Honda Cars : Honda’s Global Product Plans: Civic Type R, Beat Roadster, FCX Successors Confirmed | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Written by: Evan McCausland of www.motortrend.com
 
We would have expected Honda to formally announce future product plans at next week’s Paris Motor Show, but instead, CEO Takanobu Ito outlined a number of new launches while detailing Honda’s global corporate goals. From an automotive perspective, Honda hopes to sell 6 million cars annually by the close of the 2017 fiscal year, effectively doubling its volume. Here’s a little taste of the products it plans on using to achieve that astounding figure.

-Acura RLX: we already knew a fair amount about the forthcoming replacement for the aging RL, but Ito confirmed the completed, production-ready 2014 Acura RLX will make its public debut at the Los Angeles auto show in November, and on sale here in early 2013. It’ll be sold as the Honda Legend in Japan starting in 2014.

Power will be provided by a 310-hp, direct-injection 3.5-liter V-6. Buyers will have the choice between a front-wheel-drive RLX model boasting all-wheel steering, or a all-wheel-drive model that incorporates Honda’s new, three-motor SH-AWD driveline. In fact, the RLX will be the first Acura to use the system, though it will ultimately be a hallmark of the revived NSX supercar.

Honda also says that all other Acuras will be “renewed within the next three years.” Seeing as the RDX, ILX, and RLX are all-new, that essentially leaves the TL, TSX, MDX, and ZDX open for an overhaul. We doubt the TSX will be renewed for another generation: not only does it brush against the new ILX, but Honda doesn’t plan on crafting a new Accord for the European market – which essentially leaves that product line dead in the water.

-Civic Type R: Honda’s European press agency confirmed one a poorly-kept secret: an all-new Civic Type R is under development, and will be designed and sold primarily for European customers. We still don’t know if the new Type R will ditch its traditional supercharger in favor of a turbocharger, but Honda does note it aims for the Type R to become the fastest front-wheel-drive vehicle to lap the Nurburgring. Honda is expected to show a Type R at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show in March, but the production car won’t be on sale until 2015.

-Fit/ Fit Crossover: As previously reported, an all-new Fit subcompact is just around the corner. This is Honda’s true global car, but the next-generation model will be even more international. In an attempt to keep costs low, manufacturing will be performed in or close to markets across the globe. For instance, all U.S.-market Fit models will be built in a new plant in Celaya, Mexico.

Honda plans to initially launch the Fit in Japan in 2013, but a U.S.-market model – along with a new crossover variant – will be introduced within the following two years. The Celaya plant should start cranking out U.S.-spec Fit models in the spring of 2014.

-Microcar Onslaught: Honda has big plans for super-small cars. Ito notes it will launch six new “mini-vehicles” for the Japanese market by 2015. One, the N-ONE, is patterned after the N Concept 4, and is in turn inspired by the Honda N360 of the late 1960s. The retro-shaped hatchback should square off against the Mini hatchback and Fiat 500, though it’s unlikely to make its way to North America any time soon.

If that’s not small enough, Honda also wants to further develop the idea of a micro-commuter car, much like the concept it showed at the 2011 Tokyo motor show. That design, which boasted seating for three and an all-electric powertrain, could compete squarely with the miniscule Nissan Pivo EV. No timeframe was given for production, but Honda aims to test such products in Japan sometime in 2013.

Additionally, Honda promised new variants developed from the Brio, a low-cost B-segment car first launched in late 2010. Designed to appeal in price-sensitive emerging markets, the Brio first debuted as a five-door hatchback, but Honda says both a conventional four-door sedan and a “utility” model – likely a small crossover – are also on the way.

-New Beat: Both the 2008 OSM and 2011 EV-STER concepts hinted Honda was interested in revisiting the idea of a compact, two-place roadster. Now it’s official: Ito noted the brand will launch a new open-top sports car – “with strong vehicle dynamics” – as part of its six-car microcar offensive.

As MT reported in late 2011, the new car – likely to revive the Beat moniker – could utilize either a 1.3-liter or 1.5-liter I-4 with VTEC. A hybrid driveline is unlikely, though the car could utilize a dual-clutch transmission. Honda says the car should go on sale in Japan in 2014, but its global market roll-out – if any – remains a mystery.

-Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Think Honda’s recent focus on electric and hybrid-electric vehicles means it’s forgotten or abandoned the idea of a fuel cell vehicle? Think again. Ito confirmed today an all-new fuel cell vehicle will debut in 2015, and allegedly is more advanced and less expensive than the present FCX Clarity. 

Honda says it will offer the new fuel cell vehicle in Japan, Europe, and the U.S. The 2015 target date means it could square off against a production hydrogen fuel cell vehicle from Toyota, which is also scheduled to debut in 2015.

-Hybrids: Honda will ultimately use three different hybrid driveline systems, allowing the company to match “characteristics depending on the model in order to fulfill the needs of more customers.”

We’ve seen Honda roll out two new hybrid systems in recent months. The fanciful Hybrid SH-AWD is essentially the company’s piece de resistance, and will be used on both the Acura RLX luxury sedan and the NSX super car. A new two-motor hybrid system, which can function as both a series and parallel hybrid, was recently introduced on the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid.

Honda’s traditional single-motor Integrated Motor Assist system – presently found on the Civic Hybrid, Insight, and CR-Z – will apparently still be used in the future, but it will be revised to allow for electric-only operation.

Source;

http://wot.motortrend.com/hondas-global-product-plans-civic-type-r-beat-roadster-fcx-successors-confirmed-264711.html

Honda Cars : Is Honda Nuts? Its Japan-Only Fit Wagon Would be a U.S. Hit | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

By Jim Motavalli May 24, 2011

Honda’s management has just made half of a good decision. Taking a page from Toyota’s playbook, it is enlarging the “family” of the popular subcompact Fit hatchback. The new Fit Shuttle, to officially debut next March, stretches the 31-mpg combined base car into a minivan/wagon, which is basically what Toyota did with the larger Prius V. But Toyota is selling the hybrid V in the U.S. and so far Honda has no such plans for the Shuttle. Are they crazy? It’s a perfect car for the American market.

Outdated thinking?
Honda’s thinking on withholding the Shuttle is probably historical, but it’s also probably outdated. What you might call mini-minivans are huge hits in Honda’s domestic market and in Europe, but have often flopped in the U.S. The Kia Rondo, discontinued after the 2010 model year, comes to mind. But the Rondo — which touted three rows of seats in a mini wheelbase, was trying to do too many things at once. It started out strong with 28,000 sold in 2008, but sales fell to half that in 2009.

Kia’s sales drop also make sense when you realize that larger SUV sales rebounded in 2009 when the $4 gas of 2008 went away. The Rondo was cramped, especially that third row. But now gas is up again and the roomy, five-passenger Shuttle could slot nicely into Honda’s lineup, especially if more weight doesn’t hurt fuel economy too much. According to Jack Nerad, an executive analyst at Kelley Blue Book:

In the present climate, the Shuttle could do very well. But it will depend on whether high gas prices turn out to be an era, or just a blip. If it’s an era, then in all likelihood the car could sell in significant numbers.

Trying to track future gas prices is like grabbing o to an eel, but if I were in Honda’s management suites I wouldn’t be banking on a sustained return to $2.50 or $3 gas — though there could be some decline during the summer.

The number one seller in Japan
The Fit is a huge deal in Japan, where with the hybrid version (also not available here) it has been the number one seller for 20 months (having dethroned the hybrid Prius, and offering similar fuel economy). And it’s no slouch in the U.S., either — on the strength of high gas prices, April sales (8,116) of the subcompact were up 72.7 percent in the U.S. compared to the same month in 2010.

Another Fit would be a welcome addition to the American lineup. The base car has found a market because it offers a C-segment interior in a B-segment body, with 50.7 cubic feet of storage space if you tuck the back seat under the fronts (one of five possible configurations).

There’s a new website up for the Shuttle (in Japanese), but it doesn’t say much beyond that the new car will have “a roomy interior and ample luggage space.” Given the exterior photos, the revised interior layout probably adds a bit of both.

Too many hybrids
For Japan, Honda will also make a hybrid Shuttle, and there things get a bit trickier. As Nerad points out, Honda has struggled finding a coherent hybrid strategy. The Insight lacks distinctiveness compared to the much better-selling Prius. The perennial also-ran and somewhat bland Civic Hybrid has been completely redesigned for 2012 as part of a much-needed overhaul of the Civic family. So throwing the Shuttle into that mix might mean too many hybrid offerings for the company’s American dealers.

Honda isn’t talking about its Shuttle intentions. According to spokesman Chris Naughton:

We don’t discuss future product, but we’re always looking at our international markets to determine what might be a good fit for the U.S.

A good fit, Chris, is more Fits! But we are, in fact, getting the Fit EV, a 100-mile electric, in calendar year 2012. Details of that program are lacking, though a small number of cars are going into California test fleets at Google, Stanford University and the City of Torrance. Honda needs to get more high-profile with this program if it wants to ensure success. It should be talking to charging partners, discussing markets, and more. The company seems to be more enthused about its FCX Clarity fuel-cell car, which goes into production in 2015.

I wouldn’t suggest that Honda should be seeing a goldmine in either hybrid or electric Fits, but the Shuttle is a gas price-driven home run for American showrooms. Fuel economy + utility = hit in 2011.

Source;
http://www.bnet.com/blog/electric-cars/is-honda-nuts-its-japan-only-fit-wagon-would-be-a-us-hit/4281

Honda Cars : Japan to sell fuel cell cars in 2015 | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

-100 refuelling stations by 2015
-Four areas in Japan to benefit
-Progress is being made in Europe, too

Sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars will kick off Japan in 2015, car manufacturers and hydrogen suppliers jointly announced recently.

Although numbers of vehicles have not been discussed, the partnership of Honda, Nissan and Toyota said 2015 would mark the start of 'mass production' of fuel cells.

Hydrogen suppliers have committed to establishing a network of 100 refuelling stations in Japan to serve the cars.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said it would support the expansion of the hydrogen network.

Work is also underway on developing fuel cells and hydrogen refuelling in Europe. There are already a chain of refuelling points along the HyNor 'hydrogen highway' in Norway, between Oslo and Stavanger.

Mercedes is already trialing fuel-cell versions of the B-Class, while Kia and General Motors have both said they will sell 10,000 fuel cell vehicles each by 2015.

Source;
http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/japan-to-sell-fuel-cell-cars-in-2015/254919

Honda Cars : Honda FCX Clarity still on track! Coming by 2015… | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Only 10 examples of the Honda FCX Clarity are presently on the road since its introduction last year. Despite that, Honda says that it is on track to meet its early sales goals for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Honda targets that by 2015, it will be able to offer the FCX Clarity to consumers.

However, until it is able to bring the production costs to an affordable level, it is leasing the cars to select customers in California and Japan. Honda also faces the challenge of developing an accessible fueling infrastructure. Honda had hoped to lease 200 examples by 2012, but claims today that it’s still on pace. Sachito Fujimoto, the chief project manager for the FCX program, said that it will maintain its target of 200 cars and that he would like to make “fuel cell vehicles for the ordinary motorist.” He also talked about making the age of the fuel cell cars begin as early as possible. He said that Honda has tackled a number of issues preventing such vehicles from reaching the market, but still has an arduous task ahead. “The four stages of the five in total are behind us,” Fujimoto said. “We’re now at the beginning of the last and the steepest path to the top.” Among the issues that have yet to be resolved relate to the materials and process used in assembling a fuel cell stack, along with promoting a refueling infrastructure.

Source;
http://www.4wheelsnews.com/honda-fcx-clarity-still-on-track-coming-by-2015/