Archive for Honda

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.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Insight Sports Modulo concept set for Tokyo Auto Salon 2010 showcase

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.

Click here to read the rest of Honda CR-Z: Live pictures from Detroit

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.

Click here to read the rest of Honda CR-Z production car unveiled at Detroit!

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!

Click here to read the rest of Delhi 2010: Honda New Small Concept makes debut

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

Click here to read the rest of Leaked Honda CR-Z screencaps and brochure!

There is a possibility of Honda’s New Small Concept coming to our region after all! Set for a world debut at the upcoming India Auto Expo, the New Small Concept will be a low cost A-segment car for Honda to penetrate the booming Indian small car segment. But according to The Financial Express, which quotes a source with direct knowledge of the development, the new Honda will also be developed and made in Thailand.

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

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

Click here to read the rest of GALLERY: Honda HSV-010 GT caught testing!

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.

Honda has announced plans for a world premiere at the India Auto Expo 2010, to be held in New Delhi from January 5 to 11, 2010. Called the “New Small Concept”, the debutant will preview a small car Honda is currently developing for India and emerging markets.

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.

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!

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!

Click here to read the rest of 2009 LA Show: Honda P-NUT concept is quite tasty!

When I first read Honda’s most recent press release for the 2009 Los Angeles Autoshow, I thought they were pulling off a very belated April Fool’s joke, judging from the car’s funny name. They’re going to show a car called the Honda P-NUT.

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.

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

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.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Stream RSZ Facelift now in Malaysia

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.