exhibit a pedal height that gets lower (closer to the floor) before the vehicle stops.”

The problem is due to some of the parts allowing air to get in, and it gets worse over time. A Honda spokesman told the Associated Press that if left unrepaired it could cause loss of braking power. He added that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reports of three crashes with minor injuries but no deaths.

The wife and daughter of US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were badly injured last week in a highway crash, when their Odyssey reportedly began braking in stop and go traffic and was rear ended by tractor trailer. However, the said Odyssey is a 2005 model, and probably did not suffer from the same problem stated for the recall.

On the issue, Honda Malaysia clarifies that the VSA related recall for the Odyssey DOES NOT concern units sold in Malaysia, saying that the affected models were manufactured in the US, which have different basic structures to those manufactured in Japan, where our Odysseys come from. Basically, the US Odyssey and JDM model are different cars using the same name.

Full press statement by Honda Malaysia is available after the jump.

Odyssey sold in Malaysia not affected by recent recall in overseas

The Company further added that there was no report of direct incident caused by the possible product defect.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

The Honda CR-V facelift is now here in Malaysia, with a new price tag of RM149,980, a premium of slightly over RM2k when you compared it to the outgoing pre-facelift model. However in return for the RM2k the equipment list has had some very important safety additions in my opinion. Here’s what’s new:

• VSA stability control has been added to the vehicle.
• There are now a total of 4 airbags, up from the previous 2. The additional 2 are the two Occupant Position Detection System side airbags.
• New engine hood, fog lamps, upper and lower front bumper, front grille and 17 inch alloy wheel design.
• Four reverse sensors instead of two previously.
• A new in-car entertainment unit featuring USB input – which is found neatly tucked in the upper glove box.
• New fabric design for the seats.
• New seat-mounted fold-down arm rest which is wider.
• LCD screen in the middle of the meter cluster now has blue backlighting.
• Sound insulators enlarged and new seals added in dashboard, hood, inner fender, fender enclosure, rear door lining, rear side lining, cargo lid and wing mirror garnish.
• Revised suspension geometry – front caster trail from 20mm to 15mm, rear double wishbone damper settings revised and rear compliance bush shape improved.

Five colours are available – Alabaster Silver, Polish Metal, Crystal Black, Taffeta White and a new colour called Urban Titanium. Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery of the new CR-V facelift.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

The Honda CR-Z has all the basics to look like a hot compact coupe, but seeing the production car for the first time in Geneva, I thought that it looked very tame. The hi-tech feel, driver centered dashboard gets our thumbs up, though. But there’s nothing a good tuner can’t fix, especially for a brand like Honda with top notch outfits like Mugen and Spoon in the wings.

The picture above is of a lowered, kitted and mildly modded CR-Z by Spoon. The more purposeful stance comes from a front coilover kit and rear spring/shock kit that lowers ride height by a substantial 50 mm. Other parts being tested are the N1 exhaust, ECU, and “twin-block” calliper and slit rotor brake upgrade. There’s also an attention grabbing set of Spoon CR93 alloys in blue. Working on the ECU and brakes will have to take into account that these are vital components in the CR-Z’s hybrid drivetrain, though.

And this is Mugen’s idea of how the CR-Z should look like. Full bodykit (lower front bumper reminds us of the Modulo kit for the Honda Accord), dramatic rear spoiler and diffuser, Mugen GP wheels in bronze and LEDs on the front grille are added. The suspension, exhaust system and air filter have been uprated too, while the cabin gets a unique gear knob, extra gauges and floor mats with logos.

View live images from Geneva of the CR-Z and Spoon/Mugen versions after the jump.

Source

Honda CR-Z live images from Geneva

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

This is Honda’s only all-new Geneva Concept – the 3R-C which seems to be some kind of three wheeler motorcycle kinda thing that seats only one person. Honda’s concepts seem to be either very close to production or really far off, and this one is of the far off category. It’s their idea of what a future minimal urban transport vehicle for a single person might look like. It does not have a roof so you’ll still get wet in the rain but once the vehicle is parked, the ‘windscreen’ that protects you while you are on the move will fold down and become a cover for the driver’s seat. The two other cars that are Honda’s highlights at its Geneva stand are the production CR-Z and the EV-N that was previously shown in Tokyo 2009. Look after the jump for 4 pix and a video of the 3R-C.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Prices for a few Honda Malaysia models (Peninsular Malaysia) have gone up as of today. The increase is RM500 for the City and RM1,000 for the Civic and Accord, except for the 3.5 V6 and the latest 2.0 VTi-L model which keeps its launch pricing. The Civic Hybrid also remains at its RM129,980 price, as with the Civic 1.8S.

Here are the new prices for the affected models:

UPDATE: Sorry, I’ve made an error – the Civic 1.8S keeps to its old price.

Look at this page for the latest Honda pricelist.

Related Posts:
8th generation Honda Accord launched in Malaysia
New Honda Accord 2.0 VTi-L variant launched!

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

I knew this MPV was coming to Malaysia the moment Honda announced that it would be building it in Honda Prospect Motor Indonesia. And Honda has just announced that the Freed is 100% coming to Malaysia, set for a launch in Q2 this year to be exact. It will come in as a CBU import from Indonesia.

“Since its official launch in Japan in 2008, Freed has been well received in the Asia region including Indonesia and Thailand. It later garnered great anticipation in Malaysia in 2009. Therefore, we are excited to inform all that Honda Malaysia will be bringing in the Freed onto Malaysian shores in the second quarter of this year,” said Mr. Toru Takahashi, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia.  

The Honda Freed is the latest and probably the longest wheelbase addition to the Global Small Platform which underpins cars such as the Honda Jazz. There are various seating configurations – a 5-seater 2-3 config as well as triple row configs such as 2-3-3, 2-2-3 with individual 2nd row seats, and 2-2-2 with individual seats for everyone. We’ll have to wait until the launch to find out what kind of seat configuration we’ll get.

The Freed is a B-segment MPV positioned below the Honda Stream but it has some unique features that most of its B-segment competitors do not have, such as automatic sliding doors on BOTH sides. The Freed also has a walkthrough cabin, which means the floor is flat from the front to the rear and you can walk from the front row to the rear row (hunched down of course) without having to exit the vehicle. Honda claims that the flat floor and high roof allows you to carry a 27 inch bicycle without taking off wheels or handle bars. Look after the jump for some Japanese market pix of the Freed.

Related Posts:
New Honda Freed MPV with up to 8 seats
Honda Freed Indonesia production for South East Asia
Honda Freed styling study at Tokyo Auto Expo 2010

VIDEO: Honda Freed MPV

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Here’s the problem, and it’s a long story indeed. Some of the inflator propellant (the gas used to inflate the airbag) located inside the inflator of the driver’s SRS airbag was defective. As a result, when the driver’s airbag is deployed in the event of an accident, there is a possibility that an abrupt increase in the inflator’s internal pressure may rupture the casing of the inflator and cause fragments of airbag parts to scatter possibly causing injury to vehicle occupants.

Honda has identified the cause of the problem to be excessive moisture intake by the inflator propellant within the inflator. This was back in 2008 and Honda has already issued a recall for over 4,000 units in US and Canada. However further analysis revealed that there were additional incidents involving vehicles outside of the range of the original recall. Thus Honda issued a second recall on the 29th of July 2009. Units affected in the second recall are just over half a million units, including 1,532 units in Japan and over 15,000 other cars outside Japan, US and Canada.

But that’s not all – it was later identified that there is a possibility that the defect occurs when the stamping pressure during the production of the inflator propellant is not high enough. Honda concluded that adequate stamping pressure management was not performed for production of the inflator propellant using a certain stamping machine was the cause of the problem. So Honda decided to expand the recall to include all vehicles using compressed inflator propellant produced with this particular equipment. This affects a further 437,763 units.

The models affected are the Accord, Civic, Acura TL, Cr-V, Odyssey, Pilot, JDM Honda Inspire, JDM Honda Saber, and JDM Honda Lagreat. Now, even though there are no Honda Malaysia cars affected, I am pretty sure there could be a few Honda Lagreat MPVs running around Malaysia, brought in by grey importers. These owners should take note.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Now comes Live Every Litre – even the name sounds quite alike to Drive Every Drop. It’s also a show, but the concept is completely different. With Live Every Litre, Honda will put real participants behind the wheel of a Honda CR-Z, and cameras mounted around the car will record the participants’ journey and/or challenges across Europe.

VIDEO: Live Every Litre ‘Trailer’

Participants can do whatever they want. Honda gave a few examples in their press release – “propose to their girlfriend in Paris, take their band to play a charity gig, trace their ancestry to find a long lost relative, drive on a road they’ve always dreamed off.” Reactions, emotions, and experiences will be captured by the cameras.

All the footage will then be edited into a documentary-like film by Swiss filmmaker Claudio Von Planta and his team.

If you want to participate, you can logon to Live Every Litre’s website. I think it’s only fair to assume that you have to actually be in Europe to enter. As of today, you have 43 days left to apply, and they will begin filming in May.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

As most of you should know if you’ve been keeping up with the news on this site, there has been a recall for the 1st generation Honda Jazz and the 2nd generation Honda City (based on the 1st gen Jazz) worldwide due to a issue where water could possibly enter the power window switch and potentially cause a fire.

Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd will be participating in the exercise, but they also reported that there are currently no reported incidents in Malaysia. There are currently 12,935 units of 2nd Generation City 2008 YM with 7,713 units of V-TEC and 5,222 units of i-DSI respectively. As for the Jazz, there are 3,090 units of 1.4-litre Japan made 2003 YM.

Honda Malaysia says that when the power window master switch is exposed to excessive amount of water (such as rainwater), especially when windows are left open for prolonged period of time, electrolyte materials from rainwater would sip into the power window switch unit. This would decrease the insulation resistance between the electric circuits, which could lead to current leaks. In severe cases, the switchboard would melt or burn. According to Honda Malaysia, there are a total of 3 burn cases reported so far, 2 in the US and 1 in South Africa.

“We will be writing to all our customers directly and inform them of the preemptive measures to address this situation. We are in the midst of preparing the replacement parts and we will then carry out the necessary inspection and replacement when the parts are ready. All charges incurred in the inspection and replacement work will be borne by the Company. We would like to assure our customers that all current selling models are not affected,” said Toru Takahashi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia.

For more information, please call Honda Toll Free number at 1-800-88-2020, or visit any authorised Honda dealer. Of course, this recall exercise should logically only apply for customers who bought their Jazz from Honda Malaysia. But being a popular JDM model, there are most likely be grey import units out there as well. These owners have to somehow do something about it as well.

Honda Malaysia says that they will assist owners of grey import cars without discrimination but they are unable to confirm at time of publishing whether any work on grey import customers cars regarding to this update will be subject to any charges or not.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Coming just after Toyota’s sticky accelerator pedal recall, Honda joins the fray with a recall for its Jazz. BBC reports Honda saying that a master switch defect could cause water to enter the power window switch. potentially causing a fire. A total of 646,000 cars will be called in globally to fix this switch defect. This includes Jazz/Fit models built in Japan, China, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia and India. The total figure also includes “27,000 City models in Asia”, the report added.

However, Honda Siel Cars India said that India will not be a part of the global vehicle recall. “There won’t be any impact on the recall in India because the Jazz that is being sold in India is a second generation vehicle, which is not a part of the global recall.” The official said the Jazz that is being recalled globally is the previous generation model.

So far, three cases of fires due to the defect have been reported – two in the US and one in South Africa. The latter, which happened in September last year, saw two-year-old Vanilla Nurse killed in Cape Town when the Jazz she was sleeping in caught fire.

No news yet from Honda Malaysia, but we will channel any official announcement as it comes our way.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Honda has always called itself a mobility company instead of a car company. They have a very wide range of products from cars, ATVs, marine engines, motorcycles, the Honda Jet, the ASIMO robot (this could lead to Honda robotic prosthetics?), and even funky new concept devices like the U3-X.

The car featured is the FN Civic, which is made in the UK. Enjoy!

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

With the retirement of the Honda S2000 recently, Honda was for a while left with no real niche sporty model. Just a bunch of sedans, wagons, MPVs and SUVs, which if not for a few exciting products such as the Type R seemed a little sterile for a company with its kind of heritage and brand image.

The Honda CR-Z, which pretty much looks like a two seater short wheelbase version of the Insight to me, could be considered Honda’s new niche model, especially since the new NSX has been cancelled. During the development of the CR-Z, Honda took a look at a few cars like the MINI, the Elise and the Scirocco, and it was the performance of the Elise that was the inspiration of the CR-Z development team during the development process.

The car definitely looks interesting and the focus seems to be on driving pleasure. The CR-Z had better be damn good in the handling department to make up for its rather anemic amount of horsepower! I’m really hoping that this new ‘CR-Z’ is in fact not the sole variant, and a high revving version could come later. Why not, since they’ve managed to mate a gasoline engine and electric motor with a manual transmission. The K20A could use the motor to help it with the low end torque that it lacks and the sheer high revving madness can take over later! Now that would be damn fun!

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Honda Malaysia and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have announced the opening of new applications for the Honda Dreams Fund (HDF) Scholarship programme. The submission window is from now till March 31.

For the past three years, HDF has sent 60 young people towards achieving their dreams by providing tertiary education, which they would not have been able to afford. For 2010, 20 more students will benefit from this goodwill. HDF is a full and non-binding scholarship which aims to provide underprivileged but determined students education or skills training.

In 2008 and 2009, HDF reached out to communities in rural areas and visited schools in Sabah, Sarawak, Pahang, Perak and Kedah to garner applications. This year, HDF plans to visit Kelantan and Terengganu as well. Honda Malaysia has allocated RM1 million for this year’s HDF and UNDP will manage and oversee the awarding of the scholarships.

To be eligible, one must be Malaysian, between 17-24 years of age, completed and passed SPM/STPM, and have a combined household income of less than RM1,500 per month. Do spread the news and assist anyone you know who is deserving of help. To learn more about HDF or to apply, go to www.honda.com.my/hdf

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Here are pics of the Honda HSV-010 GT race car which will make its competitive debut in this season’s Super GT series. Previously, Honda only released one single picture, while the rest you saw on this site were from eager snappers camping at Suzuka for a closer look while Honda Super GT drivers were having an early feel of the car.

As a recap, the front engine, rear-wheel drive HSV-010 GT competes in the GT500 class and will be powered by a 3.4-litre V8 engine, as per Super GT regulations. HSV stands for Honda Sports Velocity. Super GT is meant for production cars, but Honda has managed to find a loophole in rulebook that permits cars that are production ready (which this prototype NSX is), though not necessarily in production.

The 2010 Super GT season starts on March 20-21 at Suzuka.

More pictures after the jump.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

This is another Honda concept destined for the Tokyo Auto Salon 2010 – and it’s a Honda Freed. This should be interesting for us Malaysians as it’s no secret that the Freed will be landing on our shores soon.

There’s no Modulo name tagged onto this one, instead it is labelled a “design study”. It’s quite a feminine design, going beyond the pinkish paintjob. Check out the little butterfly and floral ‘tattoos’ around the body.

Look after the jump for hi-res pix of the modded Freed.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Among the tricked out sporty concepts that Honda will be displaying at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon is this Honda Insight Sports Modulo Concept. The theme for this Insight is basically “Exciting Eco”, which is a term I believe can also probably be applied to the new CR-Z, since that one actually has a manual transmission!

Other than the obvious bodykit bits, the Modulo concept kit for the Insight also includes components such as an A-pillar aero-form garnish, a new LED rear combination tail lamp, and air-split tail fin, and a rather interesting “quarter fin” for the wheels which you can see in the image above.

Look after the jump for a full hi-res gallery of the kitted Insight.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

As reported earlier the CR-Z hybrid coupe by Honda was revealed at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. On top of some official high-res images that were shown to you, we now have live images of the new vehicle that were taken at the event. The two-seater 2011 Honda CR-Z is powered by a hybrid system that is made up a 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine and an IMA electric motor. Potential buyers can also select a CVT or a 6-speed manual cog box.

Total power output is rated at 122hp at 6,000 revs and 173Nm of torque available between 1,000 revs and 1,500 revs, which sounds pretty good. Other technologies that will enable you to reduce precious consumption of fuel include brake energy regeneration as well as auto start-stop for the engine. You can also choose between three driving modes: Economy, Normal and Sport where the third mode is more suited for spirited driving.

Look for an image gallery filled with live pictures after the jump.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

After many concepts showing us how the design of this new compact has been slowly refined over time, we finally see the production version of the new Honda CR-Z unveiled as a 2011 model year car at the 2010 North American International Auto Show.

From what I can tell the CR-Z is a two-seater and it is powered by a sole engine option – a 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine mated to an IMA electric motor. Honda says this is the first hybrid car designed with style and fun taken into consideration as well as efficiency and economy. That is why other than a CVT that you usually see with Honda’s IMA system, you also get the standard option of a 6-speed manual!

Even if you can’t be bothered with a clutch, you can swap cogs with paddle shifts and when in Sport mode, the transmission is programmed to stay within a certain gear even if you hit the rev limiter, which means you will bounce off the limiter instead of the CVT automatically upshifting on its own. This is the preferred ’sports mode’ behaviour for many.

The 1.5 liter hybrid system’s peak output is 122 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 173Nm of torque from between 1,000rpm to 1,500rpm. This is of course the peak torque that is achieved only when the IMA motor kicks in to boost acceleration, but it’s still very very nice torque figures from just a thousand revolutions! Should be quite fun! The IMA motor is rated at 14 PS and 78Nm and is powered by a 100V IMA nickel-metal hydride battery pack. The system also has brake energy regeneration and auto start-stop.

The production CR-Z has a three-mode drive system that allows the driver to switch between Sport, Normal and Economy driving modes. You can choose between these modes via three backlit buttons to the left of the steering wheel (presumably to the right in a right hand drive car). Sports mode is as its namesake – sportier throttle response, EPS steering weight and how often the IMA motor kicks in to assist with power.

In addition, the RPM meter inner ring changes its illumination to red. In Economy mode, this inner ring changes between blue and green depending on how efficient your driving is – you know you’re driving fuel efficiently when the ring turns green. Normal mode has a similiar behaviour, but with a more balanced setting instead of a full eco-friendly mode.

What we see here is the American version but the blue-ish European version shown above will also feature daytime running lights with 8 LEDs running across the edges of the two headlamps.

The chassis sits on MacPherson struts at the front and a H-shaped torsion beam at the rear. Compared to the Insight, the CR-Z has a 115 mm shorter wheelbase and is 295mm shorter in overall body length. Standard wheels are 16×6 inchers wrapped with 195/55R16 tyres but optional are 17×7 inch wheels with larger 205/45R17 tyres. There is ABS as standard, with disc brakes at all four wheels.

No prices yet though! View a full hi-res gallery after the jump.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

These are the official images of the Honda New Small Concept, which was just unwrapped at the Auto Expo 2010. The production version of this five-seater concept will be launched in India and Thailand by 2011, executive vice president Koichi Kondo said at the Delhi show.

Honda promises a vehicle that is “beyond the expectations of customers in rapidly growing markets and offer it at an affordable price by leveraging Honda’s global parts sourcing network”. The company calls the concept’s design “Efficient Energetic Exterior”.

As reported earlier, the New Small Concept will jointly developed by R&D teams in India and Thailand; both countries will also manufacture the A-segment car. It is rumoured to come with a 1.2-litre engine.

UPDATE: Full gallery after the jump!

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Here are some screenshots of a video featuring the production Honda CR-Z, which is due for a February 2010 launch in its home market. This green reincarnation of the CR-X comes with a hybrid powertrain that combines a 1.5-litre four-cylinder i-VTEC engine with an IMA electric motor.

According to Honda’s official brochure that has also found its way online, the engine makes 113 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 145 Nm of torque at 4,800 rpm. The electric motor meanwhile produces 13 bhp at 1,500 rpm and 78Nm at 1,000 rpm. Unusually for a hybrid, the CR-Z comes with a six-speed manual transmission in place of the common CVT, which better suits its sporty positioning. The sprint from 0 to 100 km/h will take 9.7 seconds. The steering is an EPS system.

We also now know the CR-Z’s dimensions. Length, width and height is 4080 mm, 1740 mm and 1395 mm respectively, while the wheelbase is 2435 mm long. To give you an idea of the CR-Z’s footprint, it’s a significant 315 mm shorter than a Honda City, but is marginally wider by 25mm.

Look after the jump for the screenshots and scans of the official brochure!

Source

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Which means that there’s a possibility of it being exported to Malaysia. “Recently, Honda had hired around 30 engineers for its research and development team at Greater Noida (Honda Siel India’s base). The team will work closely with the R&D team in Bangkok to develop the small car and also focus on bringing down the production cost of this car by optimising component costs,” read the report.

The same source also revealed that the small Honda will come with a 1.2-litre engine and will be priced around Rs 4-4.5 lakh (about USD 8500 to 9600). It will hit the Indian market in 2011. Honda’s current smallest car in India is the Jazz, which is priced from Rs 7 lakh (USD 15,000).

Source

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

There have been no updates from Honda on its HSV-010 Super GT challenger since the first announcement last week. But the good folks of Motors Blog from Japan have been hanging out at Suzuka with their zoom lenses and caught these pics of the 3.4-litre V8 powered HSV testing.

According to Motors Blog, there were four units around the track, three with Bridgestone tyres and one wearing Dunlops. Pilots of the day were Loic Duval, Yuji Ide, Takuya Izawa and Yuki Nakayama representing Honda Racing’s GT500 customer teams Nakajima Racing (Epson NSX), Team Kunimitsu (Raybrig NSX) and Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (Arta NSX).

It’s such a pity that the NSX project was shelved – this car looks great!

More pics after the jump – Source

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

As reported before, Honda’s “new NSX” will see the light of day not as a production road car, but as replacement to the long serving NSX-GT in the Japanese Super GT series. Honda Racing has confirmed this by releasing info and a picture of its 2010 race car.

Called the HSV-010 GT, the front engine, rear-wheel drive Honda competes in the GT500 class and will be powered by a 3.4-litre V8 engine, as per Super GT regulations. HSV stands for Honda Sports Velocity.

Super GT is for production cars, but Honda has managed to find a loophole in rulebook that permit cars that are production ready (which this prototype NSX is), though not necessarily in production.

The 2010 Super GT season starts on March 20-21 at Suzuka and we will be able to see the HSV-010 at Sepang in June.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

After the Tata Nano, which was launched at the previous Auto Expo, carmakers are all rushing to capture a slice of the Indian market, which has serious potential for growth as a big section of the population are beginning to graduate to four wheels. Early settlers Suzuki (with its Maruti brand) and Hyundai are doing brisk business selling small cars and others want in on the action.

In addition to the New Small Concept, Honda will also parade the CR-Z Concept and wow showgoers with a demonstration by humanoid robot, ASIMO.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

It was sad news when former Honda CEO Takeo Fukui announced the cancellation of the Honda NSX project last year – had development went on we might now have an Acura badged Lexus LFA rival with a screaming engine.

But the stillborn NSX might see the light of day after all; not as a production model but in the form of a race car. According to Inside Line, the front-engine NSX that has often been spotted testing at the Nurburgring will be entered for the 2010 Super GT season. It will be powered by a 3.4-litre V8, not a V10 as previously rumoured.

But aren’t Super GT cars supposed to be based on production vehicles? The same report says that Honda has managed to find a loophole in rulebook that permit cars that are production ready, though not necessarily in production. Apparently, the Japan Automobile Federation has given the green light to this move, so we can look forward to seeing the new NSX racing in Sepang next year!

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Looking more at home at the Tokyo show than LA is the Honda P-NUT Concept,a futuristic vision for an compact and sophisticated “city coupe”.

Penned by Honda’s Los Angeles studio, the idea is not exactly new – the P-NUT (Personal-Neo Urban Transport) is another small footprint machine to weave in and out of tight urban spaces. It combines a central driving position and a rear powertrain layout, which influence the interesting design; the roofline originates from the front grille (if you can call it that) flowing up in a ‘V’ shape – not the most space efficient but a non issue in the P-NUT which only has one front row seat. Visiblity should be panoramic, like in a glasshouse. The driver’s throne is flanked by two rear seats, and Honda says legroom for all occupants is the equivalent of a mid-sized sedan.

The P-NUT’s modular rear engine bay is designed to accommodate a variety of potential propulsion tech including a small internal combustion engine, a hybrid system, or a battery-electric powertrain.

Have a closer look at this P-NUT after the jump!

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

P-NUT stands for Personal-Neo Urban Transport and it is supposed to be a design concept for a futuristic ultra-compact and aggressive-looking coupe. That is what they describe it as, but we’ll have to see what the car actually looks like to see what the boys at LA-based Honda R&D Americas Advanced Design Studio have cooked up.

Last year’s LA show concept was the Honda FC Sport design study, which also so happened to be a two-door coupe of sorts, and as hinted by its name was powered by a fuel cell stack.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

New stocks of the Honda Civic Type R is officially in Malaysia! The car is very much the same track car for the road as before, but there are a few changes here and there. There are no changes to the front end but the rear end now gets the diamond cluster design for the tail lamps. The side mirrors are now power-retractable. Finally, the 2-DIN player in the interior now gets a USB port for you to load your MP3 files from.

There are currently nearly 200 pre-facelift Honda Civic Type R on the road, sold officially by Honda and not counting the grey imports. Malaysia is the only country in the world other than Japan to get the sedan Type R via the official Honda distributor. The rest of the world especially Europe gets the hatchback version. Recently the hatch version was added to the Japanese line-up as well.

The best part is even with the high demand the price has remained at RM199,980, as with the pre-facelift model. We probably can’t say the same about the Civic Hybrid (introduced the same time as the Type R) in a year’s time, when the excise duty exemption ends You can find out more technical details about the Type R by visiting the link below.

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Honda Civic Type R launched in Malaysia

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

Honda has brought in the new facelifted version of the Honda Stream RSZ. Of course being facelifted there are changes with the vehicle’s looks.

The front end has a new honeycomb design with a chrome bar going through the middle of it, similiar to the Accord Modulo grille. The bumper design is also new, and there are side skirts for the side profile. Thankfully 17 inch alloys have been provided as when the Stream first came out, the alloys were rather small compared to the rest of the car’s sporty demeanor which looked a little odd.

On the rear, the bumper now has a diffuser insert design, and there is a tailgate spoiler. The tailgate has a black garnish around the individual rear lamps. The wing mirrors now have turn signals.

Personally I feel the best change in the facelift is the addition of VSA stability control to the Stream, which is a definite plus point in raising the safety level of the Stream. A typical Stream driver who only carries full loads of 7 people during the weekends may not be used to the different vehicle dynamics and VSA may be able to catch him out of a tight spot, touch wood. Other than VSA, suspension settings have also been improved for better comfort.

On the interior you get a leather gear knob, and a leather steering wheel, both of which come with leather stitching. The rest of the interior is done up with black and red upholstery. The instrumentation panel, speedometer, air conditioning controls, and cupholders have red illumination instead of the ’standard’ Stream’s blue illumination. The styling seems extremely skewed to a certain type of young 30s buyer who has to get an MPV but still wants to stay true to his ’sporty’ heart. You know, the kind that probably wishes the turbocharged grey import Toyota Caldina GT4 comes with 7 seats instead of 5.

But performance will not match its sporty looks. Under the hood is the R18 engine similiar to the one used in the Civic 1.8 making 140 PS and 174 Nm of torque, mated to Honda’s dual-overdrive 5-speed automatic transmission.

Look after the jump for hi-res photos of the new Stream facelift.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.

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.

© 2010 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 21 Mar 10 12:42:38 +0000.