Crossroads Honda

All-new Honda Insight Starts Under $20,000; Becomes Most Affordable New Hybrid Available in the U.S.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:57:00 +0000

The all-new 2010 Honda Insight goes on-sale March 24 with a manufacturer's suggested retail price¹ (MSRP) of $19,800 for the Insight LX, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today.

The distinctively styled, five-passenger, five-door dedicated hybrid vehicle is powered by an Integrated Motor Assist™ (IMA™) system comprised of a 1.3-liter i-VTEC® gasoline engine and a 10-kilowatt electric motor that together contribute to an EPA-estimated city/highway fuel economy rating of 40/43 miles per gallon². The Insight features the Ecological Drive Assist System (Eco Assist™), an innovation that can further enhance efficient vehicle operation while providing feedback related to individual driving styles.

"The all-new Honda Insight brings the cost of entry for hybrid technology within closer reach of an entirely new car-shopping audience," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda. "In addition to making good environmental sense, hybrid technology is now entering a new era where it can also make financial sense for a broader range of customers."

A sleek exterior blends design elements from the original 2000 Insight's highly aerodynamic side profile with a front-end design similar to the hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity, a marquee environmental product for Honda. The interior offers a roomy passenger environment with a configurable rear seating and cargo area that benefits from 60/40 split fold-down seats.

Major features standard to the Insight LX include front, front-side and side-curtain airbags; an anti-lock braking system; a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT); Eco Assist; automatic climate control; tilt and telescope steering column; manual driver's seat height adjustment; power windows; a four-speaker AM/FM audio system with CD player and auxiliary audio input for external digital music players; and much more.

A more premium version of the Insight is also available. The Insight EX, with a MSRP of $21,300, adds to the Insight LX features with Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®); alloy wheels; cruise control; steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters; an upgraded audio system with six speakers; USB audio interface³; a center console with armrest and storage compartment; heated side mirrors with integrated turn signals; and much more. Exclusively available on the Insight EX, the Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System⁴ (6.5-inch screen) with voice recognition provides routing and guidance to individual addresses and more than 7 million points of interest within the continental United States. Models equipped with the navigation system also include Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® for hands-free operation of compatible mobile telephones, along with related steering wheel-mounted controls for voice activation of navigation and hands-free telephone systems.

A 4-cylinder engine with intelligent variable valve timing and a DC brushless electric motor forms the foundation of the IMA hybrid system. The electric motor, positioned in-line between the engine and the transmission, adds power during acceleration and in certain cruising situations, and recaptures energy from the vehicle's forward momentum during braking (regenerative braking).

The Insight's IMA system has the capability to operate exclusively on electric power in certain low- to mid-speed cruising conditions. It can also provide cylinder deactivation during deceleration and an idle-stop feature when the vehicle is stationary. With a 10.6-gallon fuel tank, the Insight delivers an estimated maximum driving range exceeding 400 miles. Models for sale in California and states that have adopted the California Air Resources Board (CARB) ZEV standards receive an Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) emissions rating.

The Insight introduces Eco Assist to help drivers achieve improved real-world fuel economy. Eco Assist is a feature designed to help drivers optimize fuel efficiency for their given set of driving conditions. Pressing the ECON button can further enhance the efficiency of multiple vehicle systems: throttle control, CVT operation, idle-stop duration, air conditioning and cruise-control operation (EX only). Eco Assist also provides feedback about driving style via a 3D-appearing background within the speedometer. The background changes colors from green to blue to reflect how efficiently or inefficiently the driver is accelerating or braking (green = efficient). The driver's results are continuously tracked as fuel-economy ratings are shown per drive cycle and on a lifetime basis in the form of plant-leaf graphics that appear in the Multi-Information Display (MID). Up to five leaves can be ‘earned' as the driver demonstrates a fuel-efficient driving style. A real-time score is shown in the Eco Guide MID screen.

Standard safety features on all Insights include dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags; front-side airbags with a passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS); side-curtain airbag system; anti-lock brakes with electronic brake distribution (EBD); driver's and front-passenger's active head restraints and a front body designed to mitigate pedestrian injuries. All new Insights also feature Honda's Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure, which provides improved frontal-crash compatibility between vehicles of different size and ride height.

Honda is a leader in developing cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicle technologies, including the original Honda Insight, introduced as America's first mass-produced hybrid car in December 1999. Honda is also a leader in the development of advanced alternatives to gasoline, including the zero-emission, hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity fuel-cell car, the world's most advanced production fuel-cell automobile.

2010 Honda Insight Pricing and EPA Data

Model	MSRP1	EPA2 City/Hwy/Combined
Insight LX	$19,800	40/43/41
Insight EX	$21,300	40/43/41
Insight EX with Navi	$23,100	40/43/41

For more information and downloadable high-resolution images of the Insight and other Honda vehicles, please visitwww.hondanews.com. Consumer information is available at www.honda.com.

Honda's Ohio and Alabama Auto Plants Earn 'Energy Star' from EPA

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:02:00 +0000

Honda's auto plants in Ohio and Alabama have received Energy Star awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for advances in curbing energy use during the production of passenger cars and light trucks.*

For the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2008, Honda's average CO2 emissions per vehicle produced in North America were at their lowest levels since the company began measuring results in 2001. The EPA bases the award points on the amount of energy needed to produce an automobile, and includes factors such as vehicle size and production volume.

In Ohio, Honda of America Mfg., Inc.'s Marysville Auto Plant and East Liberty Auto Plant each earned top energy performance scores of 100 points. Both plants continue to find new ways to reduce the use of electricity and natural gas. Honda has focused most of these activities on more efficient use of lighting, chiller systems, motors, metering, heating, compressed air and air conditioning. The Marysville plant produces the Honda Accord sedan and coupe, and the Acura TL and RDX, while the East Liberty plant manufactures the Honda CR-V and Element.

"Improving the energy efficiency of Honda factories is the single biggest focus to reduce the impact of our manufacturing operations on climate change," said Gary Smith of Company Facilities at Honda of America Mfg., who worked with EPA on the project. "We have launched significant efforts throughout our operations to reduce the energy intensity of automobile production."

At the Marysville plant, associates significantly reduced electricity use by reprogramming plastic injection molding machines to run only during the production cycle. This has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 80,000 pounds per year. At the East Liberty plant, Honda replaced older chiller pumps with smaller more efficient units that reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 508,000 pounds per year.

Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC, which produces the Odyssey minivan, Pilot sport utility vehicle and now the Ridgeline truck, also earned the Energy Star award. The Lincoln, Ala. Plant implemented an initiative to monitor the use of equipment between shifts, during lunch and breaks, and on weekends. The monitoring program helped reduce electricity use on the paint line by 10 million kilowatt hours, representing about 15 million pounds of CO2.

In addition, these auto plants are implementing a unique "intelligent paint booth" technology that reduces energy consumption and related CO2 emissions from painting operations by as much as 25 percent. Automobile body painting consumes large amounts of energy because automakers need to condition the temperature and the relative humidity of the air to achieve the desired product appearance and finish quality. Developed by Honda in Ohio and Ohio State University, the system uses a predictive control mechanism to keep the temperature and humidity within specifications, even as weather conditions change.

"Our objective is to reduce the CO2 emissions throughout Honda's manufacturing operations," Smith said. "Initiatives like these are helping meet our commitments to reduce the environmental impact of product manufacturing."

In addition, Honda's strategy of building products close to its customers helps to reduce energy, emissions and waste associated with the transportation of products and component parts. Approximately 77 percent of the vehicles Honda sells in the U.S. are produced in North America.

About Honda
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment in 1959 of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Honda's first overseas subsidiary. Honda began U.S. motorcycle production in Ohio in 1979, and U.S. automobile production in 1982. The company has invested more than $10.6 billion in its North America operations, including 16 major manufacturing facilities employing more than 34,000 associates, to produce Honda and Acura automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft, lawn mowers, general-purpose engines, and other power equipment products. For more on Honda's environmental initiatives visit http://corporate.honda.com/environment.

Honda's online multimedia newsroom: http://www.hondanews.com

Honda Insight Starts Under $20,000

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:09:00 +0000

The all-new 2010 Honda Insight goes on-sale March 24 with a manufacturer's suggested retail price1 (MSRP) of $19,800 for the Insight LX, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today.

The distinctively styled, five-passenger, five-door dedicated hybrid vehicle is powered by an Integrated Motor Assist™ (IMA™) system comprised of a 1.3-liter i-VTEC® gasoline engine and a 10-kilowatt electric motor that together contribute to an EPA-estimated city/highway fuel economy rating of 40/43 miles per gallonn2. The Insight features the Ecological Drive Assist System (Eco Assist™), an innovation that can further enhance efficient vehicle operation while providing feedback related to individual driving styles.

A more premium version of the Insight is also available. The Insight EX, with a MSRP of $21,300, adds to the Insight LX features with Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®); alloy wheels; cruise control; steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters; an upgraded audio system with six speakers; USB audio interface3; a center console with armrest and storage compartment; heated side mirrors with integrated turn signals; and much more. Exclusively available on the Insight EX, the Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System4 (6.5-inch screen) with voice recognition provides routing and guidance to individual addresses and more than 7 million points of interest within the continental United States. Models equipped with the navigation system also include Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® for hands-free operation of compatible mobile telephones, along with related steering wheel-mounted controls for voice activation of navigation and hands-free telephone systems.

2010 Honda Insight Pricing and EPA Data

Model	MSRP1	EPA2 City/Hwy/Combined
Insight LX	$19,800	40/43/41
Insight EX	$21,300	40/43/41
Insight EX with Navi	$23,100	40/43/41

Source: Honda USA

Honda Produces 20 Millionth Automobile in North America

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Honda produced its 20 millionth automobile in North America based on January 2009 production totals to be released this week. Honda began local auto production in 1982, in Marysville, Ohio.*

"The production of 20 million cars and light trucks in North America was achieved through the ultimate in teamwork by our suppliers, business partners and dealers working together with Honda associates to create joy for our customers," said Tsuneo Tanai, president & CEO of Honda of America Mfg., Inc. and head of Honda's production operations in North America, covering the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

In a letter thanking the more than 34,000 associates working in the company's manufacturing, sales, marketing and R&D operations in North America, Tanai said: "Most importantly, we owe our deepest appreciation to our customers, as none of our accomplishments would be possible without the loyalty they have shown to their Honda and Acura products."

Consistent with Honda's commitment to produce products close to the customer, more than 77% of all Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2008, were produced in North America- a total of 1,421,427 units. Further, 11 different models are produced exclusively in North America- the Honda Accord Coupe, Civic Coupe and Si, Civic GX natural gas vehicle, Odyssey, Pilot, Element and Ridgeline and the Acura TL, MDX, RDX and CSX (Canadian exclusive model).

Honda has four U.S. automobile plants in Marysville and East Liberty, Ohio; Lincoln, Alabama; and Greensburg, Indiana; two plants in Alliston, Ontario, Canada; and a plant in Jalisco, El Salto, Mexico.

In addition to the 20 million cars and light trucks, Honda's cumulative North American production of automobile engines exceeds 18.4 million units, mostly in Ohio and Alabama, with automatic transmission production now exceeding 13 million units at plants in Ohio and Georgia.

Honda currently partners with more than 620 North American suppliers, including 545 in the U.S., and purchased more than $19.5 billion in parts and materials from its North American suppliers in 2008.

Honda also continues to grow its automobile export program, including both finished vehicles and component parts sets, such as Honda's U.S.-made engines and components sourced from U.S. suppliers. From the start-up of automobile exports in 1987 through 2008, Honda exported 922,668 vehicles made in North America to world markets.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment in 1959 of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Honda's first overseas subsidiary. Honda began U.S. motorcycle production in Ohio in 1979, and U.S. automobile production in 1982. The company has invested more than $10.6 billion in its North America operations, including 16 major manufacturing facilities employing more than 34,000 associates, to produce Honda and Acura automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft, lawn mowers, general-purpose engines, and other power equipment products.

For further information on Honda's manufacturing operations in North America, please visit our multimedia newsroom online: http://www.hondanews.com/categories/1165/releases/4040