Honda Green Car Advisor Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

November 6, 2009

Green Cars Get Green Light, Hybrid Sales Outperform Overall October Market

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Spurred by factory incentives, replenished stocks and the relative freshness of several models, sales of hybrid-electric cars and SUVs soared in October, easily outperforming the market as a whole.

Compared to October '08 - a month with six fewer hybrid models available - sales of Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota hybrids were up 12.1 percent, while sales of conventionally powered cars and trucks were flat.

The one-month picture was even rosier, as October hybrid sales jumped 22.5 percent from September's, versus a 12.1 percent hike in sales of conventional models.

Nissan, which has only one model - the Altima hybrid, - and sells it in just the nine states with the toughest emissions standards, was the only hybrid maker to record a sales decline for both periods, dropping 46 percent from a year earlier and 13 percent from September.

As with most hybrids - Toyota's Prius excepted - Nissan's actual numbers are quite small because of low sales volumes. October's sales drop represented just 46 fewer Altima hybrid sales than in September.

Toyota's redesigned 2010 Prius, sweetened by a small factory incentive, remained by far the segment leader, accounting for 55 percent of all hybrid sales for the month.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 6, 2009, 1:18 PM
Categories:: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Hybrids

October 28, 2009

Debate on Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulation Rages On

Automakers, Green Groups Debate Standards, California's Role at Los Angeles Hearing

By Danny King, Contributor

California's efforts to continue imposing more stringent greenhouse gas standards than federal rules require continued coming under fire from industry groups Tuesday as the Environmental Protection Agency held the last of three hearings on implementing proposed national standards for average passenger vehicle fuel economy.

Ford, Toyota, the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers and the Sierra Club were among the groups whose representatives offered a wide range of opinions during the day-long meeting in Los Angeles.

Federal officials are trying to determine how best to reach gas mileage and tailpipe-emissions standards within the next seven years that are about 30% more stringent than they are now.

California, which has authority to set its own standards, is in agreement with the federal proposals through 2016 but already has started working on tougher state standards for 2017 and beyond - a move that automakers oppose, claiming that separate state and federal rules will impose severe economic hardships on an already beleaguered industry.

Looking Forward

So while Tuesday's hearing ostensibly was about present regulations, many in the audience were more concerned with what happens eight years from now.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell October 28, 2009, 6:00 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, Honda, Legislation, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: CAFE Standards

October 27, 2009

Honda CEO Ito on Hydrogen, Hybrids and BEVS - Green is the Theme

Honda Motor Co. pulled the plug on Formula 1 racing to divert the money being spent there to green technologies and the company that's been playing second fiddle to Toyota in the green cars sweepstakes says it wants to hybridize larger vehicles again.

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Honda's top executive prefers hydrogen fuel cell FCX Clarity but says battery-electric cars will come first.
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That's the word from Honda President and CEO Takanobu Ito, speaking with a select group of automotive writers - including Edmunds' Inside Line News Editor Kelly Toepke - at the 2009 Tokyo auto show last week.

Toepke tells us that Ito is committed to the further greening of Honda, even to the extent of developing an environmentally friendly sports car that - his words - is truly green, "not like the car Lexus announced" at the show. He was referring to the limited production, V10-powered, $375,000 Lexus LFA supercar, which he apparently doesn't believe is green enough.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 27, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Fuel Cell, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Cars

October 21, 2009

Heavy Incentives Land Escalade, Insight Hybrids on Edmunds' Best Deals List

Incentive spending by automakers is soaring as a continued weak buyer market has inventories, which shrunk during the Cash for Clunkers program, piling up again.

It's unusual to see hybrids on the list of heavily incentivized cars, but this week two gas-electric models, the 2009 Cadillac Escalade hybrid SUV and the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid sedan, have both landed on Edmunds.com's "Deals of the Month" list.

"There are finance and cash deals on several of GM's hybrids, largely because sales have been slow all year and the automaker is hoping to move the 2009 models off the lots before the 2010s start piling up," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell.

"And the Insight just hasn't been moving very well, so the reduced lease they're offering is a good hook to pull people into Honda dealerships to look at them," she said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 21, 2009, 10:57 AM
Categories:: Cadillac, Honda, Hybrid
Technorati Tags:: Auto Incentives

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Honda CR-Z Hybrid Concept is Close to Reality

Honda Motor Co. offered a glimpse of the very near future in Tokyo late Tuesday as it unwrapped a sporty four-seat version of the CR-Z hybrid that will hit the market late next year as a 2-seat coupe.

Although they're calling it a concept, the "CR-Z Concept 2009" is pretty much what we'll see - sans the tiny rear jump seats - when the real thing hits U.S. showrooms in the second half of next year.

Actually, we'll see the real thing a little sooner, the production version of the CR-Z hybrid sport coupe will debut as a production car in January at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 21, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Honda, Hybrid, Japan
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo AutoShow

October 20, 2009

Honda May Build EVs; Still Thinks Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars Are Better Bet

Honda Motor Co. is still high on hydrogen, but now thinks battery-electrics might be the way to go until there's a hydrogen fueling infrastructure to support the fuel-cell electric cars the company prefers.

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Honda EV-N electric city car concept being displayed at Tokyo Auto Show.
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Honda CEO Takanobu Ito told an industry seminar in Tokyo Monday that he would now consider launching electric cars in the United States, Europe and Japan while waiting for hydrogen cars to become marketable. Reuters news service reported Itos' remarks today.

The automaker, which made a big splash last year with its ready-for-production FCX Clarity fuel-cell electric car, had been counting on that technology to enable it to catch up with hybrid champion Toyota in the fuel-efficiency sweepstakes to mature.

But ongoing road tests of the Clarity and General Motors' fuel-cell Equinox SUV haven't generated enough interest to spur fuel companies to build hydrogen stations, limiting the potential market for fuel-cell cars to urban areas of California and the New York metropolitan region.

That's not enough to generate the high volume production that would be needed to increase the number of component suppliers and reduce the cost of the highly specialized fuel cell systems.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); John O'Dell October 20, 2009, 12:49 PM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, Honda, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: EVs

October 12, 2009

Hydrogen Cars Getting Closer, More Affordable; Lack of Fuel Network Threatens

U.S. Trails Asia, Europe in Providing Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure, Automakers Warn

Automakers aiming to meet California's revised Zero Emission Vehicles mandate requirements have pushed the fuel-cell electric car much closer to reality than many realize, according to a report by Bloomberg news service.

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Rendering of advanced fuel station near Los Angeles International Airport touts hydrogen as the fuel of tomorrow.
Automakers say that without more such stations, that vision won't be realized.
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Not only is the technology almost ready for prime time, reporter Alan Ohnsman found that automakers such as Toyota, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Renault, Nissan and General Motors now believe they can bring fuel cell vehicles to market by 2015 with price premium of just $3,600 over the average price of a comparable midsized gasoline model.

But the technology and price breakthroughs won't mean much if the U.S. government's infrastructure priorities aren't altered to include encouragement of a hydrogen fueling system

If the U.S. doesn't get moving, it will fall behind Europe and Asia - where governments are actively promoting hydrogen fueling - in the race to replace oil as a motor vehicle fuel, GM and others warn.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 12, 2009, 10:23 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Daimler, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Renault, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars

October 8, 2009

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: A Closer Look at Honda's EV-N City Car Concept

We first showed you the Honda EV-N city car concept a few days ago, but now the company has released more photos of the electric city car concept.

Even though Honda insists this particular car - so lovingly evoking the original CV-CC - the photos are still worth looking at.

They likely give us a glimpse at what might be featured on an electric city car if Honda does decide to build one, and who knows - if enough people see the photos and kick up a fuss with Honda's dealers, the company just might come around on the EV-N.

In addition to the new Honda EV-N photos, the automaker also has supplied a bit more detail about the concept, which, it says, has user-changeable seat fabric, fold-flat rear seats, solar cells in the roof, and a wireless communication system built into the instrument panel to keep the car in touch with traffic info, navigation signals from EV charging stations, other Hondas, and who knows what else.

There's also one of those neat Honda U3-X (experimental) self-balancing electric unicycles stored in the door, for when the crowded city streets degenerate into crowded alleyways (they do that in Tokyo) and you just don't feel like walking the rest of the way.

(Photos after the jump)

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 8, 2009, 6:45 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Honda, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo Auto show

October 7, 2009

It's Diesel Vs. Hybrid in Annual Green Car of the Year Nominations

Audi's A3 TDI diesel and Mercury's Milan Hybrid are two of the contenders in LA Auto Show's green car face-off.

It will be diesel vs. hybrid and luxe models vs.standards in Green Car of the Year judging for December's 2009 Los Angeles International Auto Show. The five finalists in the annual competition, announced today, are the Toyota Prius (left), Honda Insight (below, right) and Mercury Milan hybrids on the gas-electric side and the Audi A3 TDI and Volkswagen Golf TDI (below, left) on the diesel side.

Judges picked the VW Jetta TDI last year, so if either the Golf or A3 win it will be two-in a-row for the fuel that most Americans still equate with big-rigs and giant bulldozers. There could be sentiment of the small luxury-performance car, which would help the Audi, but the engine in both the A3 and the Golf is the same that won it for the Jetta TDI in 2008.

Our handicapper at Inside Line's Straightline blog seems to be betting on the redesigned 2010 Prius, reasoning that the Milan Hybrid doesn't stand much of a chance because its twin, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, was nominated but didn't win last year, and that the judges will be loathe to salute diesel for a second consecutive year.

That leaves the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, and the Pruis is the greener of the two by dint of its greater fuel economy.

How would you handicap the contest?

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell October 7, 2009, 3:32 PM
Categories:: Audi, Auto Shows, Diesel, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Mercury, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Diesel

October 2, 2009

Hybrids Down, But Not Out In September as Clunker Cash Flees Market.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

The cash for clunkers frenzy that pulled many hybrid shoppers into the market earlier than they'd intended in July and August caused a big letdown in September as sales of gas-electric cars and trucks, which had been rising steadily all year, plunged 48.4 percent.

Only 19,977 hybrids were sold in September, down from 38,701 in August. The sales slide was the first in several months and was worse that that of the far larger conventional vehicle segment, which dropped by 40.9 percent from August.

Falling sales of the Toyota Prius - they were down 42 percent for the month - contributed heavily to the numeric decline although almost every hybrid model lost ground.

On a month over month basis there were no corporate winners in the hybrid segment as even Toyota - the industry leader with three out of every four hybrid sales - saw a 39.7 percent decline in its Toyota and Lexus hybrids.

And that was the segment's best performance.

Lots of Losers

Nissan, which has been on a tear with its single offering, the Altima hybrid sedan (helped by generous incentives in recent moths), saw its hybrid sales plunge 89.1 percent in September; Honda, the number two hybrid company, saw sales fall 61.6 percent; Ford, which had been rising since the March introduction of its Fusion hybrid sedan, was off 54.5 percent, and GM's hybrid sales fell by 40.8 percent.

Compared to sales at the end of the third-quarter last year- when the financial industry collapse began and the bottom fell out of the auto market, the picture was a little better as hybrid sales last month were down just 4.1 percent from September '08.

In contrast, conventional car sales fell 22.5 percent in the September-September comparison.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell October 2, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: September 2009 Hybrid Sales

October 1, 2009

Honda Says Nano Tech Breakthrough Could Revolutionize Electronics

Research Could Lead to Better Electrical Storage for Hybrids, EVs, and Much More

Microscopic carbon nanotubes may have the potential to transport electricity faster and over greater distances with minimal loss of energy, according to Honda Research Institute USA. In this image, the 10 tubes grown on red. pink or peach-colored substrata have metallic conductive properties while the one growing on a blue substrate has semiconducting properties and could not be used to replace metallic conductors such as copper. The empty substrata on either side of the center section are particles too small or too large to grow usable nanotubes.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

By themselves, carbon nanotubes don't do much - don't look like much, either (in fact, you need a pretty powerful electron microscope to see 'em).

But shoot a jolt of electricity into them and it's a new ball game.

They conduct electricity faster, over greater distances and with less energy loss than just about anything else, and they are so small that you can pack an enormous number of them - and an enormous amount of high-efficiency conductivity - into a fairly small package.

Huge application possibilities exist, especially in the search for lighter, cooler-running and more powerful electronics and electrical storage devices for hybrid and electric vehicles.

That's why America Honda Motors is so excited about the announcement today from its R&D unit that researchers there have devised a way to grow carbon nanotubes so that 91 percent of the tubes gown have the necessary metallic properties, nearly double the best efforts of of other research efforts, the company says.

Commercial in Five Years?

A Honda spokesman told Green Car Advisor the research could result in commercial applications for carbon nanotubes in five years or less.

The project was led by Honda Research Institute USA, in Columbus, Ohio, in conjunction with researchers at Purdue University, in Indiana, and the University of Louisville, in Kentucky.

The research, to be published in Friday's edition of Science magazine, opens "new possibilities for miniaturization and energy efficiency, including much more powerful and compact computers, electrodes for supercapacitors, electric cables, batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, artificial muscles, composite material for automobiles and plane, energy storage material and electronics for hybrid vehicles," Honda said in its announcement.

Makes you dizzy just thinking about it.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 1, 2009, 1:34 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Honda, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicles

September 30, 2009

Honda to Debut MPV Hybrid and Near-Production-Ready CR-Z at Tokyo Auto Show

Honda announced today that it will display at the Tokyo Motor Show next month a near-production version of the CR-Z (right), which will likely be the world's first hybrid sports car to employ a six-speed transmission when it goes on sale next year.

Alongside the CR-Z Concept 2009 will be the EV-N (below left), a small, four-seat battery-electric vehicle inspired by the N360, the twin-cylinder, air-cooled 360cc micro car launched with a plastic trunk lid in the 1960s. The revival vehicle has solar panels on the roof that could be used to charge the battery. Honda said the EV-N is "purely a design study and there are no plans for production."

The show will also see the debut of the Skydeck Concept (below right), a six-seat hybrid MPV/minivan, similar to the Ford S-Max. Honda said this design study is a great example of how hybrid technology can be placed in a range of different cars for different needs.

"To give the Skydeck the practicality of a conventional MPV, many of the hybrid system components, including the high-power battery, are housed in the car's center tunnel (rather than behind the rear seats or under the floor, as with previous production hybrids). This allows for greater cabin space, and the room for three rows of two seats. It also gives a lower center of gravity."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 30, 2009, 3:44 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicle

September 24, 2009

Honda Wants You On One Wheel as Well as on Two, or Four, or in the Air...

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Move over, Segway!

Honda, looking to cover all bets, is getting ready to add a one-wheeled, lightweight personal mobility device to a stable that already includes cars, trucks, motorcycles, a jet airplane and outboard motors for boats.

The U3-X mobility device (left) - still experimental - uses Honda-developed "balance control technology" and what the company believes to be "the world's first omni-directional wheel," to enable "riders" to go forward, backward, directly right or left and diagonally, turn in any direction and speed up, slow down or stop merely by leaning the upper body to shift body weight .

Oh, and it's lightweight - under 22 pounds - and electric, powered by a small lithium-ion battery good for an hour of continuous use.

In a neat bit of engineering, Honda made the device at once single- and multi-wheeled, connecting a number (unspecified) of small motor-controlled wheels in a single line then forming that into a single large-diameter wheel.

When the individual small wheels are moving, they enable the device to move side-to-side; when locked into position and rotating as the single large-diameter wheel they enable forward and backward motion, and when working in combination, they make it possible to move diagonally, Honda says.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 24, 2009, 1:00 AM
Categories:: Honda, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Asimo

September 18, 2009

Mazda2 Coming to America; Fuel Economy Likely 35+ MPG, Price Around $16,000

After wavering awhile, Mazda has decided to jump into America's rapidly growing small-car segment with the company's fuel-efficient Mazda2 model.

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Right, the current Mazda2. The U.S. version will debut in L.A. in December.
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The five-door hatchback, which is currently sold in Europe, will begin appearing in U.S. showrooms during the fall of 2010, company officials told Mazda dealers at the automaker's annual meeting this week.

The vehicle will share a platform as the Ford Fiesta, which is scheduled to launch in America next summer. In addition to the Fiesta, the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and Chevrolet Aveo will provide the Mazda2 with some stiff competition.

The U.S.-spec Mazda2 will be unveiled at the Los Angeles auto show in December. The current version of the Mazda2 has been on sale in Europe and Japan since 2007. In Japan, it is known as the Demio.

In Europe, the Mazda2 is offered with several gasoline and diesel engines. The U.S. edition will feature only a gasoline-powered, 1.5-liter four-cylinder.

That version in Europe delivers 103 horsepower and 101 pounds-feet of torque. It propels the Mazda2 from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 10.4 seconds while delivering 41 miles per gallon in Europe's combined driving cycle test; in the more real-world American combined driving cycle test, fuel economy should be 35-38 mpg.

The Mazda2 is offered as both a three- and five-door in Europe, but only the five-door will be available in the U.S. It comes only with a five-speed manual transmission in Europe, but the U.S. version will be available with a five-speed automatic.

Mazda would not disclose U.S. pricing, but in the U.K. it's priced around $16,750 not including taxes and fees. A Mazda source said the U.S. version will be priced somewhat lower.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett September 18, 2009, 2:41 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Chevrolet, Ford, Fuel Economy, Honda, Mazda, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet Aveo

September 10, 2009

2010 Honda CR-V Goes On Sale Today, Offers More Power and Better Fuel Economy

The 2010 Honda CR-V went on sale in North America today, with improvements to its 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine over the 2009 model boosting fueling economy 1 mile per gallon while increasing power output 14 horsepower to 180 hp.

Honda said in a statement that the EPA-estimated city/highway fuel economy ratings increased to 21/28 miles per gallon on 2WD models and 21/27 mpg on models equipped with 4WD -- "an increase of 1 mpg in both city and highway driving on all models."

While we don't question Honda's claimed EPA mileage estimates, it should be noted that they don't appear on the EPA's fuel-economy site and we were unable to ascertain the reason quickly.

Edmunds.com's fuel economy figures for the 2009 CR-V, which is the average combined number of miles a vehicle is able to travel using one gallon of fuel according to EPA simulated laboratory tests that consist of 45 percent highway and 55 percent city driving conditions, put that model at 22-23 mpg, so the combined FE rating for the 2010 model ought to be 23-24.

We wish we could report that the 2010 model had a starting price equal to or less than the starting price of the 2009 CR-V, but we can't. The newer model starts at $21,545 for 2-wheel drive, or $300 more than the current model year. Add $200 for 4WD.

People who consider the CR-V often look at the Subaru Forester and Toyota RAV4. The EPA posts fuel-economy figures for the 2010 RAV4 with 4WD (19/26, 6 cylinder, 3.5 liter, automatic 5-speed transmission; 21/27, 4 cylinder, 2.5 liter, automatic 4-speed) and for the 2010 Forester 4WD (19/24, 4 cylinder, 2.5 liter, automatic 4-speed; 20/27, 2.5 liter, manual 5-speed).

The RAV4 in 4WD starts at $22,900 and Forester, which is only available in 4WD, starts $20,295.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); Scott Doggett September 10, 2009, 9:49 AM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Honda
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Honda CR-V

September 9, 2009

9 Major Automakers Sign Letter Agreeing to Develop and Launch Fuel-Cell Vehicles

Perhaps motivated by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu's proposal last May to slash more than $100 million in federal funding for hydrogen-vehicle research, nine major automakers today issued a joint statement announcing that they had signed a letter of understanding to develop and launch fuel-cell electric vehicles.

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A trio of Ford FCEVs get pumped up.
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FCEVs use an on-board fuel cell stack to convert hydrogen and oxygen to electricity that powers an electric drive system.

Today's announcement came one day after Chu said in an interview that he will no longer seek to eliminate federal funding for the R&D of hydrogen cars, but instead will work with lawmakers to ensure the money is "invested wisely."

The automakers' announcement states that they "strongly anticipate that from 2015 onwards a quite significant number of electric vehicles with fuel cell could be commercialized. This number is aimed at a few hundred thousand units over life cycle on a worldwide basis."

It continued: "As every vehicle manufacturer will implement its own specific production and commercial strategies as well as timelines, commercialization of electric vehicles with fuel cells may occur earlier than in the above-mentioned expected year."

Beyond those statements, the announcement -- signed by Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Renault, Nissan and Toyota -- offered little more information regarding the automakers' plans.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 9, 2009, 12:04 PM
Categories:: Daimler, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: California Air Resource Board

September 5, 2009

3 Days With Honda's Clarity Helps Bring Hydrogen Debate Into Focus

Extreme cab-forward design of Honda FXC Clarity is possible because there's no engine to stuff under the hood.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

It felt like I was driving the future, but it seems that I was only driving toward it.

That elusive future was wrapped in a deep burgundy paint job and hummed along on electric power supplied by a suitcase-sized hydrogen fuel cell mounted in what would have been the transmission hump on a standard gasoline or diesel car.

Honda Motor Co. calls the color "star garnet metallic" and the car the FCX Clarity.

The Secretary of Energy, a Nobel laureate with a background in alternative fuels, calls it too much, too soon.

Foes and Pros

Some of the most vociferous proponents of battery-electric cars call fuel cell vehicles like the Clarity a pipe-dream, less efficient and more costly than "pure" electric vehicles and a technology that is simply not worth pursuing when all that research money could be going to perfecting plug-in hybrids and the electric vehicle battery.

Hydrogen proponents say the battery folks forget that you've got to measure energy efficiency over its entire life cycle - from well to the wheels - and not just compare snapshots of how efficiently it is transformed into motive power in the vehicle.

From their perspective, hydrogen is a more efficient fuel than electricity from the grid because the process of turning natural gas (the basic feedstock for hydrogen as well as for nearly a quarter of the electricity generated in the U.S.) to hydrogen is far more efficient than using it to generate electricity; an efficiency that more than makes up, they say, for battery-electric cars' more-efficient use of energy from battery to wheels.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (5); John O'Dell September 5, 2009, 9:53 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Honda, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Cars

September 3, 2009

China Denies Hoarding Metals, Says It Just Wants to Create Jobs in Inner Mongolia

China's moves to tighten control on the mining and export of a class of metal ores called rare earth are aimed at attracting high-tech manufacturing to Inner Mongolia, and not at dominating the market, The Wall Street Journal reported today, citing a senior Chinese official.

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The rare-earth element lanthanum, right, is used in the manufacture of hybrid-car batteries.
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As we reported earlier this week, a number of those rare metals are used to make the high-power, lightweight magnets for electric motors of hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Ford Fusion. Others are major ingredients for batteries used in hybrid cars.

Wednesday's comments by Zhao Shuanglin, vice chairman of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, appear aimed at quelling concerns that China is trying to dominate the global market for rare-earth resources.

China produces more than 90 percent of the world's output of the metals. Recent steps by Beijing toward tightening export restrictions have sparked concern in other countries.

There also appear to be concerns about China's investment in rare-earth producers in other countries.

In Australia, the government has delayed yet again consideration of a $210 million investment by China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group Co. in Lynas Corp., an investment that would give the Chinese company a majority stake in the biggest new rare-earth mine currently under development.

Lynas, which unveiled the planned investment in early May, said Wednesday a 30-day review period by the Australian government's foreign investment review board had again been reset so that the board has until early October to consider the deal.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 3, 2009, 1:01 AM
Categories:: Batteries, China, Ford, Honda, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Battery Manufacturing

September 2, 2009

Hybrid Sales Up Again in August, Carried By Clunker Cash and Slow-Growing Acceptance

Nissan Altima hybrid was one of the stars of August, more than tripling sales for the month despite limited availability.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

The federal Cash for Clunkers program may have been good for conventional cars in August, but monthly sales performance was a letdown for hybrids after an explosive July.

Oh, sales of gas-electric cars and SUVs were up last month - a 9.2 percent gain from July, but that pales by comparison to the 35 percent gain the segment recorded in July over June and doesn't stand up well, either, against the 26.6% August increase posted by conventionally powered vehicles (cars and trucks except hybrids).

Overall, however, August 2009 hybrid sales of 38,701 gas-electric cars, SUVS and pickups were up 48.6 percent from 26,044 in August '08 - a significant gain explained in large part by the addition of half a dozen new hybrid models, including the Honda Insight, Ford Fusion and Lexus HS250, that weren't available a year earlier.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 2, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: August 2009 Hybrid Sales

August 31, 2009

As Hybrid Cars and Electric Vehicles Gobble Rare Metals, Global Shortage Looms

The Toyota Prius hybrid automobile is popular for its fuel efficiency, but its electric motor and battery guzzle rare earth metals, a little-known class of elements found in a wide range of gadgets and consumer goods.

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Neodymium: A key component of EV motors.
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That makes Toyota's market-leading gasoline-electric hybrid car and other similar vehicles vulnerable to a supply crunch predicted by experts as China, the world's dominant rare earths producer, limits exports while global demand swells, Reuters news agency reported today.

Worldwide demand for rare earths, covering 15 entries on the periodic table of elements, is expected to exceed supply by some 40,000 tons annually in several years unless major new production sources are developed. One promising U.S. source is a rare earths mine slated to reopen in California by 2012.

Among the rare metals that would be most affected in a shortage is neodymium, the key component of an alloy used to make the high-power, lightweight magnets for electric motors of hybrid cars, such as the Prius, Honda Insight and Ford Fusion ~~Focus~~, as well as in generators for wind turbines.

Close cousins terbium and dysprosium are added in smaller amounts to the alloy to preserve neodymium's magnetic properties at high temperatures, Reuters reported. Yet another rare earth metal, lanthanum, is a major ingredient for hybrid car batteries.

Toyota has 70 percent of the U.S. market for vehicles powered by a combination of an internal-combustion engine and electric motor. The Prius is its No. 1 hybrid seller.

Reuters reported that Jack Lifton, an independent commodities consultant and strategic metals expert, calls the Prius "the biggest user of rare earths of any object in the world."

Each electric Prius motor requires 2.2 pounds of neodymium, and each battery uses 22 to 33 pounds of lanthanum. That number will nearly double under Toyota's plans to boost the car's fuel economy, he said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett August 31, 2009, 3:40 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ford, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: China

August 24, 2009

Report: Honda to Show Prototype Electric Car in October, Export EVs to U.S. in 2015

Honda Motor Co. plans to develop an electric car to debut in the U.S. market by around 2015 as tighter environmental regulations push demand for zero-emissions vehicles, the Nikkei business journal reported Saturday.

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2015 wouldn't mark the first year a Honda electric vehicle appeared in the U.S. Right, the Honda CUV-4 test EV in California two decades ago. It led to the Honda EV Plus, below, shown at a line-off ceremony in Japan in 1996.
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A spokesperson for the company, Japan's No. 2 automaker, said it was developing an electric vehicle but had not decided when to launch it.

The company would not comment on a Nikkei report, published without attribution to any sources, that a prototype of the car would be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October.

The vehicle is expected to be about the size of a minicar, the Nikkei said.

Nissan Motor Co., Japan's third biggest automaker, unveiled its electric car "Leaf" earlier this month with plans to begin selling it in the United States, Japan and Europe towards the end of 2010.

Other major automakers such as Toyota and Volkswagen have also announced plans to launch electric cars in the next few years.

Tesla Motors, a small California electric-vehicle maker, has sold more than 700 highway-capable EVs since it began producing them last year.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 24, 2009, 11:46 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Honda, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Emissions

August 17, 2009

Suzuki May Unveil Gasoline-Electric Hybrid Sedan in U.S. in 2011, Nikkei Says

Suzuki, which said last month that it would start selling its all-wheel-drive sports sedan in the U.S. by the end of the year, may unveil a gas-electric hybrid version in the country as soon as 2011, the Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported Sunday.

The carmaker, which would follow fellow Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda into the hybrid vehicle market, will use a powertrain it's developing with General Motors for the hybrid version of its Kizashi, Suzuki's first mid-sized sedan, Nikkei reported.

The hybrid will get about 20 percent better gas mileage than its gas-powered equivalent, which will be powered by a 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine, according to Nikkei.

Suzuki, which announced late last month that it would begin selling the gasoline-powered version of the Kizashi in North America this winter, also said it would make a hybrid version of the sedan, although it declined at the time to estimate when the hybrid would be available.

American Suzuki Motors Corp. spokesman Jeff Holland declined to comment on the Nikkei report.

GM, which first invested in Suzuki in 1981 and owned as much as 20 percent of the company in 2001, sold its remaining 3 percent of the company last year. Suzuki sold about 26,000 vehicles in the U.S. from the start of this year through July, down 60 percent from a year earlier.

Danny King, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett August 17, 2009, 5:35 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Suzuki, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Honda

August 14, 2009

Toyota Plans 'Ultra Fuel Efficient' Hybrid Based on the Yaris, Newspaper Reports

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to launch a hybrid vehicle that is cheaper and more fuel efficient than the Toyota Prius as early as 2011, a Japanese newspaper reported today.

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Right, the 2010 Toyota Yaris.
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The car will share key parts with the Toyota's Yaris and will get double the fuel economy of the Yaris, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported. It will be sold in the United States, Japan and Europe.

The vehicle would be priced around 1.5 million yen ($15,650) and deliver 94 miles per gallon, the newspaper said, without revealing how it got the information.

"The 'ultra-fuel-efficient' car will surpass in terms of fuel efficiency the latest model of Toyota's top hybrid car, the Prius," the newspaper reported. "The envisaged model will be the world's most fuel-efficient mass-produced hybrid car, whose main power source is gasoline."

Toyota spokeswoman Yoshie Matsuura said she could not discuss future product plans. But Toyota is known to be planning a small, inexpensive Yaris-based hybrid to compete with Honda Motor Co.'s plans for a hybrid version of the Fit/Jazz

The current Prius gets about 89 miles per gallon under a Japanese mileage test that is not comparable to U.S. or European tests.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett August 14, 2009, 10:12 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Emissions

August 13, 2009

Honda Insight, Toyota Prius Hybrids Named 'Top Safety Picks' by Insurance Group

The Honda Insight and Toyota Prius hybrids received "top safety pick" labels from the non-profit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, bolstering sales prospects for two of the industry's most fuel-efficient vehicles.

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Right, the Honda Insight dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that his survival space was maintained well.
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Today's designations for the 2010 Insight and Prius along with the non-hybrid Kia Soul mean about a third of the small cars tested by the non-profit insurance group carry its highest rating.

Vehicles with that label have posted "good" scores in front, side and rear crash tests. Top safety picks also must have electronic stability control.

"The latest results show that consumers who want good fuel economy can also get a high level of safety," said institute spokesman Russ Rader. "Because there are so many small cars that test well, there's no reason to settle for a small car with less-than-stellar safety ratings."

The insurance group's side test simulates a collision with an SUV or pickup truck moving at 31 mph. The frontal trials mimic 40 mph offset crashes with vehicles of the same weight as the test car. The institute also simulates a stationary vehicle's being rear-ended by a vehicle going 20 mph.

Today's top-safety-pick designations for the Prius, Insight and Soul put the number of top-rated small cars at 10, out of the 27 the group has tested. Other small cars with the rating are the 2009 Subaru Impreza, 2009 Scion xB, four-door 2009 Honda Civic, 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer, 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit, 2010 Toyota Corolla and two-door 2009 Ford Focus.

In April, the insurance group said the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Smart ForTwo minicars performed poorly in frontal crash tests with mid-sized vehicles. Upon impact, the three cars all collapsed into the space around the driver dummy.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett August 13, 2009, 5:10 PM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Kia, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer

2009 Edmunds Fuel Sipper Smackdown: Hybrids Versus Diesel and Mini

The fuel economy rule of thumb used to be that a full hybrid like the Toyota Prius was great for city driving but not so much better than other cars on the highway; that smaller cars were more fuel efficient than larger cars, and that diesels kicked butt in mileage contests.

Edmunds.com's crack(ed) team of testers set out last month to see if that's all still true with the new crop of cars and came to some surprising conclusions in what is becoming our annual Fuel Sipper Smackdown.

Over two days and 700-plus miles of driving, from Southern California to and around Las Vegas and then back, the team put the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid, 2010 Honda Insight, 2009 Mini, 2010 Toyota Prius and 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI through a series of driving conditions, tracked fuel costs and computer CO2 output.

You can read the results here, and watch the video, above, for a 5-minute summary, but we'll give you the boil-down now:

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell August 13, 2009, 12:03 PM
Categories:: Diesel, Ford, Honda, Hybrid, MINI, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Diesel

August 10, 2009

Ilmore Says 5-stroke Gas Engine Provides Diesel-like Power and Low Emissions

Ilmor 5 stroke.jpg High-performance engine design is all about extracting as much power as possible within rigid confines.

So we weren't shocked to learn today that Ilmore Engineering, a British company that has designed and made racing engines for General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and Honda for Formula 1 and IndyCar competitions, had developed a 5-stroke concept engine (pictured) that it says has the power of a diesel engine and the fuel efficiency and low emissions of a stingy gas sipper.

The engine, which displaces only 700cc and yet puts out 130 horsepower and 122 pound-feet of torque, is turbocharged and equipped with a fifth stroke. Yes, a fifth stroke.

Two of the engine's cylinders, running with a conventional four-stroke design, fire and expend their exhaust gases into a third low-pressure expansion cylinder. A fifth stroke then allows those gases to expand, boosting thermodynamic efficiency.

The result: Ilmore estimates a 5 percent improvement in overall efficiency versus a conventional direct-injected engine of similar displacement.

Ilmore is seeking support for a next generation of the concept offering up 150 horsepower and weiging 20-percent less than current engine.

Specifically, Ilmore engineering manager Steve O'Connor says the company is "looking for a manufacturer to back the idea, and the interest centers on its use in a hybrid application, as they tend to need sudden bursts of energy, and that is what this engine does well."

True. We wish O'Connor and the rest of the Ilmore Engineering gang the best of luck in their five-stroke endeavors.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett August 10, 2009, 9:55 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz
Technorati Tags:: Diesel Cars

August 4, 2009

July Hybrid Sales Explode With Clunker Cash and New Prius Excitement

Toyota's Perennial Best-Seller Records 48% Sales Jump For Month; Honda Hybrids Flat

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

If Cash for Clunkers lit a fire under July's auto dales in the general market, it apparently set off a rocket booster under the hybrid market.

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It was blue skies for Toyota as its 2010 Prius rebounded in July.
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Sales of gas-electric cars, SUVs and trucks were up an impressive 35 percent in July - for the month and from a year earlier. Almost all hybrid cars best the 22 mph minimum combined EPA mileage that qualifies a vehicle to be purchased using a cash for clunkers voucher. By comparison, sales of conventional new vehicles rose 15.4 percent for the month and were down 13 percent from July '08.

The explosive performance was led almost single-handedly by Toyota's 2010 Prius, which saw its first full month of sales with an adequate supply on hand at dealerships.

"I think hybrids are benefiting from the buzz of new models such as the 2010 Prius and Honda Insight and fresh models in segments other than compact car, as well as from Cash for Clunkers," said Edmunds.com industry analyst Jessica Caldwell.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell August 4, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: CarSales

July 31, 2009

Still Shopping? With Big Rebates, Hybrids and Diesels Can Be Attractive

If C4C Comes Back, Tech Premium For Many Could Be Offset; Manufacturer Rebates Would Do Same

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Got a gas guzzler that would qualify under the cash for clunkers program for a federal credit toward a new, more efficient car or truck? (That's if we still have a cash for clunkers program when the dust settles from Thursday's reveation that the programs's initial funding apparently has run dry.)

The situation's up in the air right now, but if you are in the mood to keep doing research, or perhaps have had the car-buying impulse jump-started and have decided to take the plunge - clunker incentive or no - this is a good time to look at hybrids and diesels.

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2009 Camry Hybrid has lowest technology premium, $239.

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If Congress keeps cash for clunkers going, or automakers step up with bigger incentives of their own to keep the market moving, the credits - ranging in the C4C program from $3,500 to $4,500 depending on the fuel economy of the new car or truck - could help make a previously unaffordable hybrid or clean diesel a lot more compatible with your budget.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 31, 2009, 7:09 AM
Categories:: Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Diesel, Ford, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Cash For Clunkers

July 30, 2009

Honda's Prius-Killer Resembles Road Kill 4 Months After Entering U.S. Market

Honda had hopes its retooled Insight (right ) would eventually overtake the Toyota Prius as America's top-selling hybrid when it began selling the model last March.

But four months after entering the U.S. market, it's not even a close race.

Nationwide, Americans bought 2,079 Insights in June, bringing total sales of the streamlined hatchback since March to 7,524. At that rate, Honda will sell less than a third of its goal of 90,000 in the first 12 months.

By comparison, the higher-priced Prius was snapped up by 12,998 drivers last month. Since March, Toyota has sold 40,398 of the gas sippers.

And reviews of the Insight have been dismal. Typical of them is last month's Consumer Reports review, which decided that the new Honda fell short in ride quality, handling, interior noise, acceleration, rear-seat access and visibility.

America's rejection of the fuel-efficient model must be all the more humbling because Honda was the first automaker to bring hybrids to the U.S. It did that a decade ago with an earlier version of the Insight.

And get this: The Ford Fusion Hybrid is selling as well as the Insight in the U.S. even though it costs nearly $10,000 more.

It'll be interesting to see how the Honda CR-Z -- the automaker's next hybrid -- competes when it comes to America next year. As a two-seat sport coupe, it will be entering one of the smallest-volume segments of the market.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (11); Scott Doggett July 30, 2009, 11:20 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Ford Fusion

July 22, 2009

U.S. Energy Dept. Awards $47 Million in Recovery Act Funding for EV Smart Grids

Also: Illinois, Colorado, Austria announce plans to invest heavily in plug-in infrastructures.

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

When it rains, it often pours. That's certainly the case now, as the U.S. Department of Energy, the states of Illinois and Colorado, and an Austrian utility all announced in recent days that they will invest many millions of dollars to create recharging networks for electric vehicles.

That's wonderful news, because it brings electric-vehicle makers and potential EV makers a step closer to solving one of the two major problems they face: That being a lack of infrastructure to support pure EVs and plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles.

The other problem remains development of inexpensive, safe, reliable, lightweight and energy-rich batteries to power the vehicles. Many companies and governments are working on a solution to that problem.

The Energy Department on Monday awarded $47 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to eight ongoing smart-grid demonstration projects. The $47 million investment will add to the $17 million in funds DOE had awarded these eight projects last year, thereby accelerating the timelines for the projects.

Most of the projects relate to technologies to help transmission and distribution systems operate better, but a few are directly related to clean energy. For example, the city of Fort Collins, Colorado, will research, develop and demonstrate a coordinated and integrated system of mixed clean energy technologies and distributed energy resources, allowing the city to reduce its peak electrical demand by at least 15 percent.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago will focus on implementing distributed energy resources and creating demand-responsive microgrids, which are small power networks that can operate independently of the utility power grid. In addition, the University of Hawaii will explore the management of its electrical distribution system to better accommodate wind power.

The Energy Department also just released the first Smart Grid System Report, which examines smart-grid deployments nationwide. The findings show that while many smart-grid capabilities are just beginning to emerge, the adoption of various technologies such as smart metering, automated substation controls and distributed generation are growing significantly.

The report also notes that smart-grid capabilities are socially transformational. As with the Internet or cell phone communications, smart-grid technologies have the potential to dramatically change how we experience electricity in the country, but improvements in physical and cyber security and information privacy will require consumers, manufacturers and utilities to closely follow a range of best practices for the smart grid.

Additionally, the Energy Department has begun the development of a Smart Grid Information Clearinghouse, tapping Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for the $1.3 million initiative to develop and maintain the clearinghouse Website, which will provide information to the public about smart-grid initiatives happening nationwide. The Smart Grid Information Clearinghouse was mandated by the Recovery Act.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 22, 2009, 12:16 PM
Categories:: BYD, Batteries, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Smart, Tesla
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicles

July 13, 2009

Honda Announces CR-Z and Fit Hybrids to Go On Sale in Japan Next Year

UPDATE: But the automaker says it has no plans to bring Fit Hybrid to U.S.

Honda Motor Co. announced today that it plans to begin selling the sporty CR-Z hybrid (above ) in Japan this coming February and release a hybrid version of its popular Fit five-door subcompact (below ) domestically by the end of next year.

By "combining these two models with the currently available Insight and Civic Hybrid, Honda will further enhance its lineup of compact hybrid models, which leverage the unique characteristics of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist, including compact size, lightweight and high efficiency," the company said in a statement.

Honda spokesman Chris Martin told Green Car Advisor that the CR-Z "will come to the United States within the calendar year of 2010," but he would not be more specific. As for the Fit Hybrid, he said Honda currently does not have any plans to bring it to the U.S.

The CR-Z concept vehicle made its world debut at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show in 2007. The car, which takes its looks from the CRX-style three-door hatchback of the 1980s, will feature a hybrid system similar to the one found in the current range of Honda hybrids.

As for a hybrid version of the Fit, American Honda spokesman Sage Marie insisted last September that it was years away. We're delighted that Honda gave that timeframe more thought.

Prices for the CR-Z and Fit Hybrid have not been announced, but the CR-Z is likely to be priced around $20,000 to compete effectively against Toyota's hybrid lineup and the hybrid Fit will likely come in much lower.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 13, 2009, 12:52 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Economy

July 2, 2009

While Most of Car Market Tanks, Hybrid Sales Gain for Sixth Consecutive Month

The Ford Fusion (above) and Toyota Prius help propel hybrid sales gains despite weak economy and credit woes.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Led by strong showings from both third-generation Prius and the gas-electric version of Ford's Fusion, hybrid car sales in June were up 9 percent from a year earlier and rose 2 percent form May's tally to mark the sixth consecutive monthly increase in sales volume for the segment.

Hybrids, which gained traction from the June introduction of the new 2010 Prius and continued consumer interest in the well-reviewed Fusion hybrid that was introduced in March, outperformed the new-car market as a whole - which was down 28 percent from June of 2008 and off 7 percent from May.

It's too early to declare a recovery in the segment, but rising gasoline prices and renewed public awareness of the importance of improved fuel economy in addressing climate change issues seem to be underlying a gradual strengthening of market performance.

"The most important thing is that there have been a couple of new models that are putting some excitement into the segment, said Edmunds.com industry analyst Jessica Caldwell.

"Then there's all the news of government fuel efficiency and emissions initiatives, and some pretty generous incentives in a segment that really hasn't seen many incentives in the past."

Caldwell doesn't think gas prices were a significant factor in June's hybrid market, but says "they certainly are on people's radar, with a broad expectation that they'll keep going up."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell July 2, 2009, 1:24 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Nissan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Cadillac Escalade

July 1, 2009

California to Require Reflective Coating on Windshields to Reduce Climate Change

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

California's air-quality authorities are an innovative bunch, and this month they took an unprecedented step toward making the Golden State less hazy by requiring automakers to place a reflective coating on the windshields of cars and trucks purchased in California.

The requirement is one of several that the California Air Resources Board has considered under its Cool Cars program, which is designed, as you likely guessed, to keep vehicles in the sunny state cooler.

By doing that, they reason, Californians won't need to use their vehicles' air conditioners as much, which will reduce the strain on automotive engines, which will decrease the speed with which we gobble up fossil fuels, which in turn will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we release into the atmosphere.

Green Car Advisor first reported on the program in February, when CARB was focusing on having paint-makers tweak their automotive paints so they'd be more light reflective - as opposed to more light absorbing.

Light-absorbing paints, the king of which is black, contribute significantly to a vehicle's cabin temperature when parked in direct sunlight. Hot parked cars tend to cause their owners to reach for A-C controls the moment they enter their vehicles. Running the air conditioners adds to the workload of the vehicles, which in turn results in higher fuel consumption - you know the story.

The same is true with regard to windshields. When you consider at how much of the surface area of a car's sunny side consists of windshields, you can appreciate how important it is for the glass to be sunlight-reflective to help keep a vehicle's interior cool when parked in sunlight.

The technology used by glass manufacturers to make more reflective car windows has been around for nearly 20 years, said Mukesh Rustagi, director of strategic product management at Pittsburgh Glass Works, the largest automotive glass supplier in North America.

The technology exists and it's not particularly costly compared to, say, wiping out entire species and watching the world's glaciers - water sources for more than a billion people - melt away.

With that in mind, California's air regulators voted unanimously last week for a mandate requiring automakers to include sun-reflecting windshields on all vehicles sold within the state by 2014.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett July 1, 2009, 12:01 AM
Categories:: Chrysler, Courts, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda
Technorati Tags:: Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers

June 30, 2009

Consumer Reports Rips Honda Insight for Ride Quality, Handling, Acceleration, Etc.

Magazine says hybrid is the most disappointing Honda it has tested "in a long time."

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

The new Honda Insight posted a lackluster "Good" overall road-test score in Consumer Reports' testing for the August issue, and fell short in ride quality, handling, interior noise, acceleration, rear-seat access and visibility.

"The Insight is the most disappointing Honda Consumer Reports has tested in a long time," said David Champion, senior director of CR's Auto Test Center. "The Insight is a noisy, stiff-riding car with clumsy handling that is nothing like the Fit on which it is based. Also, Electronic Stability Control is only available on the highline EX version."

About the only thing CR seemed impressed with was the vehicle's fuel efficiency. The Insight achieved an excellent 38 miles per gallon overall in CR's fuel-economy tests.

In a ratings chart of small hatchbacks and wagons, the Insight was rated 21st out of 22 vehicles, with a road test score of 54 points. It was followed by the Dodge Caliber, which scored 49.

All vehicles in the test group are Recommended by Consumer Reports except for the Insight.

CR only recommends vehicles that have performed well in its tests, have at least average predicted reliability based on CR's Annual Car Reliability Survey of its more than 7 million print and Web subscribers, and performed at least adequately if crash-tested or included in a government rollover test.

Full tests and ratings of the test group appear in the August issue of Consumer Reports, which goes on sale June 30.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 30, 2009, 1:15 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Opinion, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight

June 26, 2009

Despite Slow Start, Japan Wants to Promote Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Effort Comes as U.S. Plans to Drop Federal Funding For Fuel Cell Car Research

toyota.fchv.430.jpg Japan's Internal Affairs Ministry, dismayed that its goal of having 50,000 hydrogen fuel cell cars on the roads by the spring of 2011 isn't going to be achieved, has called for new measures to promote use of the vehicles.

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A Toyota Highlander fuel-cell vehicle.
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The government, which set the present goal back in 2001, also is expected to release a new target, given that here were only 42 fuel-cell electric vehicles in operation in Japan at the end of the 2008 fiscal year last March.

Already in place, as of April, is an exemption for fuel cell vehicles and other "new-generation" cars and trucks, from Japan's expensive vehicle weight and new-vehicle purchase taxes.

The Japanese government has invested the equivalent of $205 million in fuel cell development in the past five years, and Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda are among the industry leaders in the technology.

Honda's FCX Clarity (left) is the world's only purpose-built hydrogen fuel cell car.

It is a terribly expensive vehicle now (estimates of Honda's investment to build 200 of the cars range from $500,000 to $2 million per vehicle) because its body panels are all unique, requiring costly new tooling, and its power system is pretty much hand-built.

But Honda insiders say the car could be made affordable if there were sufficient demand to foster growth of a supplier industry to make fuel cells, batteries and other specialized components in volume.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 26, 2009, 12:27 PM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, Honda, Hydrogen, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell Vehicles

June 25, 2009

Nearly Every Honda Model Meets Cash-for-Clunkers Voucher Requirements

Someone in Honda's PR department was thinking this morning.

That's evident from the smart press release the automaker issued today, which states that Honda offers nine models - from the Insight hybrid to the Ridgeline pickup - that can qualify for a cash-for-clunkers voucher.

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The '09 Civic EX-L is good for a voucher.
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The federal Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 - the cash-for-clunkers program - enacted Wednesday provides up to $4,500 to consumers who trade in their current eligible vehicle for one that achieves greater fuel economy. Program vouchers may be accepted at participating dealers as early as Monday.

The only vehicles in the Honda lineup that will not qualify for vouchers are the limited-production S2000 roadster, Accord V6 Coupe with manual transmission and the FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle, which is excluded by the federal program's lease limitations.

Cars need only achieve a combined EPA fuel-economy rating of 22 miles per gallon or more to qualify. In the Honda lineup, these would include the 2009 Fit (all models), the 2010 Insight (all models), 2009 Civic (all models), and the 2009 Accord (all models except the V6 Coupe with manual transmission).

Light trucks need only a combined EPA fuel-economy rating of 18 mpg or more to be eligible. In the Honda lineup, they include the 2009 CR-V (all models), 2009 Element (all models), the 2009-2010 Pilot (all models), and the 2009-2010 Odyssey (all models).

A pickup truck can meet the "large light-duty truck" requirements with a combined rating of 17 mpg if its wheelbase is greater than 115 inches and its gross vehicle weight rating is less than 8,500 pounds. All models of the 2009 Ridgeline meet those requirements.

We intend to post a list containing all of the eligible models, not just Honda's, in the days to come. Further information about the federal program can be found on the U.S. Department of Transportation's Website.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 25, 2009, 3:26 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Honda Accord

June 18, 2009

Rising Gas Prices Got You Worried? Here's a Nice Deal On a 42 MPG Commuter Car

This is not an endorsement, but the deal is so sweet we had to pass it on.

Honda is offering a $199 monthly lease (that's before taxes, license, registration etc.) on the 2009 Civic Hybrid.

That's $50 a week for a pretty thrifty car, rated at 40 miles per gallon in the city and 45 on the highway, 42 mpg combined, and carrying an MSRP of $23,650 - which would mean a $400-plus monthly payment for most people who'd buy one.

We're not going to go over the entire offer, but wanted to let you know that it's out there and is set to expire July 6 (dealers can extend it, as long as Honda keeps offering the cut-rate financing).

For people who qualify for Honda's top lease financing deal, the down payment is $1,505 and the initial out-of pocket, including the first month's payment, would be $2,299.

You can check out this deal and other rebates and incentives on Hondas or any other nameplate sold in the U.S., with Edmunds.com's incentives and rebates locator.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 18, 2009, 5:09 PM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid; Car Leases

June 17, 2009

VW Turbo- and Supercharged 1.4-Liter Engine Wins Top Honor for Greenness

When Volkswagen came out with its "twincharger" 121-horsepower 1.4-liter engine a few years back, its goal was to combine the low-end power boost provided by a mechanically driven compressor (supercharging) with the higher-end increase provided by an exhaust turbocharger (turbocharging).

That would, they hoped as the engine was being developed, result in a clean-burning, fuel-efficient and yet fairly high-performance engine. The system (pictured; click on it to enlarge) would force more air into the cylinder, enabling more combustion and delivering more power.

The higher consumption of fuel would, they hoped, be more than offset by the overall decrease in fuel consumption that results from using a smaller engine.

And they were right. The 1.4-liter engine delivers torque corresponding to a 2.3-liter engine, but with 20 percent less fuel consumption and fewer emissions.

Today, VW secured overall honors at the 11th annual International Engine of the Year Award ceremony took place at Engine Expo 2009 in Stuttgart. It was the first time the company had won the accolade.

The winning engine, which beat both Toyota's and Honda's new electric-hybrid powerplants, was selected by 65 automotive writers from 32 countries across four continents.

The engine is offered across much of the VW model range, including the Golf, Scirocco and Eos, and is used to good effect by Seat in the Ibiza Cupra.

Dean Slavnich, editor of Engine Technology International and co-chairman of the International Engine of the Year Awards, described the engine as "a masterstroke of downsizing technology and a real engineering showcase. I have no doubt that this engine will become the template for a whole new generation of high efficiency, small capacity engines in the years to come."

He might be right about that.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett June 17, 2009, 2:06 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Emissions

June 16, 2009

U.K. Company Riversimple Says It Will Bring an H2-Powered Car to Market by 2012

Less than two months after the U.S. secretary of energy proposed cutting off federal funding for development of hydrogen cars, claiming their realization was many years away, a European company has announced plans to unveil a hydrogen-powered sedan (pictured ) in the next couple of years.

Hugo Spowers, head of the new U.K. car company Riversimple, said the four-seat urban car will launch by 2012, according to Autocar magazine.

Spowers is quoted as saying that the car will be capable of running at 75 miles per hour with a range of 200 miles between refueling, and it will have a much smaller fuel cell than other models such as Honda FCX.

Riversimple is currently testing its hydrogen technology in a small Smart-sized city car, which weighs just 770 pounds and has a 6-kilowatt fuel cell and a top speed of 50 mph. The prototype manages 240 miles on just 2.2 pounds of hydrogen

Sound too compelling to be true? That's what we thought, but the project has been given much-needed credibility and financial support by Sebastian PiÃ«ch, the great-grandson of Ferdinand Porsche.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett June 16, 2009, 11:37 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Honda, Riversimple
Technorati Tags:: Department of Energy

Honda Considers Offering Two Hybrid Cars Priced Lower Than Its Insight Hybrid

With Toyota's Prius proving strong competition to its recently released Insight hybrid, Honda says the automaker is weighing the possibility of introducing two hybrid cars that will be priced lower than the Insight (pictured ).

The low-emissions Insight, rated by the U.S. government as getting 41 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, is priced from $19,800 to $23,100. By comparison, Toyota's 2010 Prius, which averages 50 mpg, sells for $22,000 to $31,770.

As we reported Monday, Honda said first-year U.S. sales of the fuel-efficient gasoline-electric Insight appears likely to miss the automaker's target by at least 30 percent.

U.S. sales of the model, which first started appearing in American dealerships in March, had been expected to reach 90,000 vehicles by March of next year. That forecast has been revised to no more than 60,000 vehicles.

Earlier today, Honda President Takeo Fukui told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper that Japan's No. 2 carmaker by volume was considering adding the cheaper hybrids to an already announced line-up of hybrid vehicles, including the CR-Z hybrid coupe, and hybrid versions of Civic and Accord. Fukui did not reveal the timeframe for the launch.

This news follows the announcement last month that Honda was expecting to launch a gasoline-electric hybrid version of its Fit B-segment model in fiscal year 2010/11. Since Honda launched its Insight it has enjoyed strong sales in Japan, despite declining demand for its other models.

However, the Insight has started facing strong competition from the Prius in Japan as well as in overseas markets, despite being cheaper than its rival model.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 16, 2009, 10:24 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Emissions

June 15, 2009

Honda Says U.S. Sales Goal for Insight Hybrid May Miss Mark by 30-plus Percent

In April, Honda's Insight became the first hybrid ever to top Japan's monthly car sales list , but first-year U.S. sales of the gasoline-electric car the model appears likely to miss the automaker's target by a wide margin.

In an interview with a Bloomberg News reporter last week, John Mendel, U.S. executive vice president for Japan's second-largest carmaker, said first-year American sales of the Insight may be no more than 60,000 vehicles.

U.S. sales of the model, which first started appearing in American dealerships in March, had been expected to reach 90,000 vehicles by March of next year.

Mendel attributed the disappointing sales to cheap gasoline, the economic slump and competition from Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius hybrid. Gasoline prices in the U.S. have fallen 35 percent over the past year. Meanwhile, Toyota plans to cut the base price of its new Prius by $1,000 to compete more effectively with the Insight.

The Insight, rated by the U.S. government as getting 41 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, is priced from $19,800 to $23,100. By comparison, Toyota's 2010 Prius, which averages 50 mpg, sells for $22,000 to $31,770.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett June 15, 2009, 1:16 PM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Economy

June 12, 2009

H2 Minus $ is an Equation Hydrogen Car Backers Say is Wrong Answer for Proposed Energy Department Budget

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Like every other alternative fuel, hydrogen has its fans and foes, its pluses and minuses, its ups and, recently, its downs.

After being the favored ground transportation fuel of the future for most of the last eight years as the Bush administration pushed development of hydrogen fuel cells for automotive use, nature's most abundant - albeit hard to isolate - element has been cast aside by the Obama administration.

The new president's Nobel-winning energy secretary, Steven Chu, has proposed in his 2010 departmental budget to eliminate funding for automotive hydrogen programs - that's $100 million - and instead to focus hydrogen research on fuel cells to generate power for homes, businesses and other stationary power users.

For transportation, his choice of fuel research programs to back is no surprise, he's long been a supporter of biofuels and electric cars.

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Honda says its FCX Clarity (below, right) is production-ready, lacking only a fueling infrastructure and lower-priced components that can only come with increased production of such cars.
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That's got the hydrogen car crowd - and we confess to a great fondness for fuel cell vehicles ourselves - up in arms and questioning the validity of Chu's apparent decision to "pick winners" by concentrating DOE research finding on biofuels and battery-electric, or plug-in, cars while announcing that his team doesn't see any short-term chance for hydrogen to emerge as a widely available and used fuel.

But Chu, powerful as he is sitting atop the nation's official energy policy agency and operating with the endorsement and backing of the president, isn't all-powerful. He has to answer to Congress, and Congress is subject to lobbying.

So the pressure politics have begun.

Short-Sighted?

With DOE budget hearings about to start, the chairman of the Senate's energy and Water Appropriations Committee - the committee that sits in judgment over the energy Department budget - has come out swinging.

A fan of hydrogen, Sen. Byron Dorgan recently called the DOE's budget recommendation to eliminate automotive hydrogen research funding "a very short-sighted recommendation." Hydrogen and fuel cells "are part of this country's future," said the North Dakota Democrat.

Backing Dorgan in support of restoring at lest some hydrogen programs funding for automotive research are automakers with huge investments in the technology.

They include Toyota and Honda, no slouches when it comes to making informed choices about technologies, as well as Daimler and our own General Motors Corp.

(We say "our own" because as part of the taxpaying public, we now share ownership of the faltering car company with the rest of America.)

Unlikely Allies

GM, in case you've been living in a cave or up in space for the past few weeks, is in bankruptcy now and the government, as its majority owner, has a rather big stake in the company's survival and future success.

Granted, GM hasn't been all that great at picking the proper trends and technologies as it looked to the future.

But this time the General is on the same team as Toyota and Honda rather than turning up its nose and sniffing that the Japanese car companies don't know what they are talking about.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell June 12, 2009, 5:15 AM
Categories:: Biofuels, Daimler, Ford, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: DOE Budget

June 3, 2009

Toyota Faces $1 Billion Cost to Comply With California ZEV Mandate Says Report

It's still 18 months before California's revised zero emissions vehicle requirements kick in, but the lobbying, has quietly begun.

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Cars such as this plugin Toyota Prius are needed to meet California ZEV mandate, but increase automakers' operating costs.

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Toyota Motor Co. will be most impacted by the rules requiring major antomakers to provide electric and plug-in vehicles for at least 3 percent of their sales in the state from 2012 through 2014, and in an interview with Bloomberg reporter Alan Ohnsman last week a Toyota insider said the company faces $1 billion in new costs to comply.

There's no overt complaining in the article, published today on Bloomberg.com, but Toyota's meassage is clear: $1 billion is a lot of money anytime, and is a particularly sizeable pile of cash to come up with in the midst of a recession that is hurting the entire auto industry including the world's biggest car company.

In addition Toyota, which has the biggest share of the California new-car makert, the mandate would apply to Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and pre-bankruptcy General Motors Corp, and Chrysler LLC.

The two domestics have said that major production cuts are part of their recovery plans and if their sales in California drop below 60,000 a year as a result, they would no longer be bound by the mandate

Toyota, according to Bloomgerg's calculations, would have to produce 16,000 plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles to by 2014 to comply with the rules, which require major automakers to make non-polluting vehicles equal at least 3 percent of their sales for the 3-year period.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell June 3, 2009, 6:01 PM
Categories:: Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: California Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate

May 27, 2009

Schwarzenegger: Calif. Committed to H2 Future Regardless of Washington Politics

AS-May-27,-2009.jpg By Scott Doggett, Contributor

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the 2009 Hydrogen Road Tour today at Stop 6 of a 9-day, 28-stop, 1,700-mile road trip, telling a group of reporters at the site of the state's first integrated (H2 and gasoline) station that California remains committed to a future where hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles replace gassy rides regardless of what Washington does.

Speaking at a Shell station in West Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger reminded reporters that the California Air Resources Board, which sets vehicle-emissions standards for the state, recently passed a low-carbon fuel standard - the world's first such standard.

It will, he said, ensure that the cleanest fuels, including hydrogen, will always have a strong market in California.

"And the reason why this is so important is that on the federal level, they [politicians] make decisions based on where the oil price is. That means that sometimes the federal government, when the oil price goes up, they go in the direction of renewable energy and alternate fuels. And when the oil price goes down, they abandon those policies," the "Governator" said, his back to a row of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles made by Daimler, Honda, Toyota, KIA, Volkswagen and Nissan.

"Well we don't do that here in California. We only march in one direction and that is forward. And we're not going to slow down. In 2010, we will have seven new hydrogen refueling stations in California and we will invest another $40 million over the next two years in hydrogen stations."

The governor reminded the automotive press that 20 percent of the new vehicles sold in the United States are sold in California, which is home to 25 million cars and trucks. (Those vehicles, not incidentally, consume 50 million gallons of gasoline and diesel a day and produce 40 percent of the state's greenhouse gases.)

As a result of California's vehicle market share, and that fact that Washington often follows the state's lead regarding tailpipe-emissions regulations, automakers can count on there being a large market for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and companies considering investments in an H2-refueling infrastructure can rest assured there will be vehicles requiring the fuel, he said.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett May 27, 2009, 2:13 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Daimler, Diesel, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Kia, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Biofuels

Honda Fit Hybrid: Sooner? Or Later?

There's a Dow Jones International wire service article circulating today that quotes an unidentified spokesman for Honda Motor Co. in Japan as saying that the company intends to launch a gas-electric hybrid version of its popular Fit subcompact sometime in the upcoming 2010-2011 fiscal year.

If true, it is pretty dramatic illustration of how effective government fuel economy mandates can be in pushing carmakers to speed up introduction of fuel-efficient models. It was just last September, after all, that American Honda spokesman Sage Marie told us it would be years until introduction of a hybrid model of the Fit.

That, however, was before President Obama accelerated U.S. fuel efficiency standards to require automakkers' passenger car fleets to average 39 miles per gallon on the CAFE rating scale (27 mpg on the EPA rating scale) by 2015.

We can't vouch for the accuracy of the Dow Jones report because it also says Honda will follow the Fit hybrid in 2012 with a hybrid sports car based on its CR-Z concept (left), and that's not the case.

Honda already has set next year -2010 - for introduction of the CR-Z hybrid and has said that the Fit hybrid will follow it, not come before, says American Honda spokesman Chis Martin.

Still, that time-line doesn't make the wire service report wrong on the Fit: Introduction of a Fit hybrid in the first quarter of 2011 would still put it in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell May 27, 2009, 2:12 PM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid
Technorati Tags:: Honda Fit Hybrid

May 20, 2009

Toyota Questions Price, Recharge Time and Battery Durability of Plug-In Hybrids

Toyota Motor Corp., which recently posted its first financial loss in decades, said U.S. consumer demand for plug-in hybrids may be limited by the vehicles' price, recharge time and battery durability - nevermind their popularity with President Obama.

Toyota estimates sales of hybrids that can be recharged at household outlets may be 50,000 vehicles a year at most and could be as few as 3,500, Bill Reinert, the automaker's U.S. national manager for advanced technology, told a National Academy of Sciences panel in Washington, D.C., Monday.

Sales of Toyota's Prius - the best-selling gasoline-electric hybrid on the road, and a vehicle Reinert helped design - were almost 159,000 last year.

A market for the plug-in hybrid electric vehicles "will emerge, but their success depends on advantages over existing hybrids," Reinert said. "There is a great deal of variation on how current PHEVs perform in real-world conditions."

Interest in plug-ins surged after gasoline prices reached record highs last year and Obama campaigned on a goal of getting 1 million such vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015. The Energy Department has said it plans to begin awarding a portion of $25 billion in low-cost federal loans to companies that build plug-ins and other fuel-efficient vehicles at U.S. factories.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 20, 2009, 10:04 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Chevy Volt

May 18, 2009

Are Automakers Finally Seeing the Light? Will Government and Greens See it Too?

Auto Industry Lines Up To Praise National Program Idea, Now the Hard Work Begins

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

The auto industry, tired of being seen as the bad guy whenever fuel economy and emissions regulation is on the table, is wasting no time lining up in support of tomorrow's White House announcement on development of a national carbon emissions and fuel efficiency program.

A cynic might think this doesn't bode well for the ultimate result of the rulemaking process that President Obama will outline at a press conference in Washington Tuesday morning: That the auto industry figures it has enough clout left to wring the life out of any effort to significantly improve fuel economy.

But we think it simply shows that an industry on life support and dependent on government largess here and overseas has finally read the writing on the wall and realizes that this is as good as it is ever going to get and that if it doesn't play ball it will have no say in the rules it eventually will have to live by.

Automakers also have been caught in a trap of their own making. They've been fighting California, the national leader in establishing greenhouse gas controls on motor vehicles, insisting that individual states shouldn't be able to set carbon emissions rules and that a national standard is needed.

Now the Obama administration has stepped to the table and said, as the president is wont to: "Okay, let's develop a national rule."

To oppose that would be political suicide.

In that vein, the two lobbying groups representing almost every car maker that does business in the U.S. have jumped on board and are voicing support for the so-called National Program for Autos.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 18, 2009, 6:00 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, BMW, Chrysler, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Legislation, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Plug-ins and Electric, Porsche, Renault, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: National CAFE Plan

Toyota Rolls Out New, Less Pricey Prius in Japan and Claims 80,000 Preorders

Toyota rolled out the revamped Prius today, and the world's largest automaker said it already has 80,000 advance orders in Japan for the remodeled hybrid amid intensifying competition with Honda's rival offering, the Insight.

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Right, Toyota's Akio Toyoda speaks at the unveiling of the revamped Prius.
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That figure is remarkable, given that Toyota sold only 73,000 Priuses in Japan all last year.

The announcement came exactly one week after the Insight became the first hybrid ever to top that nation's monthly car sales list.

Toyota said it aims to sell up to 400,000 units globally a year of the new Prius.

"We are resting the future of cars in this model," said incoming president Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, who drove the new model onto a stage at a packed Tokyo showroom.

Both Toyoda's presence and the revamped Prius are symbolic of Toyota's pursuit of a turnaround from its worst annual loss since its 1937 founding.

The Prius, now in its third generation since its 1997 introduction, is the best-selling gas-electric hybrid in the world, racking up a cumulative 1.256 million units sold in more than 40 nations and regions.

But now Toyota faces a challenge from Honda, whose more cheaply priced Insight has sold briskly since it was introduced in Japan in February.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 18, 2009, 10:35 AM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Honda Insight

Energy Secretary's Proposal to Cut Hydrogen Fuel Cell R&D Is A Turn for the Worse

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

One week has nearly passed since Energy Secretary Stephen Chu proposed slashing more than $100 million from Uncle Sam's hydrogen research and development program, and all of us should still be mystified and bothered by his proposal.

Chu's rationale for cutting hydrogen funding by 59 percent to just $68 million: It's unlikely that the technology will become significant player during the next two decades.

In other words, Chu's litmus test for funding a technology that might avoid or at least delay the catastrophic effects of global warming is that the technology must be developed within, say, the lifetime of an old house cat.

If Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius applied the same rationale to drug research, she'd propose slashing federal funding for cancer, AIDS and influenza research, because cures for them are probably 20-plus years out. But tossing in the towel on those problems would be nutty, wouldn't it.

And just think where we'd be today if the Wright brothers, Ladislo Biro, Stephen Poplawski, Willis Carrier, Percy Spencer, and the banjo-playing, 3M engineer Richard Drew decided not to invent anything because it'll take too much time. We might never know airplanes, ball-point pens, kitchen blenders, air-conditioning, microwave ovens and, God forbid, Scotch tape.

Other things that took years to invent include: the telephone, the light bulb, the cotton gin, the sewing machine, the personal computer, television, the camera and, lest we forget, the automobile.

Shucks, a whole lot of things that shape the lives we lead today took a long time to develop.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (6); Scott Doggett May 18, 2009, 12:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Battery Electric Vehicles

May 12, 2009

Nissan Says Tough Economy Won't Stall Plans for Electric Vehicles

There was a bit of green news along with the river of red ink that Nissan Motor Co. reported earlier today in Tokyo.

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The Denki Cube, a concept Nissan EV.
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Nissan reported a $2.85 billion net loss for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31. The Japanese automobile company reported a full-year loss of $2.4 billion, down from a $4.9 billion profit for fiscal 2007.

Last week, Toyota Motor Co. reported a $4.5 billion loss, while Honda Motor Co. Ltd. posted a $1.4 billion profit.

"The global economic recession and financial crisis continue, but we are beginning to see some signs of improved access to credit, the impact of government stimulus packages and a gradual return in consumer confidence," Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn said in a statement. "We remain cautious about the economic environment and fully focused on our company's recovery efforts."

Now for the green.

Nissan said that the tough times in the automobile world won't slow its plan to start building electric vehicles at its Oppama plant outside of Tokyo in the fall of 2010. The plant's initial production capacity will be 50,000 units, but that volume will "continuously increase for the start of EV mass-marketing in 2012," according to Nissan.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 12, 2009, 8:06 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Honda, Japan, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car Batteries

Honda Insight Becomes 1st Hybrid toTop Japanese Auto Sales Charts

A little bit of news from Japan: Honda's Insight has become the first hybrid ever to top that nation's monthly car sales list.

The Japan Auto Dealers Assn. reported Monday that Honda dealers sold 10,481 Insights in April, making it the best-selling passenger vehicle in the country.

Honda's Fit subcompact was second with 9,443 sales, followed by Toyota's Vitz subcompact (it's the Yaris in the U.S.) with 6,341 sales and the Toyota Corolla with 6,341 sales.

April was not only the first time a hybrid has been the country's top seller, it is the first time since its February introduction in Japan that Insight sales have topped the 10,000 mark.

AS is the case in the U.S., sales of Toyota's aging Prius are slipping - badly in Japan with a 64 percent decline from April of '08 - as consumers wait for the introduction at the end of this month of the redesiogned and reengineered 2010 Prius.

That's helped Honda's smaller Insight jump to the top of the heap, as has the Insight's price, which at just about $19,500 U.S. (1.89 million yen) is almost $4,500 cheaper than the present generation Prius (2.33 million yen). In the U.S, the Insight launced in late March with a $20,470 base price.

Thje big price differential has led Toyota to green-light a stripped down version of the Prius that will be priced to compete with the Insight, and there's speculation in Japan that pricing for the 2010 Prius with a full standard equipment package will be about $1,500 (280,000 yen) less than the comparably equipped '09 model.

Toyota alrerady has said that in the U.S. it will launch the Prius at $22,000 plus delivery (which varies by region and can add $300 to $600 to the price), with a stripped "basic" model to foillow in the Fall at $21,000 plus delivery.

Isn't competition wonderful!

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 12, 2009, 6:14 AM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Maserati, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid

May 11, 2009

Honda, Toyota and GM Pledge To Continue Hydrogen Fuel Cell R&D

Talk about a disconnect.

When the Obama Administration unveiled its proposed 2010 budget last week, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu had penciled in a proposal to cut more than $100 million from Uncle Sam's hydrogen research and development program.

Chu's rationale for cutting hydrogen funding by 59 percent to just $68 million? It's unlikely that the technology will become significant player during the next two decades.

In contrast, the California Fuel Cell Partnership in February predicted that 4,300 fuel-cell electric vehicles could be traveling California roads by 2014, and that the the hydrogen-powered fleet could grow to about 50,000 vehicles by 2017 as more manufacturers introduce their zero emission vehicles.

What's more, the partnership believes that, by 2017, Californians will be able to fuel their Honda FCX Clarity and other fuel cell vehicles at between 50 and 100 hydrogen refueling stations around the state.

'"Fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen stations are at the cusp of transition into the early commercial market," according to the organization's report that is titled "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle and Station Deployment Plan: A Strategy for Meeting the Challenge Ahead."

So it's not surprising that the CaFCP, which counts auto manufacturers (including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.), energy companies (Shell and Chevron), fuel cell technology companies (Proton Energy Systems) and government agencies (including the DoE, which is a dues-paying member!) on Friday called for Chu to reconsider the proposed budget cut.

"Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have progressed to the point where some automakers are ready to begin early commercialization," said CaFCP Executive Director Catherine Dunwoody. "Stopping federal investment at this point is like a coach pulling back an Olympic athlete who has trained for years, just as the trials begin. We can't wait for the next round. We're ready to go."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Greg Johnson May 11, 2009, 3:13 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Emissions, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell

May 7, 2009

Energy Department Slashes Hydrogen Transportation Funding in Proposed Budget

(Note: Updated 5 p.m. 5/7/09 to include link to Hydrogen and Fuel Cell groups' joint statement.)

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

In a huge blow to backers of fuel-cell electric vehicles, the nation's top energy official said today he sees little promise of the technology becoming a significant player in the nation's transportation system within the next two decades.

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Honda's FCX Clarity, now being tested in Southern California, uses a hydrogen fuel cell to provide electric power.
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As a result, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu is proposing that more than $100 million be cut from the Energy Department hydrogen program in the 2010 budget the administration is submitting to Congress.

The proposed budget slashes hydrogen fuel cell spending by 59 percent to just $68 million and focuses on programs for stationary power generation rather than for transportation.

"We asked ourselves, 'Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will covert to a hydrogen car economy?' The answer, we felt, was 'no,'" Chu said in a briefing today.

The National Hydrogen Association and the U.S. Fuel Cell Coalition quickly issued a joint statement criticizing the program cuts.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); John O'Dell May 7, 2009, 3:49 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Energy Department Budget

May 5, 2009

Volkswagen Playing 'Truth Or Dare' To Market Its Diesel Vehicles

Today's diesel-powered automobiles aren't your father's diesel-powered automobiles.

That's one of the core messages Volkswagen Group of America Inc. hopes to deliver in a new (and sufficiently quirky, given the company's advertising heritage) marking effort that includes a website where light-footed VW owners are boasting about extreme mileage accomplishments.

The pro-diesel push comes at the same time as a new "Meet the Volkswagens" ad campaign that pairs Max, the restored black VW Beetle that speaks with a German accent, with "Bus," an immaculately restored white and red 1968 Microbus (whose voice is supplied by actor Thomas Haden Church).

VW has a simple message in each instance: its autos are fuel-efficient, green and safe vehicles that won't break the household budget. And, to ensure that the message has a chance of being heard, VW plans to keep its 2009 advertising budget at the same level it was in 2008.

That is a serious commitment given that VW reportedly raised last year's spend by 45.7 percent over the 2007 level. The Nielsen Company reports that the overall automotive sector cut overall 2008 advertising spending by 15.5 percent to just over $10 billion.

VW's U.S. marketing chief, Tim Ellis, told USAToday that "When we invest in marketing, things happen. We think it's important to stick to our roots and stick to our value message. We're getting a higher percentage of the dwindling marketplace. And when this crazy situation comes straight side up again, we'll be positioned to increase our share even further."

VW isn't escaping the auto industry carnage. The Herndon, Va.-based company saw April sales tumble by 16.1 percent to 16,289 vehicles. Full year sales for 2008 declined by 3.2 percent to 223,128.

The automobile industry's global slump underscores the bold nature of VW's American gambit. Last year it announced plans for a $1 billion production plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. that will produce 150,000 vehicles annually - 30 percent of which will be powered by VW's TDI (turbo direct injection) engines.

On top of that, VW has boldly set a U.S. sales goal of one million vehicles by 2018.

To reach its lofty sales goal VW knows that it must persuade Americans (the emphasis is on younger consumers) that diesels aren't the clunky, smoky and noisy engines of yesteryear.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Greg Johnson May 5, 2009, 1:21 PM
Categories:: Daimler, Diesel, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Plug-ins and Electric, Transportation Alternatives, Volkswagen, Volvo
Technorati Tags:: BMW

May 4, 2009

Honda, Ford Lead Hybrid Sales to Slight April Gain in Otherwise Dreary Market

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Hybrid sales in the U.S. rose in April for the fourth consecutive month and posted the highest monthly volume since October 2008.

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Honda's 2010 Insight was one of the bright spots in the U.S. hybrid market in April.
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The bump illustrates the influence that novelty and price still have on the market: Honda's new Insight, Ford's new Fusion and a heavily incentivized Honda Civic hybrid overcame slumping sales of many other gas-electric models to account for the gain.

But in a month when car and light truck sales overall still fell well below the one-million mark, the performance of the hybrid segment wasn't much to get excited about.

The month-over-month increase wasn't strong enough, for example, to put April's hybrid sales in contention with April 2008, when gasoline prices averaged above $3.50 a gallon, car buyers were scouring the market for fuel-efficient models and recession hadn't begun wreaking havoc with the economy.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell May 4, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight

May 1, 2009

Honda Sells FuelMaker Assets; CNG Converter to Get Natural Gas Pump Business

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Honda Motor Co., which pushed financially strapped natural-gas pump manufacturer FuelMaker Corp. into receivership last month, has found a buyer to keep customers for its natural gas-powered Civic GX supplied with home fueling systems.

The deal could do more than that, however.

The buyer, Southern California-based Fuel Systems Solutions Inc., also owns a major manufacturer of systems for converting gasoline vehicles to natural gas and is one of the biggest players in the European CNG vehicles market with plans to expand into the U.S.

Owning a fueling systems manufacturer opens the door to cross-marketing opportunities that could help it grow its business.

Fuel systems said this morning that it has agreed to acquire FuelMaker's assets and intellectual property through a European subsidiary.

Honda, FuelMaker's controlling shareholder and longtime business partner, said in a statement that it expects Fuel Systems to continue manufacturing and selling home-based natural gas refueling systems such as the Phill unit that many Honda Civic GX owners (including Edmunds.com) acquired when they bought their cars.

Warranty Protection

FuelMaker, based in Canada, manufactured and sold the Phill as well as a number of larger natural gas fuel stations for commercial applications.

About 14,000 FuelMaker compressed natural gas, or CNG, pumps are in use, mainly in the U.S., and Honda and Fuel Systems Solutions both said the sale, which still required bankruptcy court approval and is expected to close in the second quarter, would ensure continued warranty coverage and maintenance of the systems.

FuelMaker was pushed into bankruptcy liquidation early last month after the collapse of a deal to sell it to natural gas retail giant Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

The Phill pump has been a critical resource for Honda in marketing the Civic GX, which is rated as the greenest production car sold in the U.S. because of natural gas' super-clean emissions and low greenhouse gas content.

Gasoline Alternative

Honda had been selling only about 400 natural gas Civics a year - mainly to fleet customers.

But demand blossomed a bit last year as gasoline prices soared and retail customers in California and New York - the only two states where Honda dealers offer the Civic GX to retail buyers - discovered the car as an economical alternative to gasoline-burning vehicles.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 1, 2009, 3:04 PM
Categories:: Honda, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: CGNG Fueling Systems

April 28, 2009

Honda Insight Web Chatter Highlights Rival Toyota Prius' Strong Position

Like a kid with an overachieving cousin, the Honda Insight can't seem to escape the shadow of the Toyota Prius.

Since Honda started selling its new compact gas-electric hybrid (bottom, right) late last month, about 61 percent of the people who held online discussions about the car also mentioned the Prius (top, right), the Nielsen Co. reports in a comparison of recent Web chatter about the two hybrids.

In contrast, Nielsen found, only about 27 percent of the people who wrote about the 2010 Toyota Prius on the Web mentioned the competition.

And like that kid with the superstar cousin, the Insight often comes out second-best to the Prius in these on-line hybrid comparisons, at least when looks are considered.

There's a perception that the 2010 Honda Insight's design "is too similar to that of the Prius," the Nielsen report notes. The problem is that the similarity serves to highlight "the belief that the Prius is the gold standard to which all other hybrids must aspire," the report says.

Online discussions also showed the Insight to be more polarizing -- which also means less bland -- than the Prius.

Discussions generated a higher percentage of positive reviews for the Honda -- 31 percent liked it -- than for the Toyota -- 28 percent -- but the Insight also generated far more negative reviews than its rival -- 15 percent versus just 7 percent for the Prius.

More than half of all Prius chats were "neutral" on the car's merits versus a 38 percent neutral rating for the Insight, according to Nielsen, and 9 percent of Prius discussions gave the Toyota hybrid a mixed review, compared to 16 percent mixed reviews for the Honda.

Honda is looking to use the Insight's lower price -- the base model is $19,995, or about $1,000 cheaper than the no-frills version of the Prius -- to chip away at the leadership position Toyota has established in the hybrid market.

But Toyota, whose 2010 Prius is rated at 50 miles per gallon compared to 41 mpg for the Insight, has appeared to generate strong demand for the extensively redesigned hybrid, which will go on sale in the U.S. at the end of May.

Toyota reportedly is boosting production of the new Prius through next March by 25 percent to 50,000 cars a month because of better-than-expected pre-orders.

Perhaps most telling is the Nielsen finding that about 12 percent of those talking about the new Prius online say they are considering buying, while only about 7 percent of Insight discussions involve purchase intent.

Danny King, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell April 28, 2009, 9:20 AM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight

April 27, 2009

Toyota Plans to Boost 2010 Prius Production Despite Global Economic Crunch

Report Says Company Enthused by Large Volume of Advance Orders in Japan

Initial interest in Toyota's extensively redesigned 2010 Prius (left) has persuaded the company to boost monthly production of the gas-electric hybrid by 25 percent, to 50,000 cars a month for the remainder of its fiscal 2009, Japan's Nikkei news is reporting.

The hike is significant because it comes at a time the global economy is in severe melt-down mode with sales of most new vehicles shrinking.

The apparent popularity of the new Prius, and the 2010 Insight hybrid from rival Honda Motor Co., point to consumers' willingness to commit to cars they perceive will save the money at the fuel pump - the new Prius is EPA rated at 50 miles a gallon and the Honda Insight at 41 mpg.

But both cars also are enjoying early sales successes because they are new.

Analysts at Global Insight consulting wonder in their intelligence briefing this morning whether the two Japanese automakers are seeing the start of ongoing demand, or simply enjoying a soon-to-burst bubble caused by new car excitement.

Nikkei, a subscription-only Japanese news service, reports that Toyota thinks demand will remain steady and now is eying Prius production of 500,000 cars in fiscal '09 (ending in March 2010) up from the previous expectation of 300,000.

The company, which began taking advance orders for the 2010 model earlier this month in Japan, had booked more than 40,000 by early last week and expects the total to top 60,000 by the time the car actually goes on sale this summer.

We expect the new Prius - and the 2010 Honda Insight (right)- to be hits in the U.S. as well, at least in their first year, due to relatively low pricing ($19,995 base for the Insight, $21,000 for the bare-bones "Level 1" Prius) and the likelihood that gasoline prices will start edging up this summer and could be back at or above $3 per gallon by year's end.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell April 27, 2009, 8:49 AM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight

Honda Still Strong on Hydrogen Fuel Cells, But Eyeing Plug-In Hybrids as Well

As the once-favored hydrogen highway becomes a mere side road on the route to oil independence with the Obama administration's push for rechargeable hybrid powertrains as the new favored alternative to the conventional gasoline engine, hydrogen pioneer Honda Motor Co. says it, too, will begin to pursue the way of the plug.

In an interview with Bloomberg news last week, Honda Motor Co. President Takeo Fukui said his company still sees hydrogen as the best long-term replacement for gasoline in the effort to slash automotive emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases tied to global arming.

Fukui, who is stepping down in June as part of Honda's regular executive shuffle, has in the past has been outspoken in his disdain for plug-in technology, calling it an unnecessary intermediate step form gasoline to pure electric power.

Honda has developed a hydrogen fuel-cell sedan, the FCX Clarity, that it leases to select customers in a Los Angeles-area test program, and isn't planning to abandon the effort.

But, Fukui said in a Bloomberg news wire article published this morning, the automaker also will accommodate the perceived preference of the U.S. government for plug-in hybrid-electric cars and trucks.

Unlike a conventional gas-electric hybrid that charges its batteries from on-board power sources such as regenerative braking, a plug-in hybrid gets its initial charge from the commercial grid, by "plugging in" to a wall socket or a special rapid-charging station

Plug-ins use larger battery pack than a conventional hybrids. They store enough power to permit the vehicle to be driven for an extended amount of time on all-electric drive before the grid charge is depleted and the gas engine kicks in.

Although others, including General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Volkswagen are developing fuel-cell vehicles, Honda has been the only major automaker championing hydrogen above other technologies and so far has stayed out of the rapidly developing race to bring plug-ins to market.

While federal support of hydrogen development has all-but evaporated in the U.S., the government is providing billions of dollars for battery development programs and for federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for purchasers of plug-ins.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell April 27, 2009, 2:01 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Batteries, Emissions, Fisker, Ford, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volvo
Technorati Tags:: FCX Clarity

April 21, 2009

Toyota's U.S. Pricing Levels For the 2010 Prius Includes $21,000 Base Model

(Note: This post was updated at 2:35 p.m. to include information on the Prius I's equipment.)

The third-generation Toyota Prius will go on sale in late May with a base manufacturer's suggested retail price of $21,000. But Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. confirmed today that the lowest-cost Prius won't hit dealer showrooms until later this year.

The $21,000 base price is designed to help Toyota compete with the new Honda Insight hybrid that went on sale earlier this year with a $20,470 base price. That means the base model Prius I will cost about the same as a mid-level Insight.

Toyota is offering five levels of equipment combinations, but expects the $22,000 Prius II to be the most popular. "This model provides more than $2,000 added value, including the features most buyers want, at the same price as the current base model," said Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division.

Toyota's pricing doesn't include delivery, processing and handling fees, which may vary according to where they're being sold. Here is a look at what your money will buy:

The Prius I will have a base price of $21,000. The list of standard equipment will "be released at a later date," according to Toyota.USA Today is quoting a Toyota spokeswoman who says that the base model will lack such features as cruise control, a rear windshield wiper and an EV-only mode that keeps the car running on battery power for as long as possible. The Prius I also won't have the "touch-tracer" display that superimposes steering wheel buttons on the dashboard display.

The Prius II ($22,000) will include a 1.8-liter Atkinson cycle engine, all-season tires, alloy wheels and covers, the Smart Key and Push Button start systems, an AM/FM/MP3/CD player with six speakers, cruise control, seven airbags, four-wheel disc brakes and other goodies.

The Prius III ($23,000) adds a six-disc CD changer with eight speakers, integrated satellite radio capability and Bluetooth wireless.

The Prius IV ($25,800) offers a three-door Smart Key system, leather-trimmed interior, heated front seats with driver lumbar support, an ionizer and 17-inch alloy wheels.

The top-of-the-line Prius V ($27,270) adds LED headlamps with auto leveling and washers, upscale wheels and tires and integrated fog lamps.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Greg Johnson April 21, 2009, 10:52 AM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Honda, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Toyota Prius

April 15, 2009

Japanese Customers Reportedly Lining Up To Order Next-Generation Prius

Newspaper reports suggest that Toyota Motor Corp. could have about 40,000 pre-orders in hand come mid-May when its third-generation Toyota Prius hybrid goes on sale in Japan.

Reuters cites two newspaper stories as stating that Japanese dealers already have booked more than 20,000 pre-orders. One of the newspapers also quotes an unnamed Toyota official as predicting that pre-sale orders will reach 40,000.

Toyota officials in Japan declined to confirm the reports. In the U.S., a Toyota spokesman told Green Car Advisor that dealers take pre-orders, but that the automaker doesn't track that data.

Prius and Insight pre-orders, whether in Japan or the U.S. are taking on added significance given the head-on sales collision coming as Honda Motor Co. continues to roll out its new Insight hybrid and dealers ready showrooms for the third-generation Toyota Prius.

The Insight hybrid overtook Prius in Japanese domestic sales when it went on sale in February. The model drew 18,000 orders during the month to beat out Prius.

Global Insight, an economic forecasting company, believes that the first month of Prius sales will "easily surpass" the Honda Insight's initial monthly sales figure. Global Insight reports that Toyota "will undoubtedly be helped by its brand name and support for this type of powertrain from the Japanese government in the form of tax reductions."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 15, 2009, 1:12 PM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car

April 9, 2009

Honda FCX Clarity Wins 2009 World Green Car Title at New York Auto Show

Honda Clariity.jpg

And the winner is: Honda FCX Clarity, the 2009 World Green Car.

The announcement was made this morning at the New York Auto Show. The FCX Clarity beat out the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the Toyota iQ. The top three finishers were culled from a list of 22 contenders that were nominated by 59 judges in 25 countries.

Here is some of what the judges had to say about the car:

"The FCX Clarity is an utterly real, hydrogen-fueled luxury sedan that provides the amenities people expect in a premium car with 430 km (267 miles) range, fuel consumption of about 3.3 litres/100 km (72 mpg U.S.) equivalent and zero tailpipe emissions. While there is only so much the automotive industry can do when it comes to this technology - governments need to come onboard to help create a true refuelling infrastructure - Honda must be credited for taking a bold step in leasing FCX Clarity to customers in California for $600 (U.S.) per month.There's still a long way to go before fuel-cell cars will become a commercial success, but hats off to Honda for continuing to advance this expensive technology during a time when every cent counts."

To be eligible, vehicles had to be available in at least one major market during 2008. The field included production models and experimental prototypes with near-future applications. Judging criteria included fuel economy, emissions and overall environmental impact.

Here are some links to the Honda FCX Clarity, the Mitsubishi iMiEV and the Toyota iQ.

The previous three green category winners were the BMW 118d (2008), the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006).

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 9, 2009, 10:37 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Auto Shows, Fuel Cell, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Efficient Cars

April 8, 2009

American Honda Motor Says It Still Hopes To Close FuelMaker Deal

Don't count Phill out just yet. And the same goes for the Honda Civic GX.

American Honda Motor Co. today said that is still trying to negotiate a sale of FuelMaker Corp., the Toronto-based manufacturer of the Phill-branded natural gas home refueling units that some Civic GX owners use to fill their tanks.

Honda also said that it will keep marketing the GX, currently the only natural gas car being sold in the U.S.

Honda's announcement came several days after an online natural gas industry newsletter reported that FuelMaker had been placed into receivership and seemed to be headed into bankruptcy proceedings.

Honda confirmed that FuelMaker is, indeed, in receivership and that bankruptcy is a possibility.

But the Torrance, Calif.-based automaker also reported that it is in the "final stages" of negotiations with a potential buyer that shares its vision of making natural gas a "viable alternative fuel."

Honda declined to say much more about FuelMaker's fate, citing "the pending finalization of the legal matters involved."

Honda said that it will continue selling the Civic GX through select dealerships in California and New York. The car and the fueling system had become synonymous because Honda had been trying to couple the Phill-branded home refueling unit with the Civic GX as a marketing tool.

No word on whether Honda is again negotiating with Clean Energy, a company co-founded by Texas oilman and natural gas advocate T. Boone Pickens. In September 2008 we reported that Clean Energy had agreed to buy FuelMaker for $17 million. But that deal fell apart less than a month later.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 8, 2009, 4:33 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Honda, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: American Honda Motor Co.

April 7, 2009

Online Report Has FuelMaker In Bankruptcy and Heading Toward Liquidation

Has FuelMaker Corp., manufacturer of the Phill-branded home refueling unit that some Civic GX owners use to fill their natural gas tanks, been forced into bankruptcy?

And, if that's the case, what does the news mean for Honda Motor Co.'s natural gas vehicles program in North America?

Honda officials didn't immediately respond to a telephone request on Tuesday for confirmation that Toronto-based FuelMaker is being liquidated.

But NGV Global, an online newsletter published by the International Assn. for Natural Gas Vehicles, earlier today ran a story with this headline: "FuelMaker Declared Bankrupt - Honda Hands to Liquidator." NGV Global reported that FuelMaker "entered into receivership on 2nd April" and that the plan is to "liquidate all assets."

The newsletter also quoted John Lyon, identified as FuelMaker's former president and CEO, as saying:

"FuelMaker management was aware that American Honda was trying to sell its FuelMaker stock and intellectual property to a company that would provide the synergies necessary to move FM to the next step of efficiency and profitability. This was public knowledge. We were shocked to learn this week from a third party (not Honda) that Honda was planning to put FM into bankruptcy and sell the assets."

Last fall, Honda seemed close to brokering a sale of FuelMaker that would have kept Phill-branded home refueling units in the North American marketplace. (At the time, the company was co-owned by Honda and a private trust.)

In September 2008 we reported that Clean Energy, a company co-founded by Texas oilman and natural gas advocate T. Boone Pickins, wanted to buy FuelMaker for $17 million. But within weeks, the deal fell apart.

At the time, we reported that "Honda and FuelMaker were unable to complete their end of a purchase agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp." A Honda spokesman also said that the company still wanted to sell FuelMaker "to an appropriate buyer who wants to expand the CNG fueling infrastructure."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 7, 2009, 5:40 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Honda, Natural Gas
Technorati Tags:: Alternative fuels

April 6, 2009

Eco-Driving Systems: Now Your Car Can Gently Nag You Into Being More Fuel-Wise

Ford's SmartGauge features a multitude of displays to help people become more fuel-efficient drivers.

By Robert E. Calem, Contributor

Regardless of the kind of car you drive, one of the keys to improving fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to drive smarter - don't hammer the accelerator pedal, don't brake harshly and do steadily maintain just enough speed to keep up with the flow of traffic without passing everyone in sight.

These often are not easy tasks.

To help, automakers have begun rolling out new features and technologies that call attention to uneconomical driving behavior and offer "rewards" for fuel-efficient driving.

Some of these features are passive, like instrument panels that change color as fuel economy improves.

Others more actively engage with the driver, such as an accelerator pedal that pushes back when pressed too aggressively.

Some automakers are even working on technologies that will be able to take the driver out of the fuel economy equation by allowing the car to practically drive itself with best mileage in mind.

Read on to learn more about the driver training features and technologies in cars you can buy today, and be able to buy tomorrow.

Smart Gauges Make Smarter Drivers

"The whole idea is coaching the driver, but as a good coach you don't want to preach," says Sonya Nematollahi, driver information engineering supervisor at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Mich., while describing the "SmartGauge with EcoGuide" instrument cluster in the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids.

Conceived by Ford in collaboration with IDEO, the design and innovation consultancy that also devised the Swivel 'n Go seating in Chrysler minivans, SmartGauge consists of two 4.3-inch, high-resolution color LCD screens - one on either side of the analog speedometer - that display a collection of digitally rendered gauges accessed through multi-layered menus.

SmartGauge with EcoGuide, fashioned by Ford Design Studio with features input from the industrial design firm Smart Design, uses the menus and gauges to offer increasingly detailed information in four modes: Inform, Enlighten, Engage and Empower.

"Like a good coach, we designed modes into SmartGauge to engage drivers at their experience levels and then guide them to new energy-efficient behavior," says Steve Bishop, global lead for sustainability at IDEO in Palo Alto, Calif.

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Green leaves 'grow' on fusion instrument panel as visual reward when fuel economy improves.

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"Video games engage their users in a similar fashion with levels. In fact, when we observed hybrid drivers, we found they were going for high scores, a gaming behavior that has never existed in cars before. We designed to accommodate it."

Steering-wheel mounted directional buttons are used to navigate through the modes, and the driver can customize the displays in each mode by adding or removing gauges.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell April 6, 2009, 4:10 AM
Categories:: Audi, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fiat, Ford, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Honda, Mercury, Nissan, Tesla, Volvo
Technorati Tags:: Eco Driving

April 2, 2009

Hybrid Sales Sputtered in 1st Quarter, But Segment's Not Out of Gas

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

It's no secret, hybrids haven't been doing well lately, on dealers' lots, in the media, or in a lot of political arguments. Sales data that comes in on a monthly basis shows hybrid sales sinking faster than auto sales as a whole. And there's nothing pretty about auto sales as a whole.

Indeed, looking at March's tally shows that the 21,433 hybrid cars and trucks sold in the U.S. last month represents a 43.9 percent drop from hybrid sales in March of 2008, while sales of all other types of new passenger vehicles, on a March-vs-March basis, were off "just" 36.5 percent.

So, the argument goes, hybrids can't hold their own, they cost too much and people don't really want them.

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Nissan Altima hybrid was one of only two models posting a first quarter gain.
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But we've never been big on the idea that a trend can be made, or broken, in a single month.

One could also argue, for instance, that March hybrid sales were up substantially from February and recovered more than did all other segments combined.

On a sales-per-day basis, to account for the shorter February selling period, March hybrid sales were up 20.9 percent, versus an 11.6 percent increase from February in sales of other types of new cars and trucks.

Does that mean that March sales show that people have changed their minds and are flocking to hybrids in droves?

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell April 2, 2009, 4:35 PM
Categories:: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Hybrid Sales

Toyota Will Include Low-Price 2010 Prius Model To Compete With Honda

Toyota Motor Corp. says it will try to compete directly with rival Honda Motor Co.'s new Insight hybrid in the Japanese market by introducing a downscale base model of its 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid priced at the U.S. equivalent of $20,750 -- about the same as a midlevel 2010 Honda Insight.

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2010 Toyota Prius (top) versus 2010 Honda Insight (bottom) is shaping up as the industry's first hybrid price war.
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The company has not made a formal announcement of the strategy, but has told Japan's Toyota dealers what to expect, according to a report in the trade journal Automotive News .

In the U.S., as Green Car Advisor previously has reported, Toyota will launch the 2010 Prius in late May or early June without a base model, adding it sometime in the third quarter.

That model will let Toyota in the U.S. replicate the Japanese strategy: It will have less standard equipment than other 2010 Prius models and is expected to be priced several thousand dollars less to compete with the smaller Insight.

Toyota hasn't announced U.S. pricing for the new Prius, but the "Level 2" model that will serve as the price leader at launch is expected to come in at about $23,500-$24,000. Honda launched the 2010 Insight in the U.S. last month with a base price of $20,470, versus the 2009 Prius' base price of $22,720.

Toyota executives previously had maintained that they did not consider the Insight a direct competitor because the Honda hybrid, while also seating five, is a compact while the five-passenger Prius is a midsize car. The Insight also delivers less fuel economy, with an EPA combined city-highway rating of 41 miles per gallon versus the 2010 Prius' 50 mpg rating.

Pressure from Toyota dealers who fear losing hybrid customers to Honda is believed to have influenced the decision to add a cut-rate model to the Prius lineup.

In Japan -- but not in the U.S. -- Toyota also will continue selling the second-generation ('09) Prius, heavily stripped down, as an inexpensive, fuel-efficient car for commercial and government fleets.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell April 2, 2009, 12:16 PM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Honda Insight Price

April 1, 2009

Rush Limbaugh Tells All (and Then Some) in the Green Car Conspiracy

Note: The quote about Ford and Honda in the third paragraph was from an article in The Los Angeles Times, and was incorrectly attributed to Rush Limbaugh.

The gospel according to Rush Limbaugh now includes another chapter in what we'll call the green car conspiracy.

Here (from a transcript on the Excellence in Broadcasting network Web site) is what Limbaugh had to say on Tuesday about why vehicle manufacturers are scrambling to design and produce fuel-efficient, cleaner vehicles:

"The Ford and Honda hybrids due out this month are among dozens planned for the coming years as automakers try to meet new fuel-efficiency standards and please politicians overseeing the industry's multibillion-dollar bailout."

(That's probably news to Ford, which has just said 'no' to bailouts, and Honda, which doesn't qualify. And it might be news to the million motorists worldwide who've purchased Priuses and prodded Ford to introduce the Fusion Hybrid (left) and Honda to market the Insight Hybrid.)

And why are the auto companies kowtowing? Because the president is in cahoots with environmentalists who stay awake nights trying to figure out how to get us back to the good, old days when a gallon of gas cost more than $4.

Ah, but the evil-doers in Washington, D.C. (and their cronies in Sacramento) can't fool steely-eyed consumers when it comes to hybrids.

"Nobody's buying 'em," Limbaugh said. "Nobody wants them! The manufacturers are making them in droves to satisfy Obama! Sorry for yelling. Nobody wants them!"

(As of March 30, Americans had purchased 1.3 million hybrids since the first one -- a two-seat Honda Insight -- was sold in December 1999. Hybrids accounted for 2.51 percent of the market in March. That's the fourth-best monthly market-share showing ever, even with the lower gasoline prices. To be fair, though, hybrid sales did fall by 44 percent in March from a year earlier, and that's a worse showing than the 37 percent drop in the overall market.)

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (10); Greg Johnson April 1, 2009, 2:56 PM
Categories:: Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Legislation, Opinion, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Ford Fusion

Honda Announces More Budget Cuts, but Green Technology Remains a Priority

You have to look hard to find the good news when most of what's being reported is downright depressing.

Such is the case with Honda's decision to pass on this fall's Frankfurt auto show due to the "unprecedented market turndown."

The global recession previously prompted Honda to close a U.K. auto assembly plant for four months to reduce inventories and to withdraw from Formula 1 racing.

The bit of good news buried in Honda's decision to skip Frankfurt is, as Edmunds' AutoObserver Editor Michelle Krebs reports, that Honda will continue to use its available European resources in large part to "strengthen new fuel-cell research [and] its hybrid vehicle portfolio."

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 1, 2009, 12:19 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Fuel Cell, Honda, Hybrid
Technorati Tags:: Auto Racing

March 26, 2009

It's Official: Toyota To Sell Second-Generation Prius Alongside New Model in Japan

Don't you just love competition?

Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday confirmed that the current Prius model will continue to be sold in Japan even after the new, 2010 Prius (left) goes on sale in May.

The marketing maneuver is designed to help blunt competition in Toyota's home market from Honda's new (and cheaper) Insight.

The Insight's sales price in Japan starts at 1.89 million yen ($19,000), while the third-generation Prius will start at 2.3 million yen ($22,000).

Japanese media accounts have Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe confirming that the older model, which is smaller and somewhat cheaper, will remain on the market in Japan.

Japanese media reports also suggest that Toyota is planning a Yaris-based hybrid that would serve as another lower-cost alternative to the Insight. The Nikkei newspaper on Wednesday quoted a Toyota engineer as saying "we are developing a low-priced hybrid like Honda's Insight."

Don't look for the second-generation Prius to remain on the market in the U.S. Toyota earlier said that motorists on this side of the Pacific Ocean will get the third-generation model.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Greg Johnson March 26, 2009, 1:15 PM
Categories:: Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Honda Insight

Green Car Proponents Say Government Support for R&D Is Growing in Importance

And you thought it was tough trying to figure out which fuel-efficient car to drive off the dealer lot.

Ichiro Sakai, assistant vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said earlier this week that vehicle manufacturers face similar challenges when it comes to allocating limited R&D dollars among competing (and expensive) green technologies.

"We suffer from market preference," Sakai said during a transportation program sponsored by the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington.

That's a polite way of saying Honda doesn't want to get too far ahead of the green automobile pack -- only to discover that consumers aren't interested in buying what it has to sell. A case in point: the ongoing debate over whether lower gasoline prices have dulled consumer demand for smaller, fuel-efficient cars.

Honda sees the wisdom of advancing such technologies as pure-electric vehicles and increased use of biofuels. But EE Publishing's ClimateWire (a subscription-only news service) reports that Sakai also told the audience that such market realities as fuel economy regulations force it to concentrate on picking "lots of low-hanging fruit for the future of internal combustion engines."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson March 26, 2009, 12:24 PM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: American Honda Motor Co.

March 24, 2009

Honda, GS Yuasha Cement Lithium Battery Development Deal

Honda Motor Co. and Japanese battery-maker GS Yuasa Corp., have formalized a joint venture agreement to develop, build and market high-performance lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and all-electric vehicles.

The deal originally was announced in December.

The new company, to be called Blue Energy Co., is scheduled to begin operations in April.
Honda said that it will hold a 49 percent stake and that the company, initially funded with 3 billion yen ($31.1 million at today's exchange rate), will be headed by a GS Yuasa executive.

Honda, which just launched the Insight compact hybrid , also markets the Civic Hybrid and has several other hybrid vehicles in development.

GS Yuasa has a similar battery development joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors. That company is called Lithium Energy Japan.

Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. also are developing lithium-ion batteries. Nissan has a joint venture with NEC Corp. and plans to start production this year; Toyota is teaming with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. on its own battery technology.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 24, 2009, 10:10 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Honda, Hybrid, Japan
Technorati Tags:: GS Yuasa

March 20, 2009

Some New Cars Cheaper Than Used Now, Hybrids Included, Edmunds Study Finds

Car prices are falling, we all know that, but did you realize that for some makes the declines, combined with the industry's ubiquitous cut-rate financing offers, has made it cheaper to buy new than used?

A just-released study by Edmunds.com's analysts shows that shoppers who may think the budget will only stretch to cover payments on late model used vehicles could, with a little research, find themselves in a new model for lower overall costs if they are financing rather than paying cash.

Mostly, the findings apply to conventional models, although many of those are fuel-efficient compacts. But there are even two hybrids in the mix.

Yup, the price on the window of that brand new, 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid (above, left) may be a lot higher than what's being asked for a year-old "previously owned" model (below, right), but the new Civic Hybrid comes with a national interest rate deal that means a savings of nearly $2,000 over the year-old model in the course of a 60-month loan.

To compute potential savings, our analysts used the Edmunds True Market Value Ã‚Â® - what people are really paying - rather than the sticker prices and figured a 10.5 percent annual percentage rate on the used car loans. New car loans were figured at a national average of 5.9 percent, and where a national interest rate discount is being offered - as with the Honda Civic Hybrid - it was applied instead of the higher, 5.9 percent rate.

(Incentives can change from region to region. For the most up-to-date information abut deals and discounts in your area, check Edmunds' incentive finder.)

In the case of the Civic Hybrid, the new '09 model has a True Market ValueÃ‚Â® of $21,788, the use '08 model a TMV of $20,167.

Because of the higher interest on a used car loan, the new hybrid would be $795 less expensive than the used model over a 60-month loan even if Honda weren't offering a discount interest rate on new-car financing. With that rate the savings jumps to $1,991.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 20, 2009, 2:47 PM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Nissan
Technorati Tags:: Car Loan Interest Rates

Americans Finding Fuel-Efficient Compact Cars Aren't So Small

AutoPacific projects a significant increase in sales of compact and mid-size cars, with compacts the volume leader.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Automakers, most of them anyway, have been telling American consumers for years that they didn't want small cars, the bigger was better, and safer, and sexier and more fun to drive.

That, said the likes of Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Chrysler, is why they weren't making them - that and the problems they had making small cars that could compete in price and quality with those coming over from Japan.

After a while, even the Japanese pretty much gave up on small cars, shifting their attention to the big SUVs, pickups and luxury and quasi-luxe sedans that the American public had been persuaded were safer and brought more status to the table than compacts.

That started changing as fuel prices began soaring a few years ago, and the pace of change has accelerated as the economy has sunk into a deep recession.

Compacts have replaced mid-sized cars as the volume leader in new car sales, and many analysts believe that's not going to change even when the economy turns around.

California-based AutoPacific, for instance, is projecting that compact sales volume will grow much faster than mid-size volume through 2010 and then maintain an annual lead of 250,000 or so sales over midsized cars well into the next decade.

Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell agrees, adding that while fuel economy and lower purchase prices are a big reason for the growth in the segment, today's compacts also come loaded with standard equipment and options packages that were unheard of in the segment a few years ago.

Redefining Small

But wait!

There's a complication in the small car vs midsized car analysis, and a reason other than economy that American car buyers have begun favoring compacts.

"Today's compacts are as big as yesterday's midsized cars," says Dan Hall, AutoPacific's marketing vice president.

"While today's Honda Civic is definitely smaller than an Accord, it is about the same size as a mid-'90s Honda Accord," says Ed Kim, AutoPacific's industry analysis director.

The wheelbase of the present-generation Civic - the area in which the passenger cabin fits - is less than half-an-inch smaller than the 1997 Accord. Overall lengths of today's compacts are shorter than previous-generation mid-sized cars, but that's mainly because design changes have made engine compartments and trunk overhangs much shorter.

It's not so much that we've overcome our national preference for mid-sized cars and begun gravitation to the small car, Kim says, its just that the nomenclature has changed.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell March 20, 2009, 11:25 AM
Categories:: Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, MINI, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Compact Car Sales

Hybrid Wars? Honda Is Giving Its Dealers Insights Into the Prius

The future drove by me the other day and I almost missed it.

I was leaving one of the look-alike office buildings clustered around the Hyatt hotel in Irvine, Calif., on Friday the 13th when it suddenly dawned on me that a steady stream of very quiet vehicles was rolling past.

In green-conscious Southern California it's not at all unusual to see a couple of Priuses pass by in quick succession. But half-a dozen of them? Immediately followed by a half dozen or so spanking new 2010 Honda Insights?

In the time it took me to drop my packages and flip open the cell phone to snap a picture the parade had passed me by, so no photo.

But I asked around and discovered that the parade of cars rolling by with just their electric motors humming was no coincidence.

Behind closed doors in one of the hotel's first-floor meeting rooms , Honda dealers were being schooled on the company's new hybrid, which officially goes on sale Tuesday.

And out on the street they were being schooled in the differences between the 2010 Insight and the hybrid segment's sales leader, Toyota's Prius (which has its own debut, the all-new 2010 Prius, set for June).

Honda has said that it plans to highlight the Insight's proprietary technology and styling and not worry much about the Prius. But it seemed clear that Honda wanted to give its dealers an insight into both cars.

What's that line about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer?

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 20, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight

March 19, 2009

Give Solo Green Car Drivers More Time In Carpool Lanes Says California Legislator

We've never been enamored of the California legislation that opened its carpool lanes to solo drivers of certain high fuel-economy hybrids and clean-burning natural gas vehicles.

(Not that our principled stand is enough to stop Green Car Advisor's senior editor from driving solo in the HOV lanes when he's in Edmunds.com's state-credentialed, natural-gas burning Honda Civic GX.)

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States with carpool lanes usually require vehicles to have two or more occupants, unless vehicle is a 45-mpg hybrid or a specially designated clean-air vehicle.

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So we were planning a modest celebration for New Year's Day in 2011 when the special dispensation was set to expire and carpool lanes were to be handed back to carpoolers. Something along the lines of a mass chuckle as solo greenies sadly rejoined drivers of fuel-guzzling sedans, sport utilities and pick-up trucks that never escaped the hoi polloi lanes.

Imagine our disappointment then upon learning that California Assemblyman Ted Lieu (D, Torrance) has introduced legislation to extend the HOV Lane special dispensation to 2016. His bill, AB 1500 could surface in a committee hearing as early as March 30.

We think it's a bad idea to breathe new life into a bad idea.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell March 19, 2009, 7:00 AM
Categories:: Chevrolet, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Natural Gas, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Carpool Lanes

March 17, 2009

Economic Meltdown May Be Doom of Diesel Passenger Vehicle Plans in U.S

Hopes for widespread introduction of clean, fuel-efficient diesel cars and light trucks in the U.S. over the next few year are diminishing as quickly as most of our 401ks.

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Diesels such as Ford's 65 mpg Fiesta ECOnetic aren't seen as marketable in the U.S.
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The latest casualty seems to be the once-promised Nissan Maxima diesel sedan, Senior Editor Billl Visnic reports in our sister blog, Edmunds' AutoObserver .

The 3-liter V6 turbodiesel originally slated to launch here later this year is most likely on hold and well could be canceled, Visnic says, victim of the economic meltdown that has made spending on pricey technologies such as clean diesel a difficult decision for both automakers and consumers.

General Motors Corp. last week said it has shelved plans for a new diesel V8 for its pickups and SUVs, Ford Motor Co. has been grim about the outlook for diesel cars here, Toyota has canceled a diesel engine development program and Honda Motor Co. last year said it was ditching plans to launch a diesel Acura model in the U.S.

As Visnic points out, only the Europeans - heavily invested in diesel technology because of fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions policies over there - are still big backers of diesels for the U.S

Volkswagen already sells the new diesel Jetta here; Audi launches the diesel-powered Q7 late this spring, followed by the diesel A3 in the fall as a 2010 model; Mercedes-Benz has three diesel-powered U.S. models, the ML-, GL- and R-Class, and BMW currently offers a diesel-engine 3-Series sedan and a diesel-powered X5 crossover here.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell March 17, 2009, 7:59 AM
Categories:: Audi, BMW, Diesel, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: Diesel Cars

March 16, 2009

Car Shoppers in China, Just Like Here, Finding It Expensive to Be Green

It's not easy being green, particularly when vehicle manufacturers worldwide are singing the blues and clamoring for sales-tax breaks to help move less-expensive conventionally-powered cars and trucks off of dealer lots.

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Green cars like BYD Autos' plug-in hybrid aren't moving well in China's slow economy.
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That's true even in China, one of the world's largest car markets.

Their country remains an attractive long-term market for new-energy vehicles but at present, Chinese consumers are hard-pressed to pay a premium for a green car.

Chinese automakers, though, are scrambling to produce advanced technology cars and trucks in the wake of a central government edict that calls for 60,000 green vehicles to be on the roads by 2012. To help move them off dealers' lots, Beijing is offering subsidies of up to $36,500 to consumers in big cities who buy hybrid, electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles.

The subsidies were created because although the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and the domestically produced BYD F3DM are on sale, Chinese consumers bought fewer than 1,000 hybrids in 2008. To put that figure into context, consider that Toyota's combined U.S. sales of its Prius and Lexus models recently passed the one million mark.

Henry Li, general manager for BYD Auto, bemoaned the situation to the Reuters news agency during a recent interview at the firm's Shenzhen headquarters: "I hope government subsidies can help boost demand, because this is good technology, though expensive compared to conventional cars."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 16, 2009, 11:08 AM
Categories:: BYD, China, Fuel Cell, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: China

March 13, 2009

Toyota Reportedly Considering Lowering 2010 Prius Starting Price in Japan

Could Also Happen In U.S. to Compete with Lower-Priced 2010 Honda Insight

So much for Toyota's insistence that it doesn't see Honda's new 2010 Insight compact hybrid as competition for the larger and pricier mid-size Prius, which has long been the world's best-selling gas-electric car.

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper is reporting that there's serious talk inside Toyota Motor Corp. of releasing a base model of the upcoming 2010 Prius that's 250,000 yen cheaper (about $2,575 at today's exchange rate) than the least expensive 2009 model Prius now sold in Japan.

U.S. Plans

The redesigned 2010 Prius is slated to go on sale in the U.S. in late May or early June and pricing hasn't been announced yet.

Toyota does plan, however, to hold up release of the base, or "standard" trim level of the new Prius for three to six months (marketing plans calls for the initial launch to include Level 2, 3, 4 and 5 models, but no Level 1) and a spokesman said this morning that it is likely to have less standard equipment than the other models and a price that is closer to the Insight's. Honda recently announced that 2010 Insight pricing in the U.S. would start at $20,470, including destination. The new hybrid goes on sale here March 24. The '09 Prius in the U.S. starts at $22,720 including the destination charge.

Hot Contest

The reason for the price-cut discssion in Japan is also to better compete with the Insight, which has taken Japan by storm in the month since it was released here, with Honda dealers booking a reported 18,000 orders.

While the bottom-of-the-line '09 Prius is now priced at 2.3 million yen, the base Insight went on sale Feb. 6 in Japan at 1.89 million yen, almost 18 percent less.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 13, 2009, 9:32 AM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Honda

March 10, 2009

Orders Stacking Up as Honda Insight Outsells Prius in First Month in Japan

Kyodo News International is reporting that Honda Motor Co. wrote about 18,000 orders in Japan for the 2010 Insight hybrid hatchback in the month following its February 6 debut.

The surge of Japanese Insight orders shows considerable interest in the compact hybrid in a country where, as in the U.S., the Toyota Prius has reigned supreme.

And despite the shortened February selling period, Japan's Honda dealers hit the company's monthly target of 5,000 sales, delivering 4,906 new Insights during the month to land the car at 10th overall on the Japanese Automobile Dealers Assn.'s monthly sales ranking.

The Prius fell from 5th to 12th place on February sales of 4,524 vehicles.

The auto dealers association linked the tumble to Japan's stalled economy and to consumer interest in the new hybrid on the block. Japanese consumers also are waiting for the spring launch of the new 2010 Prius.

Kyodo reports that the Insight, as expected, is clicking with young singles. But the report also notes that the compact hybrid hatchback is drawing "seniors who are seeking a family car, thanks to its high fuel economy" and relatively affordable price.

As we reported earlier today, the official U.S. starting price for the base LX model will be $19,800 when sales here begin on March 24. The real starting price, including the destination charge, is $20,470.

In Japan, the Insight went on sale last month priced at 1.89 million yen, or about $20,640 plus the Japanese version of a destination charge.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell March 10, 2009, 2:10 PM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight

Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota in Race for '09 World Green Car Title

The votes are in and the finalists in the 2009 World Green Car award race are (in alphabetical order) the Honda FCX Clarity, the Mitsubishi iMiEV and the Toyota iQ . The winner is to be crowned April 9 at the 2009 New York International Auto Show.

Past winners of the three-year-old World Green Car of the Year have been the BMW 118d (2008), the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006).

To be eligible, vehicles had to be available in at least one major market during 2008. The field included production models and experimental prototypes with near-future applications -- thus Honda's fuel-cell electric Clarity and Mitsubishi's battery-electric city car. Judging criteria includes fuel economy, emissions and overall environmental impact.

While diesels dominated in the past with two of three previous titles, this year's field has none, instead offering the Honda fuel-cell sedan, the Mitsubishi battery-electric car and the gasoline-fueled Toyota. Two are small city cars, and the third, the Honda, is a midsize, four-seat sedan.

A 59-member jury of green car specialists including journalists from several continents selected the three finalists.

Edmunds.com has spilled a lot of digital ink on each of the three nominated vehicles.
Here are some links to the Honda FCX Clarity, the Mitsubishi iMiEV and the Toyota iQ.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 10, 2009, 10:59 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Mitsubishi, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2009 World Green Car Award

2010 Honda Insight Price To Start at $19,800, Plus Delivery; Sales Start March 24

It's not the $18,995 some were hoping for, but Honda Motors released official pricing for the 2010 Honda Insight compact hybrid this morning and it is, as promised, under $20,000 -- if you don't count the $670 delivery and handling fee that is tacked on to each and every one.

Official starting price for the base LX model will be $19,800 when Insight sales begin March 24. The real starting price, including that destination charge, is $20,470.

Still, that's $2,250 less than the present price leader, Toyota's Prius ($22,720 including its $720 destination charge -- pricing for the 2010 Prius, which goes on sale in June, hasn't been released yet) and "brings the cost of entry for hybrid technology within closer reach of an entirely new car-shopping audience," according to Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co.

The Insight EX, next step up, starts awith an MSRP of $21,300 ($21,970) and a navigation package bumps that to $23,100 ($23,770).

All of the cars are five-seat, five-door hatchbacks powered by a 1.3-liter gas engine and Honda's integrated motor assist hybrid drive system that combine to deliver fuel economy that's EPA-rated at 40 miles per gallon in the city, 43 mpg on the highway and 41 miles a gallon in the combined city-highway circuit.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); John O'Dell March 10, 2009, 8:04 AM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight Pricing

March 5, 2009

Incentives Helped Hybrids in February; Sales Down Less than Industry Overall

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Sales of hybrid cars and SUVs continued falling in February but their plunge was slowed somewhat by a strong updraft of incentives.

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Camry hybrid sales were down 50 percent from February '08 but with incentive spending rose 82 percent from January
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While new car sales overall were down 41 percent from a year earlier, hybrid sales were off just 28.5 percent with 16,020 vehicles sold, down from 22,411 in February 2008.

The gas-electric cars cost more than their conventional counterparts and haven't been doing well as the economy tanks and gas prices remain relatively low.

Sales also have been slowed as interested consumers hold off in anticipation of the new Honda insight compact 5-passenger hybrid and the redesigned 2010 Toyota Prius, both due to hit showroom floors soon.

One Gainer

February saw only one gain - the Lexus RX400 hybrid crossover SUV was up 31 percent from a year earlier - but several models posted smaller declines than the segment as a whole.

The Lexus RX400 hybrid was helped by significant incentive spending, as Toyota's luxury division poured an average of $6,338 into each vehicle, according to Edmunds.com's True Cost of Incentives data. That was up from just $503 per vehicle incentive spending on the RX400 hybrid a year earlier and was $1,300 more than Lexus was spending on RX400 incentives in January.

Both the Ford Escape hybrid and the Toyota Camry posted big gains for the month. The Escape, with 1,172 sales, climbed 55.6 percent from January and the Camry, with 2,080 sales, was up 82.3 percent.

Camry sales really show the power of incentives: the car was among the worst performers in comparing February '08 and '09 sales, down almost 50 percent.To get the big January to February improvement, Toyota pumped up incentive spending on the model to $1,495 per vehicle from "virtually nothing in January," said Edmunds.com industry analyst Jessica Caldwell.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 5, 2009, 12:46 PM
Categories:: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Hybrid Sales

February 18, 2009

Honda Says Global Sales of Its Hybrids Topped 300,000 in January

They're not too worried over at Toyota Motor Corp., the world's leader in sales of gas-electric cars and trucks, but Honda Motor Co. says that global sales of its hybrids have now topped the 300,000 mark.

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Civic hybrid is Honda's top-selling gas-electric model now...

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Honda began marketing hybrids in 1999 in Japan and the U.S. with the now discontinued two-seat Insight, beefed up its offerings in 2001 with a hybrid Civic and briefly added an Accord sedan to the lineup from 2004 through mid-2007.

The company said in a brief announcement today that it had sold 300,740 hybrid models around the world through Jan. 31.

Of the total, 234,252, or almost 78 percent, were sold in North America, with the U.S. market accounting for most of those sales.

In contrast, Toyota sold 3.7 million hybrids globally from the introduction of the first Prius in Japan in 1997 through the end of 2008. U.S. sales account for about a third of the total.

Honda hopes to see a dramatic rise in its hybrid sales this year with the introduction of the sub-$20,000 Insight, a five-seat compact that resurrects the name of the company's first gas-electric car.

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...but expects the 2010 Insight to quickly overtake Civic as its leading hybrid model.

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Global sales of the new Insight are expected to top 200,000 a year, with half the total gobbled up by North American buyers.

The 2010 Insight already has gone on sale in Japan, where 5,000 orders in the first week outstripped Honda's expectations for the entire month.

The new hybrid goes on sale in the U.S. in April.

Worldwide, Honda's hybrid sales include 255,246 Civics, 28,471 Accords and 17,020 original Insights.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 18, 2009, 2:54 PM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Honda

February 13, 2009

Honda Adds New Photos, Details of 2010 Insight on 'Words of Hybrid' Web Site

The all-new 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid car made its world debut at the North American International Auto Show last month and, of course, we wrote about it then and two days later and 15 days after that and again on February 5 .

If you're still hankering for photos and information on the Insight or just want to see what the company has to say about its EPA-mileage-rated 40/43 city/highway five-passenger sedan, which is scheduled to reach U.S. showrooms in April, go to Honda's Words of Hybrid Web site.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett February 13, 2009, 11:05 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight

February 10, 2009