Honda Aims to Produce New Hybrid Design

From an article in the Sept 3 edition of Newsweek:

(Honda) is working on a new high-profile hybrid—a Prius fighter that analysts expect will have the highest mileage on the road when it arrives in 2009. Code-named the "Global Small Hybrid," Honda's new gas-electric model won't be a version of anything else in its lineup. Instead, Honda execs say it will be a five-passenger, small family car priced under $22,000. This time Honda won't make the mistake of wrapping its hybrid in the sheet metal of its everyday cars: instead, analysts expect the new Honda will have the larva styling the Prius pioneered—which now embodies the green-car look. Honda will also outdo the $23,000, 60mpg Prius on price and mileage in hopes of attracting 100,000 buyers a year—three times what the hybrid Civic sells.

Comments

[David Grenier]

Didn't they have a car like this called the INSIGHT? It got better gas mileage than the Prius, but was only a two-seater (perhaps why it failed). The thing is the never actually marketed it (also possibly why it failed).

[JohnBo]

Here’s a quote from the full article from Newsweek:

By dropping hybrid systems into its popular family cars, Honda figured it had a formula for taking the technology mainstream. Then war broke out, gas prices soared and Al Gore let us all in on the inconvenient truth. As Honda's sales sputtered, it learned its own inconvenient truth: hybrids are as much about posturing as propulsion systems. "Owning a hybrid is all about saying 'Look at what I'm doing for the world'," says auto analyst John Wolkonowicz of Global Insight. "If you can't say that, the whole purchase is a waste of time."

The low moral values of the Al Gore mentality are so disgusting. Flying around the world in a private jet tooting fuel (CO2) savings is the same as buying a high mileage car to say 'Look at what I'm doing for the world'. In the words of the engineer-poet, Al Gore types (those who waste energy on multiple cars, homes, planes, boats, etc.) are about the most unpatriotic traitors in the world. I will be nicer and just say Al Gore and many like him are simply fame seeking hypocrites that have a calculated monetary reason for what they do, with an ego big enough to support all that “wind power”.

An inconvenient commentary by JohnBo :)

[marcus]

When thinking about Al Gore, or anyone else for that matter, it is the net influence on CO2 levels of their whole life that matters in the end. Due to his influence on others, I think it is clear that Al Gore is way ahead of most people. Good on him.

[RJ]

Looks like Honda is still going to be behind Toyota as the Prius will soon be a plug in hybrid.

Al Gore walks the talk and pays a extra for green energy. He also travels on commercial flights unlike most of his income bracket. He has been talking about global warming for 30 years and he will go down in history as a truly great man.

RJ

[LEON]

Hi!do'nt know if any one can help me but i
need to know haw i can contact honda,with
a idea for a generator:(generator that use
no fuel of any kind to generate electr.)I am
really desperate,seing that most of the other companys i have contacted only seem
interrested in buying the consept and letting it dissapear.i did not give my e mail address for obviuos reasons.but just post info if possable!

[JohnBo]

Maybe I am wrong about Al Gore. JohnBo

[JohnBo]

Leon,

Honda already has one of these that generates electricity, steam, light and gasoline without any energy input. They are waiting a little longer until the gasoline price gets higher before they introduce it.

[kim]

Yeah, I think, all in all, Al Gore has done a lot for the planet.
we need to learn to forgive people for not being perfect. It's the main thing holding us back, and therefore letting the rightwing sociopaths rule the world.

[Kit P.]

Having taken lots of hard science classes in college, I get tired of hearing the theories about climate from journalism majors. Al Gore is a fat cat blow hard.

Al Gore is still debating AGW while Bush is doing something about it.

[Nathan]

Make it a serial hybrid and I'll buy two.

[donb]

The Honda Insight didn't do well because it was a small, noisy two seater. Not that a smaller car can't do well in the market, but it was a bit extreme and a bit too spartan as well.

Their other hybrid offering paired an electric motor with a V6 engine to enhance acceleration (and the non-hybrid V6 was no slouch here) and produce fuel economy only slighly better than the four cylinder non-hybrid version of the same car, all for a lot more money.

I think they might have been successful had they offered the hybrid on the four cylinder model. This would have given acceleration comparable to the non-hybrid V6 model with fuel economy better than the non-hybrid four cylinder model. Such a car would have been like having your cake and eating it too, a way to success in the market.

[amazingdrx]

No plugin hybrid yet. That's the big news here.

Honda is afraid to go against big oil too.

Conversion is the only way the plugin hybrid revolution can proceed. Individuals and small businesses converting mass produced vehicles to plugin hybrid.

The public will see the result and demand corporate/government action. but that could take a decade, meanwhile climate disaster from GHG gets past the tipping point.

[mds]

Remarkably uninformative on anything to do with this new Honda HEV. What is the target MPG? Will it be a PHEV? What battery technology will be used? Will it have regenerative braking? How much energy will the regenerative braking save?

The article and discussion here are missing the most important point: The Civic HEV is an electric motor assisted internal combustion engine (ICE or gas engine) car. This is backwards!

I cannot speak for the Insight. I have a small family and the Insight was not an option for me. I looked at the Civic HEV. When I found it was an electric assisted ICE car, I walked away from the Honda dealer, maybe never to return. The Honda Civic HEV is not a step forward in technological evolution from HEV, to PHEV, to Series PHEV, to BEV. Why would anyone pay extra to purchase such a car? Do you read about anyone modifying a Honda Civic HEV to create a PHEV, like many have done with the Prius? Nope. This would not be simple to do, because the ICE is the primary motor. This was a major engineering and management blunder.
The Prius is an ICE assisted electric car. It can fairly easily be modified into a PHEV. Several third party companies are doing this, as almost everyone knows by now. Toyota can easily evolve the Prius design into an even higher mileage HEV, and into a very high mileage PHEV. They are working on both.
Damn right my Prius is a statement. It says I want to be driving a PHEV or BEV in the future. It says I recognize the Prius as a path to get there. It says I'm will willing to pay extra to do this. It says this to Toyota, GM, Ford, Honda, Nissan, every other car company, and every person that says PHEVs and BEVs are not practical. My next car will be a PHEV or BEV. I'll purchase it before my Prius wears out. I could care less about car "fashion" or "status" statements. Driving a beater that just gets you from point A to point B is ok with me. My statement is simple:
"Car companies get off your asses and build me a PHEV now, if you want me as a customer. No talk, just do it." The battery technology is here now. Who is going to build the product I will buy.

Pundits and Bloggers alike, please consider this!

[SF]

Does this mean that the hybrid Fit rumored for '08 has been dropped?

[mds]

I apologize for getting spun up above. The thought of the Prius just being a fashion statement got to me. This article actually makes a good point about the Honda. For many the Prius probably is a fashion statement. This is fine. Anything to get more people to purchase higher mileage cars.

Even I would like my next PHEV or BEV to be recognizable. In fact, it would be nice to have an option for LED signs, showing the current gas use and mileage, on both sides and on the back of the car. I don't care about fashion, but would like as many people as possible to be learn a radical reduction in gas use is possible.

We do not need to be killing and dieing in Iraq. Worried about CO2? Fine, we don't need to be burning as much fossil fuels, as we do now. PHEVs and BEVs are another way. Scale up production and they will be a more economical way. Maybe Honda is going to leapfrog the Toyota Prius, like GM is trying to do with the "Volt". The battery technology is here. Who will put it together first?

[hybrid car owner]

Honda is renowned as a spectacular car. from the model, shape, safety and technology is always the best. unfortunately its price Honda in some models are still expensive, so only certain people could afford to buy it.

[electrolysis in nyc]

Honda is already one of those that produce electricity, steam, light without energy and petrol. They expect more until the price of gasoline may be more before being introduced.

[penny auctions]

I say this is really cool. Helping Mother Earth by inventing machines and vehicles that can help lessen the pollution. Fight climate change now before it's too late.

[Penny Auctions]

It's good that we're making changes with the way we create automobiles. Hopefully we won't have to rely on gasoline forever, and that way we'll be able to help our environment recover. I'm still not convinced hybrid is the way to go though.