Honda News
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What would you pay to lease a smooth, quiet, comfortable, relatively luxurious mid-size electric sedan with only about 90 miles of range? Honda hopes the answer is $269 a month with $1,730 down, on a three-year lease that takes advantage of the federal income-tax credit for electric-car purchase. Pricing is now out for the 2017 Honda Clarity Electric, the battery-electric entry in the Clarity range that already includes a hydrogen fuel-cell model and will add a plug-in hybrid for 2018. DON'T MISS: Honda Clarity Electric, Plug-In Hybrid: first drives, impressions The all-electric Clarity is...
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Honda Clarity Electric, Plug-In Hybrid: first drives, impressions
In March, we spent most of a day with the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, the first of three variants of the Clarity mid-size sedan to go on sale in the U.S. Leases of the hydrogen-powered Clarity will be limited for the foreseeable future to residents of those areas of California near to hydrogen fueling...
John Voelcker -
Toyota, Honda, Nissan, other Japan firms to fund hydrogen fueling
Earlier this year in Europe, 13 companies joined forces to create the Hydrogen Council, a global initiative to discuss and promote the use of hydrogen as a renewable source of energy. In the United States, GM and Honda have partnered up to build a production plant in Michigan that will roll out...
John Voelcker -
GM fuel-cell chief talks about military truck, Honda deal to build hydrogen powertrains
Innovation has no secret for GM and after tapping into hybrid and electric engine technologies, fuel-cell is its next target. In an interview with Trucks.com, GM’s global fuel-cell business director Charles Freese seemed confident that hydrogen will become a next big step in transportation...
Green Car Reports -
Assessing the Honda Clarity range: how electric cars fit in, and why
The 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the only model of Honda's newest sedan presently on sale, though an all-electric version will arrive later this year. The hydrogen-powered mid-size sedan with a rated 366 miles of range is the one that's gotten by far the most publicity from Honda, as its...
John Voelcker -
Honda to launch electric car in China next year too, joining Toyota, reluctantly
While corporate average fuel-economy standards through 2021 remain in place in the U.S., automakers are preparing their case to argue for delays in further tightening. Meanwhile, China is turning the policy screws on automakers operating in the country, telling them they must sell more electric...
John Voelcker -
It's one of the more frequently asked questions on consumer car sites: why aren't there any hybrid crossover utility vehicles? The Ford Escape Hybrid reigned alone in that segment from 2004 through 2012. Then Ford simply walked away from the segment, replacing it with the underwhelming C-Max Hybrid without all-wheel drive. It took until last year for the 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid to arrive, quickly racking thousands of sales each month; it was followed this year by the 2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid. DON'T MISS: 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid: Gas Mileage Review Now, halfway around the world, a Honda CR-V...
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Honda Clarity Electric, Plug-In Hybrid sedans revealed at NY auto show
At the New York auto show this morning, Honda revealed the second and third powertrains for its Clarity mid-size sedan, now offered only in California with a hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain. The 2017 Honda Clarity Electric and 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid are powered by a battery pack and a...
John Voelcker -
2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell: first drive of hydrogen-powered sedan
There are now three different vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells on sale in California, and we've driven them all. The 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is the first one in which we were able to forget about the powertrain and simply drive. It's the best of the three, although that won't matter...
John Voelcker -
Honda researches high-power electric-car charging, at highway speeds
Even with recent efforts to expand it, electric-car charging infrastructure is nowhere near rivaling the ubiquity of gas stations. But what if electric cars didn't need to stop to charge? That's essentially what a new Honda research project aims to investigate. DON'T MISS: Honda Clarity EV electric...
Stephen Edelstein -
Honda: hybrids, plug-ins, fuel cells to be two-thirds of Europe sales by 2025
Honda's green-car strategy for the next decade or so appears to be coming into greater focus. In place of its previous mild hybrids, the Japanese automaker is planning to produce much higher volumes of its two-motor hybrid powertrain, as seen first in the Accord Hybrid mid-size sedan. It also...
Stephen Edelstein -
Honda Clarity EV electric car to have only 80 miles of range: report
One of the more eagerly awaited all-electric cars coming to market this year has been the 2018 Honda Clarity EV. It's a battery-electric version of the 2017 Clarity Fuel Cell already on sale in some regions of California, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. But unlike most of the pure electric cars on...
John Voelcker -
Crossovers are so popular right now that several automakers are even trying to pass off conventional hatchbacks as high-riding utility vehicles. The latest example of this trend is the Honda WR-V, a new pseudo-crossover for the Indian market. Despite the extra plastic body cladding and slightly-different front and rear fascias, the WR-V looks very similar to the Honda Jazz subcompact hatchback it's based on. DON'T MISS: 2017 Chevy Spark Activ: fake crossover jacks up minicar into SUV wannabe (Nov 2016) The Jazz is sold in the U.S. as the Honda Fit and lends its platform to the HR-V crossover...
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Honda Clarity Fuel Cell marketing theme: thinking about tomorrow
A 40-year-old Fleetwood Mac song, floating childrens' heads, and hydrogen molecules all kick off the marketing campaign for the 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell hydrogen-powered vehicle. Like most marketing for hydrogen vehicles, the video ad above will likely be targeted only to California drivers...
John Voelcker -
Carmakers, fuel and oil companies form Hydrogen Council to promote fuel cells
In addition to automakers and policymakers, battery-electric cars can count on support from a variety of advocacy groups. But grassroots support for hydrogen fuel-cell cars hasn't germinated to quite the same extent. So, in the absence of a large cadre of individual consumers to act as advocates, a...
Stephen Edelstein -
GM, Honda set up joint fuel-cell manufacturing plant, 2020 production goal
Battery-electric cars are being delivered in volume today, but planned hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles from major automakers are on a more gradual timeframe. This morning, General Motors and Honda jointly announced that the two companies would establish a joint venture to produce hydrogen fuel-cell...
John Voelcker -
Second Honda dealership achieves grid-neutral status
If you're planning on buying a green car, have you ever wondered if you'll be making the purchase at a green dealership? As cars get more efficient, the carbon emissions related to the infrastructure for manufacturing and selling them should be considered as well. Honda has made some efforts in...
Stephen Edelstein -
Honda hybrid minivan, SUV, or pickup coming; dedicated hybrid in 2018 too
In recent years, Honda has announced that it planned to release advanced-technology green cars in the future—without mentioning even their names, let alone any details or specifications. That's what happened two years ago with a pair of unnamed battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles...
John Voelcker -
The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid mid-size sedan returned last year, ending a one-year hiatus for the model. The new version uses an updated version of the two-motor hybrid powertrain fitted to earlier hybrid Accords, which were sold as 2014 and 2015 models. That powertrain is notable because it uses a gasoline engine to power the wheels in some situations—but without a transmission. DON'T MISS: 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid first drive (Jul 2016) This short video from Engineering Explained shows just exactly how the Accord Hybrid manages to do that. The two-motor hybrid system is paired to a...
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First 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell sedans delivered in California
The first six 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell sedans were delivered to customers in California this week.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell to lease for $369 a month
Honda still says the 2017 Clarity Fuel Cell will go on sale before the end of the year.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell rated at 366 miles of range by EPA
The Toyota Mirai has taken the lead in U.S. sales of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, though it was beaten to market early last year by the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell. Through September, Toyota has sold 710 of its four-person Mirai sedan—though up to half of those sales came in August to employees...
John Voelcker -
2017 Honda CR-V crossover: more standard safety features, turbo engine
The 2017 Honda CR-V compact crossover utility vehicle was unveiled today, featuring more fuel-efficient powertrains, evolutionary styling ... and a volume knob for the radio. That latter detail may seem minor, but widespread complaining about the lack of such a knob was one of the few criticisms of...
John Voelcker -
2017 Honda Fit priced, unchanged
The 2017 Honda Fit enters the new model year virtually unchanged.
Stephen Edelstein