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For owners and soon to be owners of the recently launched 2008 Honda Accord who want to customise their car, Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd has a few Modulo accessories for owners to pick from. Continue reading this post after the jump for a list of Honda Modulo accessories for the 2008 Honda Accord. Click here to read the rest of 2008 Honda Accord Modulo Bodykit and Accessories
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Honda has unveiled the new Honda Accord here in Malaysia, the 8th in its generation, and it is the biggest Honda Accord ever. Like its previous model it is available in 3 variants at launch, with 2 locally assembled 2.0 liter and 2.4 liter variants, and a Thai-imported 3.5 liter V6 model.
Read more about the new Honda Accord after the jump. Click here to read the rest of 8th Generation 2008 Honda Accord launched!
Honda Japan’s website has a very interesting feature - a whole section dedicated to digital versions of their car’s user manuals called the Honda Digital Owner’s Manual section. It’s all in Japanese, but still amusing to browse if you’re bored. For those looking forward to the new Honda Accord that will be launched next week, you can have a look at the Honda Inspire’s user manual page. You’ll be asked to accept some kind of user agreement in Japanese - just click the button on the left.
Some of the cars also have videos. Looking at how safety features like the Collision Mitigating Brake System are activated is quite different from reading about how they work in text form. This way, we can see whether the engineers have designed the system to be easy and intuitive to use. There’s also a video of the new Honda Fit RS which shows the new paddle shifters (rather than the current generation’s “button” shifters).
Anyway, it’s useful for those who want to have a walkaround for the upcoming Accord and Jazz before the car even reaches our showrooms, as these two cars so happen to have video sections. This video for example, shows us that the Fit/Jazz seems to have a hidden storage compartment under the seats.
Anyone who buys the Honda City, the Honda Jazz or the Honda Odyssey from now until the 31st of May 2008 will enjoy a low interest rate of 2.18%.
Honda Odyssey buyers will also get a free portable DVD player with an intergrated LCD screen worth RM1,498, and Honda Jazz buyers will get a free iPod Touch with 8GB storage capacity worth RM1,399. This is of course, while stocks last.
Honda President Takeo Fukui thinks that lithium ion batteries in hybrid or electric vehicles are akin to soukon, which is Japanese for people who decide to get married too early.
Current hybrid vehicles use nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, but next generation hybrids by most car manufacturers are set to use lithium ion batteries, which are smaller, lighter and can store more electricity. The downside is that they tend to overheat and may be unsafe. Toyota’s first lithium-ion hybrid will arrive in 2010.
Honda’s new yet to be revealed dedicated hybrid vehicle - a spiritual successor to the Insight that is only available with a hybrid powertrain - will use NiMH batteries instead of lithium ion batteries. The only thing we know about the new car is that it will take some styling cues from the wedge-shaped Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car.
It will be priced below the current Civic Hybrid, and the hybrid powertrain will be a lighter and more compact redesign of the current IMA system. Honda aims for hybrids to make up for 10% of its global car sales by 2012.
Look after the jump for a recent Honda concept with a rather wedge-like shape.
Related Posts:
Honda FCX Clarity Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car
Honda FCX Concept Driving Experience
Source Click here to read the rest of New Honda hybrid to use NiMH batteries
The new second generation 2009 Honda Fit Sport has been unveiled in the US and it will go on sale in Fall 2008. It differs slightly visually as compared to the JDM Fit - mostly cosmetics like bumper design and grilles. The USDM Fit’s overall length is slightly longer but keeps the same wheelbase. The extra millimeters go to the slightly larger bumpers which have to comply with US crash safety regulations.
Under its hood is a 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine. Honda has not revealed details about how much power output the US-bound engine will have as this might differ country to country because of fuel quality and emissions regulations, but taking the Japanese model as a reference, the engine should put out around 120 PS.
The engine is mated to a 5-speed automatic gearbox with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, replacing the CVT in the previous model. This new Fit/Jazz is now available globally with either a CVT transmission or an automatic transmission depending on different markets. In Japan it uses a CVT, while in our South East Asian region and now America, it uses a 5-speed auto.
The Honda Fit Sport now has the option for factory 6.5 inch colour satellite navigation system called the Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System with Voice Recognition.
For more information on the new Honda Fit Sport (called the Honda Jazz in our region) including power and torque curves, dimensions and etc, check out the linked post below.
View more photos and 2 studio footage videos after the jump.
Related Posts: Click here to read the rest of 2009 Honda Fit Sport launched in the US
Second Generation Honda Jazz - Photos and Details
USDM Honda Fit Sport High-Res Photo Gallery
The Honda Dreams Fund programme by Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd is a scholarship that aims to give underprivileged young Malaysians who dare to dream, a chance to fulfill their dreams and achieve a better future through education.
It covers tertiary education fees and provides for allowances to meet living expenses for the duration of their courses in private institutions, and is open to Malaysians aged between 17 – 24 years of age who have at least completed and passed the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination. The candidate must come from a household with a combined income of less than RM1,500. This full scholarship is non-binding.
The first batch of 20 young Malaysians are already studying now. The 2008 batch will consist of another lucky 20 people, selected from the shortlisted list of 60 candidates. The selection process will be via an all expense-paid workshop. The selection process is done by an ndependent Advisory Panel which comprises members from Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM), All Womens Action Society (AWAM), Malaysian Youth Council (MYC) as well as UNDP and Honda Malaysia.
To apply, candidates are required to write an essay on their aspirations in realizing their dreams on A4 size paper in not more than 500 words beginning with “Honda Dreams Fund is the opportunity I have been waiting for to realise my dreams. Since I was young, I have always aspired to be…“.
Attach a photocopy of the following documents: NRIC, Certified true copy of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and/or Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), School leaving certificate (if any), Testimonial / referees (from schools/NGOs/Homes), EA Form / J Form or any other form that verifies income (if any) and other qualifications if available.
Send applications to:
Honda Dreams Fund
“Human Resource Development through Education and
Training for Malaysian Youth” Project
P.O Box 12544
50782, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Or email to: hdfessay@undp.org
The closing date for entries is tomorrow. It’s rather last minute now, but if you read this and know of anyone who might be in need of such a scholarship, please do let them know. It’s not very likely that someone who needs such a scholarship has the luxury of going online often and reading websites such as this one, so it’s very important for those who do have such luxuries to inform those who don’t via word of mouth and etc.
Of course, Honda Malaysia realises this and has brought the news of the programme’s availability to the public, including rurals in East Malaysia. A team from Honda Malaysia including CEO Atsushi Fujimoto visited Miri, Sarawak and Sabah. The team visited Miri and Bario on February 25–28, 2008, sharing the opportunities available through the HDF to 170 youths and representatives from the indigenous groups of Sarawak.
Talks in Sabah were held in Penampang, Tambunan and Sukau, Kinabatangan. More than 130 youths, parents, schoolteachers and representatives of villages from more than 14 districts in Sabah, some from as far as Kudat and Tawau, attended the talk in Penampang.
The talk in Tambunan drew about 70 students while the one in Sukau was attended by about 85 people from 7 villages. Sukau which is located about 150km from Sandakan is an area accessible by water transportation or a dusty ride in a hired van through stretches of paved road, pothole-filled semi-tarred road and gravel. Majority of the population are the Orang Sungai, who live below the poverty line in Sabah of about RM700.
Eduan Bah Chimpok, a pastor who gathered the Orang Asli for the talk in Gopeng said, “This is a golden opportunity for the Orang Asli. Most of them receive no education and for those who did, they cannot afford to further their studies. The way that Honda and UNDP have put together this scholarship and the campaign they undertook to inform these indigenous groups is refreshing. This is the first time a corporation had gone through such lengths to talk about a scholarship to the Orang Asli.”
These are the people we are talking about, who really need such a scholarship. Taking a look at the 2007 recipients list, there is a great mix of gender and race. This is one of the few scholarships in Malaysia which gives out funds based on need and merit rather than “other factors”.
And if you know someone who needs such a scholarship and will most likely miss the application this year, there’s always next year.
Related Links: Click here to read the rest of Honda Dreams Fund Scholarship
Honda Dream Funds Class of 2007
Honda Dream Funds - Application
The Honda FCX Clarity is Honda’s second generation fuel cell car, and is the production version of the Honda FCX Concept, which I have wrote about last year. For cars like the Honda FCX Clarity to be usable in daily life, there has to be somewhere you can easily get the hydrogen fuel required for the car’s operation.
One ways you can refuel is via the Honda Home Energy Station. It generates hydrogen from natural gas for use in fuel cell vehicles while supplying electricity and hot water to the home. View a set of short videos after the jump on the FCX and HES.
Related Posts: Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: Honda FCX Clarity and Home Energy Station
Honda FCX Clarity: second generation fuel cell car
Honda FCX Concept Video
Honda FCX Clarity Waterfight TV Commercial
The new Honda FCX Concept driving experience
The Honda Mobilio is a compact 7-seater MPV sold in the JDM market, built on one of the longest versions of Honda’s Global Small Platform ever, with a wheelbase of 2,740mm. It is part of Honda’s Small Max vehicle lineup which also includes cars like the Jazz, City, and Airwave, all built on the Global Small Platform and powered by the L-series i-DSI and VTEC engines. With it’s 1.5 liter i-DSI engine (1.5 liter VTEC in the Mobilio Spike), the Honda Mobilio returns 18.2km/l.
Like the Toyota Sienta, it features sliding rear doors. The Mobilio and Mobilio Spike’s packaging is similiar to the rest of the Small Max cars, featuring a low-floor cabin, and a central fuel tank layout located under the first row of seats. The cabin is 2,435mm long and 1,360mm wide. Versatile seats allow stowage of luggage up to 1,360mm tall or 2,600mm long. Folding the third row seats down creates a boot space of 579 liters. The second row can slide back and forth by up to 260mm to vary legroom.
Would you buy the Honda Mobilio/Mobilio Spike if it is available in Malaysia? I think most would feel awkward because of its Japanese boxy looks, but the unorthodox dimensions is the very thing which creates a large interior space inside.
View more photos and a video of the Honda Mobilio after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Honda Mobilio and Mobilio Spike 7-seater MPV
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Honda is expanding its mini-vehicle production lines in Japan, and will build a new plant next to its Yokkaichi Factory in Japan. The new plant will produce both engines and bodies for the Honda Life and Honda ZEST, while the existing Yokkaichi Factory will continue building the mid-engined Honda Acty and Honda Vamos K-vans.
The combined capacity of the two plants in the new minicar production system will be approximately 240,000 units, which is almost the same as the current capacity. The new plant will be built by Yachiyo Industry Co. Ltd and will feature a highly efficient and high quality production system that focuses on the Life and ZEST thanks to efficiencies gained by separating the FF and MR car productions.
In the existing setup, engines and transmissions come from Honda’s Kumamoto factory, but in the new system the engines will come from the new factory itself, with transmissions coming from Honda’s Suzuka factory. This is why the capacity of the old and new system remains about the same, but the new system will be more efficient.
I had the opportunity to drive the Honda ZEST (shown above with the new Accord) in Japan and came away pleasantly surprised. It was a refined drive and unlike the small cars we have in Malaysia, did not feel cheap at all.
The 660cc i-DSI turbocharged engine was lag-less, and having not much knowledge about the ZEST (being a JDM market car) before and during my drive, I was surprised when I was told it was a 660cc turbo afterwards. A 64 PS engine with 93Nm of torque in a 930kg car with decent interior room sounds like a good idea for a city car.
