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This month’s issue of Autocar India carries computer generated images of the fourth generation Honda City (code 2PS) that’s due to be launched soon. We previously saw images of the City on test in India. Autocar India claim a November 2008 launch, which should mean the new City will find its way onto our local showrooms by early 2009.

Honda R&D India was quoted to have issued a statement stating that the car is indeed a prototype belonging to Honda that is currently being tested to collect on road and climatic condition data, but declined to comment further on what it is or any possible launch dates.

The 2009 Honda City bears little resemblance to the second generation Honda Jazz, unlike the previous generation which looked like an awkward 3-box Jazz with a boot stuck on. This time the City looks more like a sedan version of the European market FK/FN chassis 5-door Honda Civic hatch, which coincidentally actually has much more in common with the Jazz than its FD chassis Civic sedan brother. Hint: chassis built to take i-DSI engines and a torsion beam rear suspension.

The current generation City we have here in our market has a wheelbase of 2450mm which was equal to the first generation Jazz’s 2450mm wheelbase. The second generation Jazz’s wheelbase has grown to 2500mm, but since Toyota’s rival Belta/Vios sedan’s wheelbase has grown to 2550mm, expect the City to have a longer wheelbase than the second generation Jazz and set new best-in-class interior space records following the footsteps of its Civic sibling. Something closer to the FK/FN Civic’s 2635mm wheelbase could be possible.

In the engine bay you will find that the i-DSI engine has been discontinued for the latest generation of Hondas, instead a 1.3 or 1.5 liter i-VTEC SOHC engine is offered, with power outputs of 100 PS and 120 PS respectively.

One more rear shot of the new City after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Unmarked car confirmed to be new Honda City (2PS)

The Honda FCX Concept found its way onto the roads of southern California in the US as a limited production vehicle called the Honda FCX Clarity late last year, but like the concept I drove it was a left hand drive vehicle.

There is now a right hand drive Honda FCX Clarity that will be sold in Japan. A right hand drive conversion with this car should be so much more easier than a conventional car as you can be sure almost every driver control is “by wire”, receiving input electronically rather than via mechanical linkages.

Leasing for the FCX Clarity will begin in November 2008 and will be initially limited to government agencies and selected corporate customers. For more information on the FCX Clarity please refer to the previous posts on the car linked below.

Related Posts:
Honda FCX Clarity: second generation fuel cell car
A short test drive experience with the Honda FCX Concept

Click here to read the rest of RHD Honda FCX Clarity introduced in Japan

While we’re on the topic of the Honda Jazz, let’s take a look at how the previous version was marketed. It’s logical for Honda to market the Jazz with “fun” ads as they are positioning it as a fun car. We’ve seen a Tetris-inspired TV commercial for the Honda Jazz showing how the Jazz’s versatile boot space can be filled with a whole load of stuff if you know how to arrange it properly.

In this blog post we’ll be having a look at this ad by Foote Cone Belding for Honda Australia, inspired by the Thomas and the Tank Engine world. It features the first generation Honda Jazz. The narrative is by Tony Robinson with creative direction by Scott Lambert. The ad was directed by Michael Cusack.

View the video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Jazz “Ever So Nice” TV Commercial

Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd has announced that the second generation Honda Jazz will be launched before the end of the year. The new Jazz has continued in the award-winning footsteps of its predecessor and has recently been voted Japan’s Car of the Year 2007/2008. It will probably pick up a few more awards locally once introduced here.

There are a few changes to the Jazz, for those who are used to the first generation Jazz’s dual engine variants. With the new Jazz, i-DSI has dropped out of the picture and there are only 1.3 and 1.5 liter i-VTEC engines.

The CVT gearbox remains but seems to be offered in Japan only at the moment (where it is called the Honda Fit), with our region getting a 5-speed automatic with dual overdrives for lower highway cruising engine RPM.

For more information on the new Jazz, refer to the link below, or watch some promotional videos on the Jazz/Fit after the jump.

Related Posts:
New second generation Honda Jazz details

Click here to read the rest of New Honda Jazz to be launched this year!

A barely disguised car was spotted on the roads of Pune in India a few days ago, sporting a front grille that features cues from Honda’s latest front fascia styling book (ref: Honda FCX Clarity, Civic Euro hatch). Apparently the red plates on the car are similiar to those that Honda have used on their Indian test cars in the past, so there is a good possibility that this car is the due replacement for Honda’s compact Honda City sedan.

However, a little peek into the car’s interior showed a dashboard design that is very different from the second generation Honda Jazz, and the car has no triangular A-pillar window either. So this isn’t really a 100% guess. If this is indeed the new City, the car could be using a different dashboard design that is easier and thus cheaper to mould and produce, as compared to the new Jazz’s complicated dash design cues.

Expect an Indian and Thai launch soon, with a Malaysian launch to come some months later. View a few more photos after the jump.

FOLLOW UP UPDATE: Unmarked car confirmed to be new Honda City 2PS!

Click here to read the rest of SPYSHOT: Is this the new Honda City?

Honda Japan has added one more vehicle to its line-up, the Honda Freed MPV. Based on the Global Small Platform which underpins cars such as the Honda Fit as well as the Freed’s more boxy cousin the Honda Mobilio/Mobilio Spike, the Honda Freed is powered by the new L-Series 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine (118 PS at 6,600rpm, 144Nm at 4,800rpm) mated to a CVT gearbox with a torque converter as its start-up device. It has 3 different seating configurations: a 5-seater, a 7-seater (2,2,3 with second row captain’s seats) and an 8-seater (2,3,3).

The Fit platform’s innovative flat floor allows maximum interior space to be used (Honda claims to be able to carry a 27 inch bicycle without taking off wheels or handle bars), and Honda says the 7-seater seating layout allows any passenger in any row to exit via any door thanks to a “walk through layout”. Looking at an image of the 7-seater interior seating configuration found after the jump, they are probably right as there is a clear empty space between the front two seats as well. The 8-seater version uses a 60:40 split fold bench for the second row.

The dashboard gets Honda’s latest two-tiered design, with both speedo, RPM and multi-info display located at the top deck nearest to the windscreen for easier visibility. The lower deck hosts the air conditioning controls and the gear shifter. Smack in the middle of the two decks in a rather high position is the 2-DIN player - a high position like this could allow the rear passengers to view it easily in case an in-dash LCD screen with DVD player is installed.

The front suspension design is of the MacPherson strut layout while the rear is a H-shaped torsion beam to minimise interior intrusion of suspension components. The Honda Freed uses an Electric Power Steering system, and safety features include ISOFIX points for child seats, optional Vehicle Stability Assist, and a maximum configurable option of 8 airbags including front, side, curtain and third row side airbags. Certain models have HID headlamps, but all lenses are reflector lenses.

As Honda model offerings are regional, the Honda Freed is not likely to make its way anywhere to the ASEAN region unless the Japan office gives the green light. The Honda Fit is sold over here as the Jazz, but you could say the Jazz platform-derived Mobilio looks too boxy for regional tastes. The Honda Freed is a new execution of a Global Small Platform car that can carry more than 5 people with design cues that should be very acceptable here.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New Honda Freed MPV with up to 8 seats

The recently launched 2008 Honda Accord has achieved more than 70% of its annual sales target in its first month of launch. According to Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the Accord’s first month sales of 5,194 units exceeded the 600 unit first month allocation, dangerously approaching the yearly production allocation of 7,200 units. Sales split between the 2.0 and 2.4 versions were about 50:50. Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd plans to raise production levels of the Accord to meet the overwhelming response.

Related Posts:
8th generation 2008 Honda Accord launched!
2008 Honda Accord Modulo Bodykit and Accessories

Honda will be showing a “live” advertisement on UK’s Channel 4 at 8:10pm UK time. The 3 minute TV spot will feature a team of 19 skydivers who will attempt to form a shape in the sky that spells out “HONDA”, within the TV spot’s 3 minute time limit.

This ad is part one of a two part advertising campaign called “Difficult is worth doing”. The other part is a TV commercial that has already been recorded. The video is called “The Jump”, and features 45 skydivers that will form shapes in the sky showcasing new technologies in the recently unveiled UK market Honda Accord. The ad is choreographed by aerial stunt coordinator BJ Worth, whose film credits include scenes from several James Bond films.

These skydivers may fall at speeds up to 480km/h, and the cameraman also has to skydive. The problem is the cameraman has to skydive faster than the actors, so he has to curl into a ball in order to fall faster, all while filming the ad at the same time. The cameras are mounted on the helmets of the cameramen, and special training was required to learn a technique of opening the parachute to avoid snapping the neck of the cameraman. The ad required 5 of these cameramen to be in the air at any one time.

I’ll try to find the related videos and post them on this blog once they are released. Look after the jump for a video of the cameramen and their special camera helmets.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Accord “Difficult is worth doing” Campaign

Honda has revealed details on a few hybrid cars it will be producing over the next few years. One will be a hybrid version of the new Honda Fit, known as the Honda Jazz on our local shores. Honda wants to price the hybrid version of the Fit at a premium of a maximum of US$2,000 over the regular version of the Fit.

That could translate to about RM20,000 here in Malaysia: would you pay RM120,000 for a little zippy hybrid car, in face of the impending rises in fuel prices? This should be quite an exciting proposition if it ever makes it to our local shores. Unfortunately, this is only expected to be released in 2015, which should mean the hybrid Fit/Jazz will come in the form of the third generation car. We’ve yet to get the second generation here in Malaysia.

The other hybrid vehicle (one closer to reality compared to the Fit Hybrid) will be a dedicated hybrid-only 5-door 5-seater hatchback model aimed to be relatively affordable, due next year. Honda will design this hybrid vehicle to look like a smaller version of the Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, so that consumers would easily identify it as a hybrid. Surveys have shown that hybrid vehicle buyers want their vehicle to look like a futuristic car because they want to make a statement that they’re into preserving the environment. Full product details will be announced later this year.

A third hybrid vehicle will be a production version of the Honda CR-Z compact sports car displayed at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, using a hybrid powertrain. The final car to be released in the next few years is the next generation Honda Civic Hybrid, expected to arrive in 2011 or 2012 after the release of the “regular” next generation Civic.

Honda’s joint venture company in China Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. has announced a new car brand called Li Nian, which is positioned much alike to what Toyota is doing with its Scion brand in the United States. A rough translation or meaning to Li Nian is “idea”, according to Guangzhou Honda.

The company displayed the Li Nian Concept at the 2008 Beijing International Automobile Exhibition, which is set to be one of the Li Nian brand’s first cars. The Li Nian Concept is a compact SUV-like vehicle based on the Honda Jazz / Honda Fit platform.

Unlike the Jazz/Fit’s L-series engines, the Li Nian Concept is powered by a 1.8 liter engine, most likely the R18A1 SOHC i-VTEC engine. It’s styling is decidedly European, with obvious cues taken from the Volkswagen iroc Concept and Ford’s new Kinetic design Fiesta and Kuga SUV.

Li Nian’s first production car will be based on this concept design, and will make its debut in 2010. The Li Nian Concept was designed entirely by Guangzhou Honda Automobile R&D, and while Honda Japan will support the company, most R&D, marketing and sales efforts will be initiated by the Chinese company.

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