Honda News
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The largest single model launch at the New York Auto Show two weeks ago was the 2012 Honda Civic line, with five separate models, new styling, and better fuel economy. The highest gas mileage in the entire lineup comes from the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid. Honda projects it will achieve 44 mpg for each of its three EPA ratings: city, highway, and combined mileage. It uses a smaller engine (1.5 liters) than the one fitted to other Civic sedans, mated to the latest generation of Honda's mild hybrid system. For the first time, Honda has fitted a lithium-ion battery pack, rather than the older and...
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2012 Honda Civic: Video Rundown Of The Complete 5-Car LineupEven in the sixth year of its life, the old 2011 Honda Civic frequently topped the chart in retail sales--meaning individual buyers--in the compact car segment. Now, there's a new 2012 Honda Civic lineup, launched to the world at the New York Auto Show two weeks ago. The version with the highest...
John Voelcker -
2012 Honda Civic: Welcome Refresh or Missing the Mark?Redesigns are a funny thing, sometimes they hit the mark and other times they leave you wishing they hadn’t changed the car at all. Right now we are on the fence about the 2012 Honda Civic redesign and it looks like we aren't the only ones. Our partner site, TheCarConnection.com recently...
Jonathan McGrew -
44-MPG 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid At NY Auto Show: Drive ReviewThe Honda Civic Hybrid was only the third hybrid model sold in the U.S., starting way back in 2003, and it was the brand's first mainstream hybrid. It's been a solid member of Honda's Civic lineup ever since, consistently returning the best gas mileage of any Civic model. Now in its third...
John Voelcker -
Will Surging Gas Prices Save The Honda Insight?The Toyota Prius is the best-selling hybrid vehicle of all time and recently passed three million sales globally and a million in the U.S., over more than a decade. And when fuel prices rise, so has demand for the Prius and other high-mileage vehicles. So then, why hasn't it for the Honda Insight?...
Bengt Halvorson -
2012 Honda Civic: What Do You Want To Know About The Redesign?The Honda Civic is one of the best-known and best-selling compact cars in the U.S. market. And it's just been entirely redesigned. For all the details, you'll have to wait until Wedneday, April 20, when the full line of 2012 Honda Civic models will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show. But we're...
John Voelcker -
It's been a rough couple of years for cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells. As the drums beat louder for electric cars--the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, Nissan's upcoming EV, and more--the hydrogen chorus is waning. But perhaps there's hope. And perhaps it's as close as your nearest urinal. Or, more politely, your local sewage treatment facility. Let us explain. One of the problems with hydrogen is that while it's prolific in nature, hydrogen molecules aren't floating around loose. It takes a lot of energy to split hydrogen out from the other atoms to which it binds, either in natural gas or water...
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2011 Denver Auto Show: See the Electric Cars You Have Been Reading AboutFor those who live in Colorado the environment is a pretty serious thing. We have all see the brown cloud that sometimes comes to visit downtown Denver due to the bowl effect of the foothills. We also know as consumers we can make a change in our lifestyles to help reduce emissions that cause that...
Jonathan McGrew -
Chevy Volt Price-Gouging Pushes Buyer Into Honda Insight HybridFor all the media furor over the 2011 Nissan Leaf and the 2011 Chevy Volt, you'd think that tens of thousands of them were flooding onto our streets each month. Not so. As of Feb 28, the total sold between both cars was just 1,102, made up of 928 Volts and 174 Leafs. Now, it may be that those...
John Voelcker -
Production Honda Brio Minicar Revealed, Still Only For Asian MarketsLast year both Honda and Mitsubishi unveiled new minicar concepts previewing their respective small car futures--Honda with the Brio Prototype and Mitsubishi with the Concept Global Small. Since then Mitsubishi has confirmed the production version of its Concept Global Small for eventual sale in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Delay 2011 Leaf Production (UPDATED)Nissan has announced that as a consequence of Friday's devastating 9.0 earthquake and Tsunami in Japan production at all of its factories will remain halted until it has fully assessed the damage sustained to its factories, equipment and parts suppliers. Although Nissan's factories have been spared...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Up To 15 Mile Electric-Only Range For Honda Plug-In Hybrid, Debuts In Accord In 2012Honda has been slow to the game when it comes to plug-in hybrids and electric cars but at the recent 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show the automaker proved that it was not completely in the dark in this area. On display at the show was a new version of its Fit compact car powered by an electric...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Something popped into my head recently when I thought of recalls; it is a verse from a popular Salt-n-Pepa song modified. “Yo, Pep, I don't think they're gonna play this on the radio. And why not? Everybody has recalls.” And no truer words have been spoken and not even manufacturers with impeccable records like Honda can avoid the odd recall. In this case, the most recent recall from the Honda camp is for the 2006-2007 Honda Civic Hybrids. The recall is specifically for the DC-to-DC converter, which for those that are unfamiliar with a hybrid powertrain is an integral part of the...
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Honda Recalls 2006-2007 Civic Hybrids To Replace DC-DC ConverterHonda said yesterday it would recall 36,700 of its 2006 and 2007 Civic Hybrid models to replace a key component of the Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system. The part to be replaced is the DC-to-DC converter, which adjusts the voltage of power moved among different components of the hybrid system...
John Voelcker -
2012 Honda Civic HF Joins The 40-MPG-Plus Parade, Hybrid TooYou may have seen it on a t-shirt: "40 is the new 30." But you may not have realized it applies to miles-per-gallon just as much as age. While cars with EPA ratings of 30 mpg or more used to be considered in the highest ranks of fuel efficiency, now 40 mpg seems to be the new benchmark for...
John Voelcker -
How Are Car Dealers Getting Ready to Service Electric Cars?As we've discovered, some car dealers are less than enthusiastic about the prospect of selling and servicing electric cars. Luckily, others are more game. Either way, what can you expect from your local electric car dealership when you take your shiny new EV in for a service? Training You'd be...
Antony Ingram -
Toshiba Li-Ion Batteries To Appear In Honda's Electric CarFollowing years of claims they weren't interested in developing a battery-electric vehicle, Honda backtracked earlier this year and decided that they would produce one, with the 2012 Honda Fit EV concept finally revealed at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show last month. Now, Honda has announced that...
Antony Ingram -
2007-2008 Honda Fit Sees Some 143,083 RecallsRecalls aren’t something that we are used to reporting on when it comes to Honda’s subcompact and compact segment. That said, Honda is recalling some 143,083 2007-2008 Honda Fit models for a defect in the headlights. According to our sources, certain models have a defect in the wiring...
Jonathan McGrew -
Well, that was quick. Just one month after it unveiled the electric Fit EV prototype at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Honda is about to put the first of its electric subcompacts into daily use in southern California. Amusingly, it's in Torrance, where rival automaker and hybrid leader Toyota has its U.S. headquarters. The city of Torrance will receive a Honda Fit EV to test early next year, and then in 2012, a Honda Accord sedan fitted with Honda's new plug-in hybrid powertrain as well. Stanford University and Google will also receive their own Fit EV test cars. In Torrance, the cars will be...
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2011 Detroit Auto Show Preview: New 2012 Honda Civic ConceptNews from next month's 2011 Detroit Auto Show is coming in almost daily now. The latest announcement: Honda will present the world debut of a concept car that shows the styling direction of its next--and crucially important--Honda Civic. In reality, this means that the Honda Civic Concept shown in...
John Voelcker -
2011 Honda CR-Z: Determined or DoomedSports car and hybrid aren’t two words that have been used together a lot in the alternative fuel segment of the automotive industry—unless you are Honda. The 2011 Honda CR-Z hybrid is the first vehicle we have seen marketed as a sports hybrid and also one of the few offered with a...
Jonathan McGrew -
Report: Honda CR-Z Model To Drop Hybrid Motor, Pick Up TurboThe 2011 Honda CR-Z hybrid hot-hatch was meant to be the car that showed hybrids could be sporty as well as green, but its paltry 122 horsepower and dismal 0-60 times were never going to excite anyone. And don’t think its fuel economy is anything to write home about; the CR-Z returns 36/38...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Try Again: Honda's Big-Car Hybrid System Has Plug-In AbilityIt wasn't even at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, where Honda only showed a video of the new plug-in hybrid platform it only discussed But details of the new powertrain point the way toward a range of future hybrid Honda models. It uses two separate motor-generators, as does Toyota's Hybrid Synergy...
John Voelcker -
Honda Takes The Insight Down A Notch—In PriceHonda has been battling the Toyota Prius popularity pretty much since its introduction and that battle has been an up hill struggle with the Honda Hybrids not gaining much traction in the market. The theory was that was all going to change with the introduction of the all-new Honda Insight for...
Jonathan McGrew