How hybrid incentives helped Honda

Hybrids help deliver profits

"The Japanese auto industry is expected to pick up later this year thanks to government incentives, which are boosting sales of environmentally friendly cars, notably hybrids," said Okasan Securities auto analyst Yasuaki Iwamoto.

Finish: How hybrid incentives helped Honda

Honda racing to a new hybrid powertrain

A future Honda hybrid?

While announcing some updated plans for Honda's next two hybrid vehicles, Honda's new CEO, Takanobu Ito, told reporters that Honda wanted to speed up the development of its hybrids.

Finish: Honda racing to a new hybrid powertrain

Two new Honda hybrids

And in the US when?

Two new Honda hybrid cars are coming, well, at least to Japan according to AutoWeek.

Finish: Two new Honda hybrids

Honda hybrid problems?

Your IMA light won't shut off?

Recently, Hybridcarblog has a received a number of complaints regarding the Honda Civic hybrid.

Now, overall, most that have provided a Civic hybrid testimonial have been happy with their Honda hybrid. Nonetheless, IMA issues continue to be a problem for some Civic hybrid owners.

Finish: Honda hybrid problems?

67 mpg Honda Fit and Insight hybrids?

Even cheaper than the Insight hybrid?

While US automakers are struggling just to survive to President-Elect Obama's inauguration, Honda is ramping up plans to put many more hybrid vehicles on the road soon. The Honda Insight is just around the corner and the Honda Fit hybrid should be available in 2010.

Reports coming out of Britain are claiming the new Honda hybrid will achieve at least 67 mpg, which is what the report claims the new Honda Insight will achieve.

This is nonsense. Finish: 67 mpg Honda Fit hybrid ready in 2010?

Honda, GS Yuasa form hybrid battery partnership

Eventually lithium powered?

Honda and GS Yuasa will "establish a joint venture company which will manufacture, sell and conduct R&D for high-power lithium-ion batteries with a central focus on applications in hybrid electric vehicles," according to GreenCarCongress.

While Honda might be a laggard on plug-in vehicles, it has aggressively increased its efforts into hybrid vehicles.

Finish: Honda, GS Yuasa form hybrid battery partnership

Honda's big, small hybrid plans

An Insightful future

For Honda, fuel cell vehicles are the future, but that future is more than a decade away. In the short term, Honda is focusing on small hybrid cars as it monitors battery technology for electrification.

Finish: Honda has big plans for small hybrid vehicles

Small Honda car sales sizzle

Production up 9.6 percent

Like all automakers, Honda sales are suffering. Still, Honda's smallest cars continue to soar off dealer lots. Thus, Honda is increasing production of the Civic and CR-V while "significantly" decreasing the production of larger vehicles, such as the Odyssey and Pilot according to the Detroit News.

"Honda has a very focused strategy" emphasizing small cars over larger vehicles, said Hirofumi Yokoi, a Tokyo-based analyst at auto-consulting company CSM Worldwide. "That leaves them in pretty good shape right now."

Why isn't any other automaker focused on cheap hybrids?

Still too expensive?

Hybrid vehicles, and other emergent fuel efficient technologies, are not the cheapest vehicles on the block, especially up front. And, when your 401K, pension plan, and home equity values are racing downward - with gas prices - sticker price becomes even more important.

While plug-in hybrid vehicles have received all of the hype and hope recently, aren't cheap hybrid cars the most efficient path to better fuel economy and technological economies of scale? Finish: Cheap hybrids - Only Honda gets it?

Honda chides US automakers on fuel economy

Honda predicted gas-guzzler fade?

While calling loans to US automakers the right thing for the US government to do, Honda CEO Takeo Fukui blamed US automakers for many of their problems saying, "Their response (to fuel economy) was too slow," according to the DetroitNews.

Fukui also indicated that even though the large truck and SUV market was highly profitable at one time, Honda didn't invest much in that segment because the company didn't believe gas-guzzling was sustainably profitable.

Ironically, when Honda was making this decision, the Big 3 were, collectively, betting the farm on gas-guzzlers, even after events like 9/11.

Yet, even today, it is very distressing how little effort the Big 3 are putting into hybrid cars to challenge the Toyota Prius and the soon-to-be-released Honda Insight. Do hybrid cars not make sense to Detroit the same way that large SUVs and trucks made so much sense just a few years ago?

Honda's visionary path to fuel cell vehicles?

The key to Honda's green future?

Honda is a pretty cool company. Not only does Honda make some of the most fuel efficient vehicles - fleet wide - in the industry, they also make some pretty cool jet airplanes. Even more interesting, however, Honda now makes next generation solar cells.

Why would an automaker make solar cells?

I'm sure there are many reasons that Honda might make solar cells, but one interesting reason showed up at the LA Auto Show. (Finish)

Honda's Prius fighter?

A cross between a Civic and a Fit?

MotorTrend has some pictures of what it is calling Honda's Global Small Hybrid. Sadly, I'm not very impressed with the design. Click here for pictures.

If Honda wants to sell 200,000 hybrid vehicles with this Toyota Prius fighter, they better think redesign.

Can Honda challenge the Prius?

One possible new hybrid from Honda

Honda is the undisputed greenest major automaker, yet when one thinks of green automobiles, hybrid cars automatically come to mind.

When it comes to hybrids, Honda is far behind Toyota. How did that happen?

--> Can Honda build a Prius-contender?