Honda Cars : Hybrid War Heats Up in Japan | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Honda's new Insight went on sale in hits homeland about a week ago, and already it's under attack. Before it hit the market, there were rumors that it would be much cheaper than the Toyota Prius. Toyota, however, has other ideas. The Insight is 1.89 million yen ($18,853 USD) in Japan, which is the same price as the current Prius. Toyota then priced the coming third generation Prius at 2.05 million yen ($20,437 USD) to keep it close to the Insight. Then Toyota said it would keep the second-generation Prius on sale in Japan, and there have been rumors that Toyota is also working on a cheaper Prius costing around 30% less than the current one. That would pit three Prius models against one Insight, all similarly priced.

In response, Honda CEO Takeo Fukui said Honda will not lower the price of the Insight. Said Fukui, "I think that is something we can't do right now. We have to carefully examine the new Prius to know whether it is necessary for us to take certain measures. We have to think about the balance between cost and effectiveness." If Toyota does come out with three Japan-market Priuses, Honda will be thinking long and hard about those issues.

Unlike Toyota, though, Honda does have the CR-Z hybrid coming, which could give Honda some sporting hybrid credentials that Toyota doesn't yet have. Honda also said it is expanding its research and hybrid push into large sedans instead of counting on clean diesels for its bigger cars. Fukui feels that clean diesels are too expensive to develop be practical.

Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/03/honda-ceo-says-insight-price-wont-be-reduced-further/

Honda Cars : Honda changes course and switches from diesel back to hybrid | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

A few years back after getting the hybrid ball rolling with the original Insight and then Civic, Honda added a hybrid version of the Accord. Like the Insight, it was not a strong seller and, after a few years, it was discontinued and Honda decided to switch its focus for larger vehicles to clean diesel. The plan was to keep hybrids in smaller cars and while using oil burners in larger cars, SUVs and vans. Honda had planned to start its U.S. diesel push with a 2.2-liter four in the TSX this year. However, after diesel prices spiked last year and the overall market collapsed in the fall, that program was canceled.

Honda CEO Takeo Fukui has now revealed that plans for larger diesel engines have also been canceled as a result of the cost of trying to meet new U.S. and Japanese emissions regulations. Honda had hoped that its in-house developed NOx catalytic convertor would allow it to avoid using urea injection. Instead, Fukui said the company will develop a hybrid system suitable for larger vehicles. No timetable has been revealed for introduction. Fukui also said that Honda would not drop the price of the Insight in response to Toyota's price cuts on the Prius in Japan.

Source;
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/04/03/honda-changes-course-and-switches-from-diesel-back-to-hybrid/

Honda Cars : X6-like Acura ZDX “coupe” set for NYIAS debut | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Acura has given a name to its new 4-door “coupe” SUV which will rival the BMW X6 Sport Activity Coupe. A prototype version of the new Acura ZDX will be unveiled at the 2009 NYIAS on the 8th of April 2009, just over a week from now. Under the hood will be a 300 horsepower 3.7 liter V6 engine with 373Nm of torque which should be pit against the X6 xDrive35i, but no rival for the xDrive50i version in sight for now. Power for the ZDX will go to all four wheels via Honda’s SH-AWD system. So there’s no new Acura/Honda NSX, but instead they give us something like this.

Source;http://paultan.org/archives/2009/04/01/x6-like-acura-zdx-coupe-set-for-nyias-debut/

Honda Cars : Honda Fit named MOTORING’s Car of the Year | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Toronto, Ontario - Canadian television show MOTORING has named the Honda Fit as its 2009 Car of the Year. This year’s edition named winners in 13 categories plus the overall winner, including a new Green Power category.

For the first time in the show’s 22-year history, two cars tied, resulting in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru WRX STI sharing honours for Performance Car Under $35,000. The new Green Power category went to GM and Chrysler’s shared Two-Mode Hybrid System, which edged out the Volkswagen TDI and Mercedes-Benz BlueTec diesel technologies.

To watch the show online, visit MOTORING.

The winners for 2009 were:
Overall: Honda Fit
Small Car: Honda Fit
Family Car Under $30,000: Mazda6
Family Car Over $30,000: Pontiac G8
Sports Car: Dodge Challenger
Luxury Car: Hyundai Genesis
Prestige Car: Lexus IS F
Performance Car Under $50,000: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution/Subaru WRX STI (tie)
Performance Car Over $50,000: Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
CUV Under $35,000: Subaru Forester
CUV Over $35,000: Ford Flex
SUV: Suzuki Grand Vitara
Pickup Truck: Ford F-150
Green Power: GM/Chrysler Two-Mode Hybrid

Source;
http://www.canadiandriver.com/2009/03/30/honda-fit-named-motorings-car-of-the-year.htm

Honda Cars : Honda: Would Mull Counter Measures Vs Cheaper Toyota Prius | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

SUZUKA, Japan (Dow Jones)--Honda Motor Co. (7267.TO) would have to consider counter measures if Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.TO) sets competitive prices for its Prius hybrid as recently reported, a company executive said Wednesday.

Honda launched its new Insight hybrid in February in Japan and is rolling out the model in the U.S. and other overseas countries.

The company has received orders that were more than triple the hybrid's monthly sales target a month after its Feb. 6 launch in Japan as the prices, which are lower than those of the current Prius, attracted customers looking for cheaper gas-sipping car amid the economic slump.

Yasuhiro Wada, a Honda general manager, said the company continues to receive solid orders for the Insight. As of Monday, orders for the new hybrid totaled more than 21,000 in Japan, more than four times the model's monthly sales target of 5,000.

Honda set the lower limit on Insight's prices at Y1.89 million, about 20% cheaper than the bottom price of the current Prius.

The Nikkei recently reported that Toyota will set the prices of the new Prius at Y2.05 million-Y2.50 million, lower than the current Y2.33 million-Y3.34 million and when it launches the new model it will also continue to sell the current one by lowering the bottom price to Y1.89 million to compete with the Insight.

"If they could do that, it would be a threat," Norio Ano, the head of the Insight product project, said at a press conference.

"We would have to consider something" to stay competitive, he said.
He added that Honda executives would order Ano and his team members to further cut costs if the report is true.

Toyota has said nothing has been decided on the prices of the new Prius and whether to continue to sell the current Prius.

-By Yoshio Takahashi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; yoshio.takahashi@dowjones.com

Source;
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090325-704087.html

Honda Cars : News of the Weird: Haunted Honda offered for sale in L.A. | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

A driver is selling a very special 1992 Honda Accord on the Los Angeles craigslist — after spending thousands to fix it up, he reckons it’s still haunted.

Some of the car’s special features: “Seems to be possessed by a demon or some sort of entity. Makes low mumbling backwards-like indistinguishable talking sounds through the speakers, which aren’t even hooked up to anything. There is no stereo in it, so it can’t be anything to do with that. When you get into the car, it makes you have odd feeling like you wanna leave fast to get out [of] the car and also there’s cold spot inside the rear seat makes you uneasy.”
He’s asking US$6,500, but he’ll take half that if you twist his arm.

Fair disclosure: The seller warns potential buyers that the vehicle is an attempted murderer: “It makes no sense at all, but it has almost killed me many of times while I was driving to work and school... Please take this car out of my life. May God Bless You & Have Mercy On Your Soul!”

Peter Kenter, National Post

Source;
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posteddriving/archive/2009/03/31/news-of-the-weird-haunted-honda-offered-for-sale.aspx

Honda Cars : Honda, ATR and Shimadzu Jointly Develop Brain-Machine Interface Technology Enabling Control of a Robot by Human Thought Alone | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Ah yes, those Honda Scientists are at it again....

TOKYO, Japan, March 31, 2009 - Honda Research Institute Japan Co., Ltd. (HRI-JP), a subsidiary of Honda R&D Co., Ltd., Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) and Shimadzu Corporation have collaboratively developed the world's first*1 Brain Machine Interface (BMI) technology that uses electroencephalography (EEG) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) along with newly developed information extraction technology to enable control of a robot by human thought alone. It does not require any physical movement such as pressing buttons. This technology will be further developed for the application to human-friendly products in the future by integrating it with intelligent technologies and/or robotic technologies.

During the human thought process, slight electrical current and blood flow change occur in the brain. The most important factor in the development of the BMI technology is the accuracy of measuring and analyzing these changes. The newly developed BMI technology uses EEG, which measures changes in electrical potential on the scalp, and NIRS, which measures changes in cerebral blood flow, with a newly developed information extraction technology which enables statistical processing of the complex information from these two types of sensors. As a result, it became possible to distinguish brain activities with high precision without any physical motion, but just human thought alone.

The BMI technology announced by HRI-JP and ATR in 2006 used a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner to measure brain activities. The large size and powerful magnetic field generated by the fMRI scanner limited the locations and conditions where it can be used. As the newly developed measuring device uses EEG and NIRS sensors, it can be transported to and used in various locations.

Test procedures for experiments with the new BMI

First, EEG and NIRS sensors are placed on the head of the user. Then, one of four pre-determined body part options*2 is provided to the user. The user imagines moving that body part without making any physical movement. Changes in both brain waves and cerebral blood flow triggered by the brain activity are measured simultaneously. The data obtained are analyzed on a real-time basis to distinguish what the user imagined. Upon receiving the result, Honda's ASIMO humanoid robot makes corresponding movements such as raising its arm or leg. The world's highest level*3 accuracy rate of more than 90% was achieved in the tests.

Since 2005, Honda and ATR have been conducting research and development of BMI technology exploring the potential of a new interface which connects people and machines. Honda is looking into the possibility of applying this technology to a people-friendly human interface through integration with other technologies such as artificial intelligence technologies and/or robotics technologies. In May 2006, Honda and ATR successfully developed a BMI technology which utilizes a fMRI scanner and achieved the first success in the world to control a robot hand by decoding brain activities without electrode array implants or special training of the user.

About BMI

While conventional machine-interface uses devices such as switches which need to be operated by a user's hands or feet, BMI uses brain activity data measured by various devices and enables non-contact control of the machines (such as robots). Invasive BMI, which is widely studied by U.S. and European researchers, requires the surgical implant of electrode arrays, whereas non-invasive BMI uses sensors touching the user's scalp.

*1, 3 According to Honda and ATR in-house research.
*2 For this particular research experiment, the four options were left hand, right hand, tongue and feet. The user creates a mental image of moving the selected body part.

Source;

http://www.hondanews.eu/en/news/index.pmode/modul,detail,0,1115-DEFAULT,21,text,1/index.pmode