Spy shots of Honda's upcoming Prius-fighting hybrid model have come and gone and we still haven't had our fill of guessing what the new model will look like. We've heard that the new non-Insight will bear a resemblance to Honda's hydrogen-consuming FCX Clarity and we can certainly tell that it will have a certain Prius-esque look to its profile - all in the name of aerodynamics, of course. Armed with all of this information, the scribes at Japan's Best Car have come up with a rendering of the new car. Based on what we know, as discussed a few sentences back, this is surely pretty close though there will undoubtedly be extra details that nobody is aware of yet. Under hood will be a revised version of Honda's familiar Integrated Motor Assist system hooked to a 1.3-liter four cylinder engine. A nickel metal hydride battery pack will prove the necessary juice to the electric motor. Expect to see the real thing soon enough as Honda is set to debut its latest fuel-sipper in this October in Paris.


[Source: Best Car via Carscoop]

What looks like a Prius, sips gas like a Prius, comes from Japan like a Prius... but isn't a Prius? That would be Honda's upcoming dedicated hybrid (which this particular blogger thinks should be called the Insight, but won't be). We are expecting the production version of the new model, of which we have seen these spy shots, to debut this October in the City of Lights, Paris. Thanks to the use of a refined and less-costly version of Honda Integrated Motor Assist along with a 1.3-liter gas-burner, the new hybrid model should attain fuel mileage in the 50-60 mpg range, matching what's expected from the next-gen Prius that should be unveiled January in Detroit in January.

We are pretty excited to see this new hybrid rivalry go into full swing, with Toyota's incumbent model in its third generation and Honda finally offering a four-door dedicated hybrid. The Honda should come in at a slightly more attractive price but will also be a bit smaller than the Toyota. Both will use nickel-based batteries, eschewing the newer but pricier lithium ions that will likely take over in a few years. The Honda should finally see the light of day in April of 2009 and the automaker hopes to sell half of the 200,000 it plans to produce in the U.S.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Honda has always had one of the cleanest and most efficient model lineups in the U.S. market and they look set to continue that trend over the next several years. We already knew that the Japanese automaker would be adding three more hybrids to its lineup over the next two years: the five-door hatchback coming next spring will be followed by the CR-Z-based coupe and a hybrid version of the new Fit. Honda has been saying for over a year that they would keep the hybrid powertrains in these smaller cars which are used more often for urban driving. For the bigger models, they have decided diesel is the way to go. The first diesel model will show up next year in the Acura lineup, most likely starting with the TSX. According to Automotive News, diesels will then spread to the Honda side of the house starting with the Accord and CR-V. Both will likely get the same 2.2L four cylinder diesel that's going into the TSX. The next generation of the Odyssey minivan, which is due in 2010, may be the first Honda vehicle to get the 3.0L diesel V6 that the company is developing. That same engine will probably eventually end up in several other models - possibly the Pilot and Ridgeline - as well as in Acura vehicles like the MDX.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

The new low cost dedicated hybrid that we've been seeing spy shots of in tested is expected to get its world debut at the Paris Motor show in October. The five door hatchback draws much of its styling from the FCX Clarity fuel cell car, but scaled down to Prius dimensions. Honda has claimed that it will halve the the cost of its IMA hybrid system allowing a price of as low as $18,500 for the new car. The car which like the Prius will only be available as a hybrid will also get a name when it rolls out onto the Paris stage. Over the next couple of years, it will be joined by a second hybrid only model, a coupe based on the CR-Z concept as well as a hybrid version of the Fit.

[Source: Inside Line]

Looking like a cross between the FCX Clarity fuel cell car and the Toyota Prius, Honda's upcoming dedicated hybrid model should come in at a cost a bit lower than current hybrid models. Part of that lower price is due to the fact that Honda has literally cut the cost of its Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) technology in half when compared to the system currently being used in the Civic Hybrid. Apparently, Honda's engineers have managed to simplify the IMA's complicated mechanicals, making it smaller and easier to package in the process.

All of these detail changes add up to a new hybrid contender with an expected base price of just $18,580. Honda so far has had notably less success with its hybrids than rival Toyota, but much of that can be attributed to the fact that the original Insight could seat only two people and the Civic and Accord hybrid models differed too little from their non-hybrid siblings. All of these issues are being resolved with its newest hybrid, which has us awfully excited about the as-yet unnamed (we vote for Insight) Prius-fighter.


[Source: Nikkei]

Over at Honda's web-site the company has launched a page dedicated to its upcoming dedicated hybrid model. The gas electric hatchback will be going on sale early next year and we recently saw our first spy pics of the new car. In the text on the micro-site it appears that Honda will be emphasizing affordability for the new car which puts it in stark contrast to some other recent hybrids such as the Two-mode SUVs from GM, Chrysler and their German collaborators. Honda's IMA hybrid system has always been a lower cost system than the ones from Toyota and others, being more of a mild hybrid (although not as mild as GM belt-alternator-starter setup) than a strong hybrid. The new hybrid will include an even lighter less expensive development of IMA. With Toyota set to grab all the headlines with the new Prius in Detroit in January, look for Honda to use the LA Auto Show in November as launch pad for the new hybrid.


[Source: Honda]

Back on the first of January of this year, Honda's hybrid tax credits began their slide down towards zero due to the fact that the automaker passed sixty-thousand hybrid sales. While you can argue with the reasoning behind the credits in the first place along with the arbitrary number of people who will get them, but the rules are what they are. So, starting on July 1, the tax credit for any Honda hybrid vehicle will be halved yet again, bringing the available credit to just one-fourth of the original level.

As of today, the Honda Civic hybrid gets a credit of $1,050. From July 1 to December 31, that credit will be $525. Don't complain too much, though, as the credit will officially run out on January 1, 2009. Ford, General Motors and Nissan have yet to hit the magic sixty-thousand number, so the full credit still applies for those manufacturers. Toyota hybrids are no longer eligible for any credit at all, as it has sold way too many Priuses to qualify any longer.

[Source: FuelEconomy.gov]

With the success that Toyota has had with its Prius hybrid sedan, you could be forgiven for forgetting that Honda actually beat them to market here in the states with the Insight. For whatever reason, though, the Insight never became the green-bearer that Honda had hoped. Still, the name is not associated with any negativity, so Honda might be considering reviving it for its upcoming dedicated hybrid model. We applaud this idea and hope it turns out to be more than just a rumor.

Honda's new hybrid model should more directly compete with the Prius as it will be sport a four-door body style and be easily identifiable as a green vehicle. Expected to use a 1.3 liter engine along with the Integrated Motor Assist which Honda uses for all of its hybrids, early estimates for fuel mileage are in the 50-55 mile per gallon range. Much of the structure is said to be derived from the Civic, which could account for its expected price of under $19,000. Also expected are nickel metal hydride batteries which would help keep pricing low. With rumors such as these, we'll be hard pressed to wait until its expected debut at next year's Detroit Auto Show, which, incidentally, is when Toyota will unveil its next-gen Prius. Game on.

[Source: Auto Observer]

Last fall at the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda announced its plans to introduce a new dedicated hybrid drive vehicle in 2009. The new hybrid would the first dedicated hybrid from Honda since the original Insight ended production in 2006. At his mid-year press conference, CEO Takeo Fukui revealed that Honda would in fact introduce two new dedicated hybrids next year along with a hybrid version of the new Fit. The first of the hybrid-only models will be a five seat, five door hatchback with styling based on the look of the FCX Clarity fuel cell car (pictured). The second new hybrid will be a coupe based on last year's CR-Z concept which will be great news to fans of the long-departed Civic CRX.

To make all of this happen, Honda has developed an updated version of their Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system. The revised IMA will significantly reduce both the weight and cost of the system, allowing it to be applied to more vehicles. Honda is expanding and adding a second IMA production line at its Suzuka, Japan factory (where the Civic hybrid is produced) to build the new hybrid models and bringing the capacity to 250,000 hybrids. Between the two new hybrids, the Fit and the Civic, Honda hopes to have 500,000 annual hybrid sales within the next couple of years. Thanks to theRookie for the tip!


[Source: Honda]
All photos ©2007 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

While many other car-makers (with the notable exception of Toyota) are jumping on the lithium ion bandwagon for new hybrid models, Honda will stick with nickel metal hydride for now. Honda President Takeo Fukui told Automotive News that lithium ion batteries are not yet reliable or durable enough for high volume applications. When Honda debuts a new dedicated hybrid model early next year to take on the Prius, it will continue to use nickel metal hydride batteries.

Honda hopes to top 200,000 annual sales with its new hybrid model, a car that is expected to be priced below the current Civic hybrid. Honda has chosen to use a lithium battery in its FCX Clarity fuel cell car, but those will be very low volume initially and much more expensive. The continued use of nickel probably has as much to do with cost as anything else at this point. Given Honda's price and volume targets, there is probably no lithium battery available right now to the meet the need. According to Fukui, the new model is being engineered to allow for a running change to lithium when the batteries do meet the company's specifications.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

Hybrid car shoppers will have more choices than ever before in 2009 when Honda releases their new Prius fighter and the CR-Z hybrid sports car. Toyota has also publicly said that their next-generation Prius will go on sale in '09. Honda hopes to sell 100,000 of their dedicated hybrid family sedan in North America, and hopes to double that number when worldwide sales are tallied. Details remain sketchy, but as we've reported before, the CR-Z model is separate from their hybrid family sedan. They hope to price the sedan between the Fit and the Civic Hybrid.

The CR-Z is intended to be a sporty hybrid, and the weight of the battery is a big concern. Honda COO Takanobu Ito was interviewed at the Tokyo Motor Show and declined to comment on whether Honda plans on a lithium ion battery for their new hybrid models, but that would make a big dent in the weight problem.

Related:

• It's not just the FCX; the CR-Z is entering production soon as well

[Source: Auto News (sub. req'd)]

In March, Honda unveiled the Small Hybrid Sports concept (above). The big deal with this car is that it would be offered only as a hybrid - every time you see one on the road, you know it's a hybrid car. This is the same realization you get when you see a Prius driving by. There is no diesel or non-hybrid version of the Prius, and this instant identification has helped Toyota sell bunches of the popular car. In a new article about the show-off factor of hybrids, Newsweek calls this "Prius envy." As one person interviewed for the article says, "If I'm driving a hybrid, I want people to know it."

Toyota obviously has a huge lead in this fight, but Honda is working hard on a comeback, Newsweek says (and we've been reporting here for a while), and other automakers are gearing up, too. Toyota, for its part, wants to move the Prius brand even further forward, creating an entire line-up of Prius-badged vehicles.

[Source: Keith Naughton / Newsweek, thanks to Dan K.]

After the rather dismal sales of the current generation Accord hybrid, Honda has apparently decided not to offer a hybrid version of the new 2008 Accord due this fall. Honda will focus the hybrid applications on smaller cars like the Civic and the new hybrid-only model they have coming for 2009. Larger models like the Accord will instead use Honda's new fifty-state diesel engine that is coming in 2009.

When the hybrid Accord was introduced in 2004 the IMA system was paired up with the V-6 engine instead of the smaller four cylinder. The more expensive Accord was marketed as more of a performance upgrade than an efficiency improvement which proved to be a tough sell. The new self contained emission control system that Honda has developed will not require any Urea injection unlike the BlueTec system developed by Mercedes Benz.

[Source: GreenCarCongress]

As Jeremy wrote a few days ago, Honda is thinking about a new dedicated hybrid model that would sell for under $25,000. Automotive News (subs req'd) yesterday brings us more. This new model should be on the lots in mid-2009, with an ambitious 200,000 produced each year. This is separate from the introduction of Honda's hybrid sports coupe, which should come a few months earlier and which will look somewhat like the Remix concept that was unveiled in LA last fall and is pictured above. The new mid-price hybrid will be available in markets around the world, Ken Keir, managing director of Honda UK and senior vice president of Honda Motor Europe, told Automotive News. I think it's a safe bet that this vehicle will sell better than the Insight.

[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]

Remember the Honda Insight? I'm sure you remember it, but, what do you think of when you hear the name? Compare the public perception of the Toyota Prius to the Honda Insight for a moment, and you will see where I am going with this. Honda would like to capture some of that green image back. As it stands now, Honda is probably the greenest automaker, and they have the highest average fuel economy of all the major automakers, but Toyota often comes to peoples minds when they think of an automaker trying to have a positive impact on the environment. I am not suggesting that Toyota should not be considered a green automaker at all, what I am saying is that Honda deserves more credit for their Insight than they seem to get. Regardless of whether you agree with that assessment or not, Honda would like to capitalize on the fact that they were first on the market in the United States with a hybrid vehicle. They believe that one of the reasons that the Prius outsells their own hybrid models is because it looks different than their other models, and it is a dedicated model of its own. Honda might just go that route again with a replacement for the Insight, with the goal of stealing some sales from Toyota. The new model would likely sell for less than $25,000 and be added in addition to Honda's existing hybrid Accord and Civic.

Here is a refresher in case you forgot all about the Insight...

[Source: USA Today]