Honda’s Japanese YouTube channel released a new teaser video for the upcoming NSX supercar, and it’s titled “2012 NSX”. So it’s probably only the Acura version that’s going to take until 1025 to arrive, and we might get to see the new Honda NSX on the road much sooner than that. Honda took its sweet time developing this car, but it was well worth it, because the new generation NSX is astonishing. You cannot fault this car, as it looks awesome, goes like stink, and because it’s a hybrid it’s clean and efficient. If they price it like a Honda, then it will be the best car in the world!

Watch the video after the jump. the first five minutes is about the old NSX and a bit boring, but bear with it.

Honda is kicking its motorsport efforts into high gear. After the new WTCC campaign, they are now going to enter the CR-Z in the Japanese Super GT series.

Yesterday they revealed plans to take part in the 2013 (and some of the 2012 events) World Touring Car Championship with a Mugen-powered Civic prepared by J.A.S. team. The Super GT CR-Z will be fielded by Team Mugen, in association with M-TEC Co.

Details on the CR-Z GT300 are scarce, but Honda has confirmed it will be powered by a hybrid powertrain. It will join the HSV-010 GT which competes in the GT500 class.

SUPER GT <GT300 class>

Starting this year, Honda will enter the GT300 class with a CR-Z equipped with a racing hybrid system, and through a joint project with M-TEC Co., Ltd. Honda will support the racing activities of TEAM MUGEN, which plans to enter GT300 from Round 4 (Sportsland SUGO). The development driver will be Hideki Mutoh, who has competed in the IndyCar® Series and the GT500 class of SUPER GT.

Team	Number	Driver	Age	Nationality	2011 Result
TEAM MUGEN	16	Hideki Mutoh	29	Tokyo, Japan	GT500 15th
		To be determined

via: JonSibal

Honda dives deeper into motorsport activities by entering the Civic into World Touring Car Championship .

So they called up their in-house performance arm Mugen and J.A.S. Motorsport to turn a normal Civic into a full-blooded racing machine.

Mugen will manufacture and take care of a bespoke racing engine developed by Honda R&D, while J.A.S. will develop the rest of the car, based on the new UK-built Honda Civic 5door. The racing engine is a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder direct injection turbo-charged petrol engine, developed in accordance with FIA’s Super 2000 regulations.

This can’t be good news for makes like Chevrolet or Seat, the current top players in WTCC. Honda will take part in just a few 2012 events as “inaugural rounds” in Japan, China and Macau. Then from 2013 they will take part in every race with a two car team.

“We have made a decision” said Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito “to enter into the WTCC with the European Civic. We will develop a totally new engine for this project and we are all excited about starting this new challenge.”

For some obvious reasons Honda’s ad was one of the most anticipated commercials for this year’s super bowl game night. Here it is now, the full two and a half minutes clip of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” remake, only it features actor Matthew Broderick as himself. If you are too young to remember that film, check this out: the ad is made by the writer/director of “The Hangover” Todd Phillips. Now it sounds like a must watch, doesn’t it. It is actually a great ad, almost greater than the car it publicizes.

The entry-level four-cylinder version of the Honda Crosstour now has a price tag. And that’s $27,655.

So don’t despair if it’s ugly, because at least it’s slow efficient. It’s got a 2.4 liter four-banger that makes 192 horsepower at 7,000 RPM and 162 lb-ft. of torque at 4,400 RPM.

It makes considerably less power than the 270hp V6, but on the upside it has an average fuel economy of 21mpg city and 29mpg highway, which is good compared to the V6′s 18mpg city and 27mpg highway.

What’s more you pay $2,500 less for the four-cylinder. Standard equipments of this model include automatic headlights, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink and USB audio interface, a rear-view camera, and auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

Will this new model be able to help the Crosstour’s sales? We don’t think so because it still looks $#%*.

This is the new Honda Accord Coupe, unveiled at Detroit Motor Show a few hours ago. And apart from those holes in its bumper, there’s nothing conceptual about it.

Honda too admits the car is virtually production-ready and will go on sale in the fall of 2012.

they haven’t really been busy with the exterior design though. It seems to us like a subtle tweak. But it looks good, especially with those 20-inch, machine-finished, 5-spoke wheels, which the production version won’t get.

The 2013 Accord will feature three all-new powertrains, including the first U.S. application of both a 2.4-liter direct-injected engine and two-motor plug-in hybrid system, which again, the Coupe won’t get.

What the Coupe will get is a new Earth Dreams 2.4-liter, 16-valve DOHC i-VTEC four-cylinder engine featuring direct- injection (DI) paired with a 6-speed manual transmission or a new Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), developing 181 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque.

The other option is a re-engineered 3.5-liter, 24-valve, SOHC, i-VTEC V6 engine, paired to a new 6-speed automatic transmission or an available 6-speed manual transmission. The 2013 Accord Sedan and Accord Coupe models equipped with the 6-speed automatic transmission will utilize Honda Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) technology. It’ll make them more fuel efficient.

This new Honda Accord Coupe seems to be a coupe for the elderly! Dignified looks with smooth and clean engines, and superb reliability. Honestly, there’s not much to get excited about in this car.

During his Detroit Motor Show press conference, Takanobu Ito, President and CEO of Honda Motor Co., confirmed Acura is going global.

Acura, as you know, is Honda’s luxury brand. They are what Lexus is to Toyota, only Acura is only for the American market, and that makes it more like Infiniti, the luxury brand for Nissan.

But with Lexus enjoying a global success, and Infiniti off to a flying start in Europe, Honda decided it’s time to expand Acura’s business into new markets around the world. They are not going fully exposed, mind you, they will probably start with a few markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Ukraine.

It is planned to introduce the Acura brand to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia by the end of 2013 and to Russia and Ukraine in 2014. The demand for large, luxury, performance vehicles in these markets perfectly matches the Acura brand attributes.

There’s still no plans to introduce Acura to the European market.

To offer a more fuel efficient version of its Crosstour, Honda added a four-cylinder VTEC unit to the list of engines available for the 2012 version of the car.

So a car that was ugly, is now slow as well. The new 2.4 liter four-banger makes 192 horsepower at 7,000 RPM and 162 lb-ft. of torque at 4,400 RPM, which is not bad, but then the Crosstour is a pretty sizable thing.

It will do well economy-wise though. If you get the 2WD version and drive considerately, you can achieve an EPA-estimated city/highway/combined fuel economy of 21/29/24 mpg. THe 270 hp V6 will do 18 mpg1 city and 27 mpg highway, so it’s not really that big on an advantage.

Honda Crosstour is widely regarded as the ugliest new car you can buy in America today. A new engine is welcome, but it desperately needs a facelift.

The 2012 Crosstour comes with more new standard features as well.

In addition to auto-on/off headlights, Bluetooth3 HandsFreeLink®, USB audio interface and rearview mirror back-up camera display with integrated guidelines, additional standard features on the new four-cylinder Crosstour EX include projector-beam headlights, a moonroof, body-colored power side mirrors with defrost, auto-up/down driver and front passenger side windows, and rear privacy glass. Inside are air conditioning with second-row ventilation, a 360-watt AM/FM 6-disc audio system with seven speakers, steering wheel-mounted cruise, audio and phone controls, an easy fold-down 60-40 split rear seatback, a hidden removable utility box and more.

Crosstour EX-L adds leather-trimmed seating surfaces with heated front seats, a memory driver-side seat and memory-linked side mirrors with reverse gear tilt-down capability, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearshift knob, dual-zone automatic climate control, an automatic dimming rearview mirror, a premium audio system with Kevlar® cone speakers and front aluminum dome-type tweeter speakers, XM® Radio and more. Also available on the Crosstour EX-L is the Honda Satellite-linked Navigation System2 which includes a rearview camera with guidelines integrated into the display.

Production of the new generation Honda Civic began today at the Japanese car maker’s UK plant in Swindon.

Honda is anticipating a significant increase in sales in 2012, and therefore added new shifts at the Swindon plant, creating 500 new jobs. They say it is a clear demonstration of Honda’s continued commitment to the UK.

Next year Honda will also add the European version of the new CR-V crossover to the Swindon plant’s production lines and it’ll join the Civic and the Jazz. Also a small diesel engine will be produced at Swindon. Production volume of cars for 2012 is forecast to double to 180,000 units.

The UK-built Civic will go on sale across Europe. It’s priced from £16,495 in Britain.

During his speech to Honda Associates, Honda Motor Europe President Mr Nishimae acknowledged the workforces’ resilience, “The last three years have been extremely difficult for all of Honda’s European operations. We have faced many challenges beginning with the economic downturn through to the two natural disasters in Japan and Thailand. Throughout this period Associates have remained committed and I am extremely proud of how they have responded to these challenges. We will build upon our new found strength and remain confident of our ability to achieve and succeed in the future.”

Commenting on Honda’s announcement, Prime Minister David Cameron said, “This is great news and a tremendous boost to the workforce, the car industry and UK manufacturing. Honda is contributing to a real renaissance in the UK automotive industry, we have a highly skilled workforce and we continue to be at the forefront of new technology and development. Its success is of great importance to our economy and we are committed to do all that we can to see this vital industry grow and thrive.”

More details emerge on the production version of the EV-STER concept, after Honda CEO confirmed it a few days ago.

The EV-STER concept is an electric-powered sports car, hence the name. But the production car won’t e an EV after all. It will be a mid-engined, gas-powered, rear-drive, two-seater roadster.

Sounds like a delicious recipe then. It is supposed to be a replacement for the S2000 which for years was a benchmark in this segment. Details of the engine size, final design, and even the car’s dimensions are still confidential, but whatever that engine is, it’ a damn sight better than an electric motor.

That said, Honda showed with the CR-Z they know how to ruin a great car with a pathetic engine. So there’s a slight worry they come up with an underpowered unit to satisfy their fuel economy goals.

They shouldn’t develop this car in Japan you know, they should give the job to their British engineers. They know a thing or two about how to make a great sportscar.

via: Motor Trend

In their first commercial for the new CR-V Honda puts its finger on the car’s wide range of capabilities. According to Honda, everybody has a Leap List of things that need to be done before leaping into life’s next chapter. The CR-V apparently will help you get your stuff done with its spacious interior, rich features, folding seats and efficient engines. Didn’t know folding seats can help me realize my dreams!

]]> http://www.motorward.com/2011/12/honda-cr-v-first-commercial-leap-list/feed/ 0 http://www.motorward.com/2011/12/honda-ceo-confirms-ev-ster-production/ http://www.motorward.com/2011/12/honda-ceo-confirms-ev-ster-production/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:06:07 +0000 Arman Barari http://www.motorward.com/?p=28840

Yep, sports cars are definitely making a comeback. Honda too is working on a new sports roadster based on the EV-STER concept revealed at Tokyo Motor Show earlier this year.

Honda CEO Takanubo Ito confirmed that to German magazine Auto Motor Sport and also hinted at a possible petrol-powered version of it. The EV-STER as its name suggest, is an electric roadster.

They will probably change the name as well, and come up with something more pronounceable!

The EV-STER is a compact, light and nimble sports car with an EV drivetrain. CO2 reduction is Honda’s main focus in its long-term plans, and cars like this will help with that goal. Granted, an small EV doesn’t sound like a charmer, but a petrol-powered version of this car, or at the very least a Mugen version, will be plenty fun to drive.

AutoMotorSport

Just because Acura will come to Detroit this year with the new generation NSX it doesn’t mean its parent Honda should lay low. They have some interesting stuff as well.

And the most interesting NAIAS debut for the Japanese giant is an all-new version of the Accord Coupe for 2013. It will be unveiled as a concept before going on sale in the fall of 2012.

The Accord dates back to 1976 and has always been Honda’s best selling model all over the world. The Coupe version however never enjoyed the same enormous success, maybe because it’s always been a bit boring for a coupe. Hopefully the new model, which is based on the 2012 version of the sedan, is a totally different car.

The 2012 Accord was recently named to Car and Driver Magazine’s ’10Best’ list for a record 26th time and was ranked as having the highest initial quality in its segment in the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Initial Quality Study (IQS). The introduction of the ninth-generation Accord marks 30 years of U.S. production of the model at the Marysville Auto Plant in Marysville, Ohio, the first Japanese car assembly plant in the U.S.

Honda turned up at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show with a number of nice concepts, all of them with joysticks for steering! This is the their futuristic sedan, the AC-X concept.

AC-X stands for Advanced Cruiser Experience and refers to the car’s main highlight which is a comfortable and enjoyable long-distance cruise.They way they arrived at that is by a new innovative “automatic driving mode.” They have not provided details of this system, but it’s not likely they have cracked fully autonomous driving.

It will also work well in the city with its plug-in hybrid powertrain. It has 1.6-litre 4-cylinder engine and two electric motors. In EV mode it can reach up to 100 km/h and has a range of 50km.

It is apparently designed to reduce the stress of driving. Is it a cool way of saying it’ll be boring?!

Honda is yet to release more details on this car’s technologies.

Honda’s idea of a futuristic urban commuter seems to be much cooler than anyone else!

This is the Micro Commuter concept they unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show. The tiny city car measures at 2,500 in length, 1,250 mm in width and 1,430 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 1.8 meters.

Like all other concept cars at this year’s show, this one too is obsessed with connectivity features and customizable exterior panels. It’s not as sophisticated as the color displays of Toyota Fun-Vii, but you cans till show graphics and messages on your car. We’re still trying to figure out what’s the benefit of that.

Obviously, the car is an electric vehicle with a 16.7 kW electric motor and a 3.3 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. It has regenerative brakes, but the batteries can also be removed and connected to a main like a laptop!

The performance is only enough for inter-city commute as the range is 60 km on one charge and the 0 to 60 km/h takes more than 7 seconds. 100 km/h isn’t really possible.

Here’s some good news for the fans of small, boxy Japanese cars! Honda announced the new N Box.

Revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show, this is a new generation of mini vehicles that do everything a minivan does, but in a smaller scale. The N Bo is the first model in a series of N cars to go on sale from December.

The car is designed with ease of use in mind so it features sliding rear doors,  low floor and large opening the tailgate offers excellent convenience for loading luggage. Not that you can load many things in there. Honda says the N Box has the best in class space inside the cabin, thanks to clever packaging with center-tank layout.

You would imagine such a tiny car is pedal-powered. But actually it gets a lineup of DOHC engines, some of the with turbo, and here’s the kicker, you can have it with AWD! What’s the use of that in the N Box we don’t know either.

So a small and efficient mini mini-MPV for running around Tokyo with ease. And you can do that for long since it has fuel economy of 22.2km/L. We’re just not sure it will score very high in crash tests.

The EV-STER, unveiled at 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, is Honda’s idea of a modern sports car.

This next-generation electric small sports concept is of course powered by an 58 kW electric motor that promises high driving performance and range of approximately 160km. The Ster is a lightweight two-seater roadster and the power goes to the rear wheels, so on paper it has the perfect recipe for a fun and agile sports car.

Honda promises a 0 to 100 km/h sprint time of 5.0 seconds, which is good, and a top speed of 160 km/h, which isn’t really.

We are particularly fond of the styling. It is kinda nice and chiseled and because it is so compact it will be very easy to live it. You know, if they ever made it.

We can’t comment on the interior though, seeing as it’s more like the cockpit of a jet or something, with a twin-lever joystick for the steering. Furthermore, the instrument panel features not only meters, but also the vehicle information display which enables the driver to enjoy driving as well as the network display used for the audio and navigation systems and also for the internet access. The well-designed layout of the meters and displays enables the driver to concentrate on driving and enjoy the comfortable space. It’s all a bit too fancy.

Honda EV-Ster checks all the right boxes for a modern sports roadster. They give it a petrol engine and it’s a proper Mazda MX-5 rival. The electric powertrain still has the problem of long recharge time, which in this case is 6 hours.

Following yesterday’s report of Mugen CR-Z production, today Honda officially confirms the car as the CR-Z iCF.

And apparently, it doesn’t make 197bhp, but 175. The final figure is yet to be confirmed and we really hope it gets 197. The car is another outcome of Honda (UK) and MUGEN Euro partnership following the limited edition Civic Type R MUGEN in 2010.

Mugen also reveals more details about the powertrain upgrade program: “MUGEN Euro engineers ‘breathed over’ the 1.5-litre power unit, retaining the 3-button IMA modes, adding a centrifugal forced air induction system, charge-air cooler and induction system and importantly, a MUGEN Euro-mapped ECU.”

They can also confirm the car’s 0 to 60 mph time which is 6.1 seconds – over 3 seconds quicker than the standard car – and the price which is around £24,000. A pretty exciting car then, and it will keep the green peas happy!

We were expecting a Type-R CR-Z, but looks like we are getting the Mugen CR-Z first. We’re not complaining!

Honda has confirmed production of the Mugen-tuned CR-Z, revealed before as a concept, with a base price of around £23,000.Honda is apparently moved by the Toyota GT86!

The Mugen CR-Z is what the standard CR-Z should have been from the beginning. The car is still a hybrid with the same electric motor, but the internal combustion one supercharged for a combined output of 197 bhp and 158 lb-ft of torque. I know that’s still not much, but compared to the 120bhp of the standard car it’s pretty good.

That means you can actually have some fun behind the wheel, but no matter what you do to it, it won’t do less than 40 mpg.

Most of the Mugen goodies however will be optional extras. Stuff like the carbon fiber body panels, stiffer suspension, wheels and brakes. The Mugen CR-Z also comes with a body kit to be distinguished from the normal models.

via: evo

Honda NSX revival project has been on and off so many times that we don’t really care about it anymore! This time though, it seems to be coming, and it’s coming soon.

The latest reports from Japan suggest that Honda is working on a new concept car for a range-topping sports coupe to be unveiled at the next Detroit Motor Show. It will be, at the very least, an spiritual successor to the NSX.

Design of the new concept is said to be inspired by the Small Sports EV Concept, pictured above, set to be revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show. Size-wise though, it will be in the same class as the Nissan GTR. In fact the new NSX could be and should be a proper rival for the mighty Godzilla.

But that all depends on what kind of powertrain Honda is going to put in it. Chances are it will be a hybrid with AWD system. We just hope it has sufficient horsepower.

via: Autocar