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2009 Honda City 1.5 E and S launched in Malaysia!

December 18, 2008 at 7:52 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2009 Honda City, Cars, Honda, Local News

Honda City

Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd finally brought us the 2009 Honda City. For those that already know pretty much everything about the car thanks to this blog’s detailed coverage in the past, let’s quickly get down to what’s important, the price!

The 2009 Honda City comes in 2 variants, the Honda City 1.5S and the Honda City 1.5E. The 1.5S is the lower end variant, priced at RM84,980 OTR with insurance while the top of the line is the Honda City 1.5E priced at RM89,980 and includes full specs such as larger wheels and paddle shifters.

The City comes with a 3 year warranty and 6 months free servicing. For the full scoop on the Honda City for the Malaysian market, continue reading this story after the jump.
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New Honda City transported on trailers in Malaysia

December 16, 2008 at 12:18 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2009 Honda City, Cars, Honda, Local News, Spyshots

A few readers have spotted the new 2009 Honda City being transported on trailers on the highways in Malaysia. They don’t have much disguise on them, just some white cloth or some other material covering up the front and rear of the car, and even that is a little translucent so we get to see the tail lamps peeking through.

From the shots, we are able to gauge some minor details on how the new Honda City will be offered here in Malaysia. For one, we are getting the Asian design for the City which features a sleeker-looking side profile. The European version has some strips on the side of the car which makes the car taller than it really is, and that kind of messes up its sporty profile. There will be at least two variants for sure as there are two sets of alloy wheel designs featured on the cars being carries. One is a more traditional 5 spoke design while the other is the Y-spoke alloys belonging to the more expensive model.

The colour variants we are able to observe here are only two colours – the blue City and the black City. There will of course be a silver City looking at how popular that colour is in Malaysia, but no sign of the delicious red one at the moment. A white coloured Honda City would look good too (white is very popular now), as demonstrated by the white coloured unit spotted in China way before the City was unveiled.

The new Honda City will be launched before the end of this week. Look after the jump for more shots of the new Honda City. Photos thanks to Kevin Lee and Stephen Loh.

Related Posts:
2009 Honda City: in-depth details and specifications (must-read!)
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MUGEN bodykit for Japanese/Euro Honda Accord

December 9, 2008 at 6:02 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda

MUGEN Honda Accord

If you own a JDM/Euro Honda Accord, this is absolutely NOT how you should bling it up, but unfortunately that’s exactly what MUGEN wants you to do. Somehow the piece of kit looks like it belongs on something like the Type R instead of a luxo-D-segment sedan like the Accord, even if the Japanese/Euro Accord is slimmer than the large and spacious version that the Asians and Americans get. If you must MUGENize your accord, most of the parts are okay but lose the spoiler please! Have a look at more photos of the MUGEN Honda Accord in the gallery after the jump.
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2009 Honda Insight Hybrid set for Detroit debut

December 5, 2008 at 1:47 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel

Honda Insight

The production version of the 2009 Honda Insight Hybrid will make its world debut at the Detroit Auto Show (2009 North American International Auto Show) in January 2009, after of which the 5-seater hybrid hatchback will go on sale in spring 2009. Honda targets an annual global sales of 200,000 units, with approximately half of that expected to be sold in the North American market.

Other than a new generation IMA system, the second generation Insight will also feature driver aid tools such as the Ecological Drive Assist System (Eco Assist).

Related Posts:
Honda Insight Hybrid Concept at Paris 2008
2nd generation Honda Insight concept unveiled!

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Li Nian Roadster concept at Guangzhou 2008

December 4, 2008 at 3:03 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, China, Concept Cars, Honda, International News

Li Nian Roadster

This drop top roadster was exhibited by Guangzhou Honda at the 2008 Guangzhou Motor Show, perhaps their idea of a next generation Honda S2000. Apparently it’s a pure design exercise for the time being, with no immediate plans to put such a vehicle into production under the company’s own Li Nian home-grown brand. There’s only one other Li Nian concept car so far, a compact crossover SUV unveiled in April this year. That one’s going to make it into production, set for a 2010 debut.

Look after the jump for a couple more shots of the concept.
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2009 Honda City launched in China with 1.8L engine

December 4, 2008 at 2:52 am By Paul Tan Filed Under 2009 Honda City, Cars, China, Honda, International News

Honda City

The Honda City has been unveiled in China by Guangzhou Honda at the 2008 Guangzhou Motor Show, but it will only make a showroom debut with official prices on the 12th of December 2008.

What’s most interesting is in the Chinese market, the City will come with two engine options. One is the new 1.5 litre i-VTEC that we’re also going to get, but the other engine option is the R-series 1.8 litre SOHC i-VTEC from the Civic 1.8.

A lightweight Honda City equipped with a 140 horsepower 1.8 litre engine could be loads of fun. China always gets special deals such as this, for example the current generation Toyota Vios sold in China is equipped with a 1.6 litre Dual VVT-i engine while the rest of the world have to make do with the 1.5 litre 1NZ-FE family engine.

I’m not sure if this is what Guangzhou Honda meant by developing a Civic competitor (the Civic is sold by another Honda-linked company in China).

A previous report said a 1.8 litre engine was going to be plonked into the City to create a C-segment competitor, but an engineer quoted in the report also mentioned that the new 1.8 litre City-based car would have Civic proportions and a new name and shape.

Related Posts:
2009 Honda City: in-depth details and specifications (must-read!)

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Honda Ecological Drive Assist System helps save fuel in the new Honda Insight

November 25, 2008 at 3:16 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

Honda Insight
Click to view larger image

Honda’s new second generation Insight hybrid will feature the Honda Ecological Drive Assist System, a driver’s assist system that helps the driver drive fuel efficiently.

Honda EcoHow it does this is via a few indicators on the dashboard. There is a scoring system on the multi-info display which gives the driver feedback via graphic “leaves”, which grow over time as the driver becomes more able at fuel efficient driving.

Honda EcoThe second indicator is the background colour of the digital speedometer display, which is located on the top deck of the multi-tiered dashboard. This is probably more convenient as it doesn’t require the driver to shift his eyes too far from the road to know how fuel efficient is his current driving pattern. During fuel efficient driving, the background is green, and this changes to blue-green during relatively fuel-efficient driving and back to fuel when the driving pattern is not efficient. This colour changes in real time.

Another feature of the Honda Ecological Drive Assist System is the ECON Mode button which activates an energy-saving feature in the air conditioning unit, extends idle stop time, and increases regenerative recharging during deceleration. The IMA’s CVT transmission shift programming also changes to a more fuel saving pattern.

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Honda FC Sport design study concept

November 25, 2008 at 12:16 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Honda

Honda FC Sport

This isn’t a preview of a future model, or perhaps just a very vague one, but is instead a demonstration of alternative car styling exercises that cam be done thanks to the flexibility of installation of a fuel cell.

The Honda FC Sport concept uses the Honda V-Flow fuel cell stack from the Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car to power the electric motor that drives the car. The fuel cell is located behind the rear seats while the battery pack if placed low in the middle of the vehicle, helping give it a low center of gravity. The electric motor sits just forward of the rear axle. The hydrogen fuel tanks are located behind the rear axle and can be seen from above through the transparent glass.

On the interior, the Honda FC Sport concept fits three including the driver, with the driver sitting in a racecar-like center driving position. The two passenger seats flank the driver’s seat behind him.

Look after the jump for a set of 6 more hi-res images.
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Honda India drops Honda Civic Hybrid prices, sound familiar?

November 20, 2008 at 7:17 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

Honda Civic Hybrid

Honda Siel Cars India has dropped the price of its Honda Civic Hybrid sedan by Rs 8 lakh (approximately RM57,600), which means the car which previously costed Rs 21.5 lakh (RM155,000) since its launch in June 2008 now costs only Rs 13.36 lakh (RM96,250).

These prices are ex-showroom prices in Delhi. In comparison, the Civic 1.8V AT is priced at Rs 12.86 lakh (approximately RM92,650), making the Civic Hybrid with the 1.3 litre IMA engine only slightly more expensive than the regular 1.8 engine version.

Since the Malaysian government has given CBU hybrid cars a temporary tax-free period, sole hybrid principal importer Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd has also promised to drop the price of its Honda Civic Hybrid to between RM125,000 to RM130,000 although a final price has not been determined yet. The original price of the Japan-imported hybrid car retailed for more than RM160,000.

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MUGEN bodykit for the new Honda Life

November 16, 2008 at 4:17 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

MUGEN Honda Life

MUGEN has wasted no time in releasing a kit for the newly launched Honda Life, to satisfy those who have the extra hunger for individuality and don’t want their little Honda Life to look just like everyone else’s.

The MUGEN Honda Life accesssory set consists of a new front bumper which includes the option for daytime running lights, ventilated door visors, a choice of new alloy wheels (2 types available – one with 10 Y-shaped spokes and another with 8-spokes), an i-TCMS (intelligent-Tire Condition Monitoring System) device to monitor tyre pressure that’s mounted on the dash to the right of the gear lever, and a sports exhaust system.

Look after the jump for more shots of the MUGEN Life accessories.
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