More News from Mother Honda

Takeo Fukui, President and CEO of Honda gave his mid-year CEO speech today. Here are some of the highlights...

There are three primary environmental challenges facing society: 1) achieving cleaner exhaust emissions in the effort to reduce air pollution, 2) reduction of CO2 emissions via improved fuel efficiency in the effort to reduce the threat of global warming, and 3) development of alternative energy sources, such as fuel cells, in the effort to address the future depletion of petroleum-based energy. Honda has long been committed to these issues and made achievements beyond government regulations. In 1972, Honda’s CVCC engine became the world’s first engine to meet the requirements of the 1970 Clean Air Act, and the Honda Civic with this CVCC engine became the most fuel efficient automobile in the U.S. for four consecutive years. Today, Honda leads the auto industry in the U.S. in terms of average fuel economy (CAFE). In Japan, Honda has already cleared 2010 fuel economy standards in all vehicle weight categories.

Good to see that Honda cares about our planet.

Achievement and plans for fuel economy improvement for automobiles:
With introduction of the all-new Civic this year, Honda will complete the shift to its next generation i-series engines for almost all models. With VTEC technology at the core, Honda has established distinctive technologies to improve fuel economy, including VCM. As a result, this new series of engines has achieved approximately a 20% improvement in fuel economy. For the 9th Mid-term, Honda will further advance VTEC technologies, introduce new technologies to control air intake with a continuously variable valve control system, and further advance existing VCM technology. These new technologies will be applied to key models within this Mid-term.

Applying the latest technology is nothing new at Honda.

The all-new Civic was developed with four body types to meet the unique requirements of each region. For the Japanese market, an emotional and stylish sedan which goes beyond the concept of the traditional Civic was developed. For the U.S. market, 2-door and 4-door types were developed, while a 4-door was also developed for Asia and 3-door and 5-door types were developed exclusively for Europe. The all-new Civic, developed under our approach of creating products to meet the needs of local customers, is a true global car with sales of more than 600,000 units annually in 160 countries in the world and with production in six regions, now to include China, where Civic production will begin next year. For the new Civic, Honda will offer an advanced powertrain lineup that includes various fuel options including gasoline, diesel, hybrid, CNG and ethanol – to meet the unique needs of each region.

The new Civic is coming here in 2 and 4-door versions but no hatchback?

Honda will introduce the fuel efficient Fit as an entry level model in North America. Fit models manufactured in Brazil will be introduced to Mexico in October of this year, and the Japan-made Fit will be introduced to the U.S. and Canada next spring. Honda will further expand its product lineup in order to respond to increasing customer demands for vehicles with high fuel efficiency.

Great news! Finally the Fit is coming. $12K for this new Honda is a steal. I plan on getting this as my next car to use as a daily driver.

And last and definitely not least...

We are now focused on the development of a new model to succeed the NSX for a new era. We would like to debut a new super sports car equipped with a V10 engine in 3 to 4 years. Please look forward to seeing the NSX successor.

:o

V10 NSX successor huh? Where do I sign the future college fund of my future children away?

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