Two articles on Honda - one good, one less good.
good
Good is the new Honda diesel. Diesels provide power and great gas mileage and it the fuel is easier to make and can be replaced with bio-diesel. It has really surprised me that the only companies making diesel cars are German ones; Japan hasnt made any diesel engines that I have heard of.
With Honda's move, Im hoping Toyota brings out a bio-deisel (dare I say "Willie Diesel") engine for their trucks.
Honda to Pitch Diesel to Americans
Car Maker Plans to Launch Sedan With 'Clean' Engine In the U.S. Market by 2009
September 25, 2006
UTSUNOMIYA, Japan -- Honda Motor Co. is betting a newly developed engine will win over American consumers to diesel-powered vehicles.
The Japanese auto maker announced plans to launch in the U.S. by 2009 a sedan -- probably a Honda Accord -- powered by a "superclean," four-cylinder diesel system. The system consists of a diesel engine Honda has introduced in Europe, plus devices that significantly reduce the polluting gases given off by diesel combustion.
American consumers have long shunned diesel vehicles, and Honda hopes the system will convince them that the technology can be clean and quiet. Diesel vehicles generally achieve about 30% better fuel economy than comparable gasoline-powered cars, and Honda believes they could compete head-on with gasoline-electric hybrid systems at a time when consumers are concerned about high gasoline prices.
"We want to change the image of diesels in the U.S.," Honda's chief executive officer, Takeo Fukui, said in an interview.
He said Honda also is working on a bigger V6 diesel system and will aim to offer diesel engines as fuel-efficient powertrain options in vehicles bigger than the midsize Accord, notably large sport-utility vehicles like the Acura MDX and the Honda Pilot. "Gasoline-electric hybrids work well in small cars," Mr. Fukui said. "But with vehicles bigger than the Accord, we think superclean diesels are a much better way to go."
The new system is based on the 2.2-liter i-CTDi diesel engine that Honda introduced in Europe a few years ago, which emits fewer sooty particulates than previous diesel engines. The system also features an advanced catalytic converter that scrubs nitrogen oxides, known as NOx, given off in the combustion process into harmless nitrogen. High emissions of NOx and sooty particulates have hampered the wider use of diesel engines globally, especially in North America.
Less good
Less good is the Honda Accord hybrid. As I have said before, those of us who want hybrids want them for the environment. Buying a hybrid is a social statement about social responsibility not about "power" or "performance".
Honda's Accord hybrid getting low sales mileage
CHICAGO — Not only is it guilty of misreading the market when it comes to producing gas/electric vehicles, but in doing so it now produces cars people don't want to buy.
General Motors? Nope, not this time.
Try Honda.
GM, along with domestic rivals Ford and Chrysler, has been criticized for not offering hybrids. But Honda has offered them for a while, including a gas/electric midsize Accord sedan since the 2005 model year. Sales of it are in the tank.
"We figured we could sell a hybrid with a little kick to it, but found consumers equate hybrids with high fuel economy, not high performance," said John Mendel, senior vice president of American Honda. "And they want huge fuel economy from a hybrid, not just a little better as with the Accord."
So Honda misread the market, a mistake Japanese automakers typically avoid.
