The 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour is schizo. On the one hand, it is glomming onto the trend that Europe has known forever – 5 door hatches are the most efficient layout, but at the same time, I think the intention was to semi-obscure its hatchiness because looking too much like a wagon is a big Brady Bunch no, no these days—unless you’re a weird sta-wag fetishist. However, isn’t this just the emperor’s new Accord Wagon, with better handling?

I also think Honda was excited by the Crosstour’s hauling capabilities, at least compared to the sedan, but with just 51 cubic feet of cargo space versus the Venza’s 70 cubic feet, it means 1.5 fewer sorority girls will fit back there and that alone might make the Venza more attractive to some, not to mention the fact that the Crosstour goes from 0-60 in just 7.5 seconds, a whopping half-second lower than the Venza. Plus, girls don’t like schizos. Ok, Jennifer Connelly did in “A Beautiful Mind”, but I don’t think she’d be riding in the back of a Honda Crosstour. Or the front for that matter, but I digress. Let’s talk about the basics.

Read the rest of this entry »

Honda fans can finally rejoice at the official unveiling happening at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, sort of, of the CR-Z coupe. Honda, ever the conservative Japanese car company says that the 2009 CR-Z coupe you see here “remains a concept”, but the car seems production ready to anybody with eyes. Especially since the CR-Z will go on sale in Japan this coming February of 2010 (that’s four months away) and then arrive in North America in the fall. If there’s going to be any major changes, it will be very surprising to see Honda pull it off.

The rather attractive grill from the original 2007 concept has been largely carried over, and still seems like a Honda toned-down interpretation of a Maserati nose to me. The most noticeable changes to the CR-Z being, to some extent, the taller roof and a less raked windshield with A-pillars now blacked out. The higher roof (and the more upright front glass that would have to follow) seems to be compromises allowing people over 4 foot 10 to fit inside.

View gallery after the jump
Read the rest of this entry »

More concept news from the Tokyo Motor Show, this time in the guise of a Honda electric vehicle with a decidedly retro flavor. It bares more than a passing resemblance to the Honda N360 and N600 kei cars, only updated, modernized and with an electric drivetrain. In addition to being an EV, the EV-N also boasts some inventive technology, although we’re not quite sure about the custom-fitted unicycle holder. No, I’m not making that up. A little bit ago, Honda showed off a unicycle to all the tech geek blogs. It was self-stabilizing one-wheeled version of a Segway. No, I don’t think Honda will be offering a one wheeler. Nor will they probably be producing the EV-N in any quantity, but it does show what they’re thinking about future EVs.

The electric-”fueled” EV-N is designed for close-fitting metropolitan spaces and short commutes in places like Tokyo. In cases like that, range and interior space will not be a concern. The EV-N is not a road trip car by any means. That also explains the unicycle holder, which is there to hold the company’s gyro-stabilized U3-X unicycle. As I recall, Honda made a car quite similar to this back in the 1980s that featured a small, collapsible scooter stored in the way-back. The idea then, as the idea now, is that you drive your little electric commuter car close to your office or place of work. Park it, take out the unicycle, and ride that the rest of the way in.

Read the rest of this entry »

OK, looks like the big time electric cars wars are on for real. Not just Tesla, and not just the Volt or Prius (which are hybrids anyway), but recent news of the Nissan Leaf threw fuel on the fire, and now come word that Honda will be making their own EV that will hit the streets by 2015.

Word out of Japan is that Honda plans to roll out an all-electric automobile in America by 2015. Honda, a company that essentially defined fuel efficiency combined with practicality by the early 80s will move to battery power in order to meet upcoming zero-emission regulations.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Gary Chan

Pros

• Good gas mileage
• Steering is tight and responsive
• Low-price

Cons

• Rear visibility
• Acceleration - slow and steady wins the race
• Noise, Vibration, Harshness (NVH)

Honda has a tough job playing catch-up to Toyota, who already built two-generations of the Prius, in the hybrid market . Sure Honda had the original Insight, but “practicality” was not used to describe the original version and the Civic Hybrid was never really compared to the Prius. How does the new Insight stack up as a direct competitor to the Prius?

Read the rest of this entry »

page 1 page 2 page 3

Finally, the aftermarket has gotten to modifying hybrids, and wouldn’t you know it, Honda gets in first. What we have here is Honda’s Prius fighter, the Insight. Honda’s latest entry into the hybrid game has been faulted here and there, but one of the main dings against it has been its looks. Although Honda denies it, plenty of people see it as looking very much like the car it’s trying to go head-to-head with: The Prius.

Perhaps a little aftermarket tweaking can help. Well, if it can’t help it in the looks department, it might be able to help with performance – a regime that hybrids have always put last on their list of things to do.

Read the rest of this entry »

Reviews by community members are the foundation of CarReview.com. Share your experience with other car owners by writing reviews for your cars, aftermarket parts, and car audio components. You don’t have to be an expert - everyone’s opinion counts.

Featured Review: 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid

by Louella M. Harty

Price Paid: $28000.00 from Schaumburg Honda
Review Date: July 4, 2009
Overall Rating: 4 of 5
Value Rating: 4 of 5
Used product for: Less than 1 month

Read the rest of this entry »

By Derek Mau and Melody C. Yang

Read the rest of this entry »

page 1 page 2

More word that Honda is not only getting into the hybrid thing in big ways, but also that the company’s upcoming hybrids will be performance oriented. This is good news, not only for car people with a green bent, but also for sports car lovers. A few months ago, Honda publicized the end of the S2000 Roadster’s 10-year production run, which left the Japanese company without a proper sports car. Now news is out that in addition to the launch of the front-wheel drive CR-Z hybrid coupe in 2010, Honda is also working on a larger and more powerful coupe as a replacement to the S2000. No exact word has bubbled up whether it will actually be a coupe, or hopefully a convertible, although some sources point to the S2000 successor being a 2+2 coupe that would feature the company’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a rumor that sounds like a win-win and that I sincerely hope is true: Honda might not be making just one, but TWO hybrid sports cars. Now that Honda has rolled out its Prius-fighting Insight into dealer showrooms, they are purported to be moving onward & upward in the hybrid game. Honda has confirmed that a production version of the CR-Z concept will arrive within the next year as a hybrid coupe. No, it’s not a pure sports car like a Miata since it’s a coupe, but it will feature some interesting doo-dads. Such as a 2.5-liter four cylinder engine with direct injection, which would be Honda’s first direct injected production engine.

The second hybrid sports car rumored is reportedly a successor to the discontinued S2000 roadster. According to Japan’s Best Car magazine, the hybrid S2000 replacement will get power from a Honda 3.5-liter V6 mill and will also use Honda’s all-wheel drive system. Dubbed the FF-S2000, it may even use a flywheel based KERS system like those experimented with in Honda’s now-dead Formula 1 program. Best Car is unsure if the KERS will be addition to the hybrid drive, or whether that IS the hybrid drive, but if Honda does implement a KERS layout, the standing start acceleration could be highly impressive.

So what’s not to like? We’ve got the possibility of not one, but TWO fun cars that are also easier on the environment.

C’Mon Honda, bring it on!

Source: AutoBlogGreen

Photo from Flickr user JMRosenfeld

The hydrogen fuel-cell powered Honda FCX Clarity sedan was declared the 2009 World Green Car. American Honda Motor Co. Inc. announced yesterday at the New York International Auto Show. The FCX Clarity was chosen from an initial entry list of 22 contenders nominated by 59 World Car jurors from 25 countries worldwide.

The Clarity, available on a limited lease-basis, is powered by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated by an on-board fuel cell stack. The vehicle’s only emission is water, and its fuel efficiency is up to three times that of a gasoline-powered auto and two times that of a gas-powered hybrid vehicle, Honda reported.

This award is a good sign for hydrogen fuel-cell technology, which has undergone a lot of criticism lately. One of the main issues people have with hydrogen is that there aren’t enough fueling stations in this country to support it. Another one is that one tank of fuel on these vehicles can only take you approximately 100 miles. This recognition will hopefully give this segment a much-needed boost that will fast track it with many other carmakers.

Honda is canine-conscious and they’re proving it with a new dog-friendly car that has mutts drooling and wagging their tails worldwide.

The Japanese automaker exhibited a “Dog Friendly” version of the Honda Element SUV at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday.

The concept features a cushioned pet bed with safety restraints in the cargo area, a spill-resistant water bowl, and even a ventilation fan to keep canines comfortable. A folding ramp gives animals an easy way to get in and out.

Read the rest of this entry »

More concept news from this month’s New York Auto Show points the way forward to what SUV could be like in the future. Or at least what they could be like if the Honda Motor Company has its way. Say hello to the Acura ZDX. Sources say that the ZDX is ” … very close to [a] production version of the Japanese firm’s forthcoming crossover that is due to go on sale in the States in the fall of 2009.” So Acura is really going to build this thing, and it’s going to be hitting showrooms within months. Although at first bringing another SUV-like ride to the streets might not be the brightest of ideas, there is a certain rational here. BMW, to name one, is rolling out their X6 crossover SUVs as we speak, which has the same ‘it’s a coupe, and it’s SUV’ looks of the ZDX, so if Honda is wrong, they’re not the only ones being wrong.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s some good news from Honda for or pocketbooks and our planet. It seems that the rumors are going to be true, and Honda intends to bring its Prius fighter, the 2010 Insight to dealer showrooms for less that $20,000.

One of the complaints the eco-conscious have against most available hybrids is the cost. Their reasoning, and it’s pretty sound reasoning, says that it will do the planet more good if a company sells more hybrids, not less. So rather than selling a few high-buck eco-cars, someone should figure out how to make cheaper hybrids, and sell tons of those.

Honda, it seems, is the company to crack that nut. Their Insight Hybrid, which is due as a 2010 model, should hit showrooms with a projected price tag of $19,999 when it goes on sale this spring. The insight just went on sale in Japan with a sticker price of 1.89 million yen, which works out to $20,640 at current conversion rates, so Honda should be able to trim that last 600 bucks with ease.

The 2010 Insight should go on sale in the U.S. on April 22, but Honda officials said that the company will start shipping the Insight to dealers as soon as the first boatload makes landfall, which should happen in late March.

Source: Edmunds

Here’s another car that we should have in the U.S., but sadly, it’s Euro only for the moment.

At Honda’s Geneva Motor Show booth this year will see the debut of the Accord Type-S decked out with a new 180-horsepower derivative of the firm’s 2.2-liter i-DTEC turbo diesel engine. Yes it’s a wagon, but that from-factor is very popular in Europe, and if you think that wagons can’t be fun, you need to play around with more Audi & BMW wagons.

Anyway, since this is a diesel the torque is impressive: 380Nm at a low-low 2000rpm. Fun. And the wagon also features a discreet aero-package. Oh, and in case this “Accord” looks familiar, yet odd, to some, that’s because it is, in reality, the Euro version of the Acura TSX (there’s no Acura nameplate outside of North America).

According to Graham Avent, Manager – Corporate Operations, Honda (UK), the new car, “…will be a welcome addition to the Accord range, especially for company car drivers that want a high-specification car in an even sportier package. This model will undoubtedly appeal to high-performance diesel enthusiasts, looking for that something extra, but we hope it will also create a halo-effect across the diesel Accord range.”

And we agree with him. Just one thing Graham: BRING IT TO AMERICA!!

Source: CarScoop