Ultimele articole din presa straina referitoare la Honda

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Mai pe englezeste si mai civilizat:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2005/...ap2147240.html

Honda aims to boost its annual vehicle sales by nearly 25 percent over the next three years to 4 million vehicles, President Takeo Fukui said Wednesday, outlining the Japanese automaker ambitious global growth strategy.

Honda Motor Co., the nation's No. 3 automaker in units sold, expects to increase annual sales by 16 percent by the fiscal year that ends March 2008 to 10 trillion yen, or $89 billion, he said in announcing a three-year business plan.

In the year that ended in March, Honda sold 3.24 million vehicles for total revenues of 8.65 trillion yen ($77 billion).

Like other Japanese automakers, Honda's business is booming - in sharp contrast to American rivals General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., which have lost market share in the United States to Asian automakers.

The divergent fortunes of the two country's auto industries has prompted concerns here of a backlash from American consumers.

But Fukui said Honda won't be taking the same approach as rival Toyota, which has raised prices on U.S. models in an apparent attempt to give a competitive edge to the faltering U.S. car companies. Toyota has also said it's in talks on a deal to work together with GM on an ecological technology called fuel cell vehicles, and the two companies have cooperative ties and run a plant together in California.

"We can't do anything absurd like offering a helping hand to GM and Ford when they aren't even asking for help," Fukui told reporters at Tokyo headquarters.

He acknowledged Honda has been raising prices but scoffed at the huge incentives, or discounts, some automakers have offered to woo buyers.

"We don't decide on pricing with other companies in mind," Fukui said.

Under the three-year plan, Honda also said it hoped to become the No. 1 automaker in mileage and promised to reduce emission on their new engines. Honda will also work on hybrids, which switch between a gasoline engine and electric motor, as well as fuel-cell vehicles and other alternative fuels, Fukui said.

Honda - which earns more of its profits overseas than in Japan - also aims to raise sales and production around the world. In North America, a key region for Honda's profits, the company will introduce the subcompact Fit next year.
In Asia, Honda is opening a new plant in Vietnam, increasing production in Indonesia and India, and investing $35 million in Thailand to double engine production capacity by next year.

Honda will start making the remodeled Civic in China next year, Fukui said. The new Civic is one of the centerpieces of Honda's strategy as a global car adapted by region that features the latest fuel-efficient engine.

Honda's profit rose 27 percent to 94.1 billion yen ($840 million) in the January-March quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago as surging sales offset the strong yen, which erodes overseas earnings.

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Daca mai era nevoie:

Agency: Honda Posts Highest Fuel Economy

Honda Motor Co. posted the highest average fuel economy for 2005 vehicles, but automakers made little progress in making automobiles more fuel-efficient, the government reported Thursday.

The Environmental Protection Agency said in its annual findings that the estimated average fuel economy for 2005 model year vehicles was 21 miles per gallon, a fleet-wide average that increased 0.2 mpg from the previous year.

It was 5 percent below the peak of 22.1 mpg in 1987, the EPA said. Since 1997, the fleet-wide average for U.S. automakers' light-duty vehicles has remained fairly consistent, ranging between 20.6 mpg and 21 mpg.

The fuel economy for cars remained unchanged for the third-straight year at 24.7 mpg. Light trucks, which include pickups, SUVs and minivans, improved to 18.2 mpg, their highest average since the late 1980s.

Honda led the automakers with a fleet average of 25.1 mpg, followed by Toyota Motor Corp. with 23.5 mpg. Ford Motor Co. posted the lowest average at 19.5 mpg, but that represented an increase of 0.4 mpg over the previous model year.

Ford spokesman Mike Moran said the company was making progress, noting the Ford Five Hundred sedan, Freestyle utility and Escape Hybrid models scored among the highest in their individual categories.

DaimlerChrysler AG followed Ford with 19.8 mpg in its fleet, followed by General Motors Corp. with 20.5 mpg. GM also showed an increase of 0.4 mpg from the last model year.

Volkswagen AG fell to 23.4 mpg, a drop of 0.4 mpg.

The fuel economy figures are important to consumers, with gasoline prices averaging more than $2 a gallon at the pump. Light-duty vehicles account for about 40 percent of U.S. oil consumption.

"Despite the need to cut our oil dependency and curb warming emissions, the government is failing to order carmakers to improve fuel economy, and left to their own devices, they're not moving forward and some are moving backwards," said Daniel Becker, who runs the Sierra Club's global warming program.

The New York Times reported Thursday that it had received an embargoed copy of the report for publication Wednesday but was told later by EPA officials that it would be delayed until next week.

Environmentalists pointed out that the report's delay coincided with Congress' final work on an energy bill that does little to boost fuel economy. Becker said it "would be hard to imagine" that the bill did not play a role in the delay.

EPA spokeswoman Eryn Witcher said the report was held "so that we could ensure that the public received the most comprehensive and understandable summary of information possible on fuel economy."

Light trucks accounted for 50 percent of vehicle sales of model year 2005 vehicles, nearly twice their market share in 1985, the EPA said.

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Oare de ce sa te bucuri si ce sa tai din lista?

http://forums.autoweek.com/thread.js...452187&start=0

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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2005/...ap2260471.html

Honda Designs Car Friendly for Dogs

Honda Motor Co. has designed a car that's friendly for dogs - part of the Japanese automaker's ongoing effort to create vehicles that are easy to use and comfortable to ride in.

The W.O.W. Concept, which stands for "wonderful openhearted wagon," shown to reporters recently, is an exhibition model with no plans for commercial sale that will be exhibited at the Tokyo auto show later this month.

A special crate for dogs in the glove apartment allows owners to interact with their pets while driving. A bigger crate pops up from the floor in the back seat area and can be folded back into the floor when it's not needed. For even bigger dogs, just buckle them up with a special seat belt to the floor.

The big danger for pets riding along in cars is that they get thrown out during a crash. About a fifth of Japanese households have a dog, and demand is growing for cars that cater to man's best friend, according to Honda.

The W.O.W comes with removable, washable, rollout flooring and has wide sliding doors to keep dogs happy.

"We created this vehicle from the point of view of a dog, but it turned out to be a gentler vehicle for the elderly, children and other family members," said Honda designer Katsuhito Nakamura.

Adica asta:

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Ceva imi spune ca, asta ar fi primul test cu noul Legend facut de o echipa europeana:

http://www.autocarmagazine.com/First...p?RT_ID=217451

Next generation gets a grip on the Legend

After a three-year pause, Honda has decided to have another crack at selling a £35,000 executive saloon in the UK – a task it admits it previously fumbled because past offerings couldn’t match the standards of the opposition. Now it has an all-new Legend, due in British showrooms next July, claimed to have the style, equipment, performance and most of all the handling to impress UK buyers.

Buoyed by a good reception for the car, recently launched in Japan as the Legend and in the US as the Acura RL, Honda is carefully targeting models such as the Audi A6 and BMW 5-series. But its initial sales targets are conservative. European president Shigeru Takagi says the company will be happy with Legend sales of around 600 a year, only about one-third of the number Citroën is seeking for its new C6 in the UK.

The new Legend, tested this week by Autocar in Japan as a prelude to the Tokyo motor show, is a classic four-seat saloon. Mainly made of steel, it also has a variety of weight-saving aluminium inner frames and outer panels.

At 295bhp, it has the most powerful V6 yet in a Honda saloon, a unique and very advanced four-wheel-drive system – dubbed Super Handling All-Wheel Drive – and a host of luxurious standard features (of which active cabin noise suppression, an active lane-keeping steering system and intelligent cruise control are likely to be three).

Underlining its modernity, the new Legend changes proportions compared with its predecessor. It is 20mm wider and higher, but 65mm shorter and the wheelbase is down a striking 110mm as well.

As with many contemporary cars, the Legend has a prominent nose overhang. This provides sufficient structure needed to deal with the latest crash legislation and meet pedestrian impact laws. The Legend also has a Jaguar XK-style pyrotechnic pop-up bonnet to protect pedestrians from hard points in the engine bay during an accident.
Though it is shorter overall, the new Legend offers useful improvements in cabin length (30mm) and width (40mm) over the old model, but Europeans familiar with German rivals may still find the car tight for rear legroom.

Honda says the new Legend weighs ‘only a little more’ than the previous car, despite the 120kg added by the 4x4 system and the fact that the bodyshell is around 30 per cent stiffer in bending and twisting.

Along with 295bhp at 6200rpm, the 3.5-litre engine, which is mounted transversely in the nose, offers peak torque of 260lb ft at 5000rpm. It drives through a five-speed automatic gearbox, with a manual selection mode available either from steering wheel paddles or a Tiptronic-style forward-backward central gearlever.

Before the Legend goes on sale in Britain, Honda says it will slightly shorten the car’s gearing and sharpen the gearchange software, to suit what it perceives as European tastes. It will also stiffen the Legend’s ultra-soft suspension, though the double-wishbone front suspension and multi-link rear seem promisingly suited to Europe.

However, the undoubted tour de force in this car is the four-wheel-drive system. Honda claims it is the first which can vary the torque split between 30 and 70 per cent front to rear, and the side-to-side torque split across the rear axle between zero and 100 per cent.

The net effect is to give the car far better resistance to understeer than a nose-weighted, soft-suspended four-wheel-drive car would normally have – as we discovered at Honda’s awesome Takasu proving ground.

The Legend feels expensive, thanks to a luxurious but fairly traditional-looking wood-and-leather interior. The gearbox is ‘only’ a five-speeder, so the step-off from standstill feels a little sedate, but the engine delivers excellent power and torque above 3000rpm, accompanied by a note worthy of a somewhat sedated NSX’s. Despite the test car running Japanese transmission settings, it feels like a 140mph car capable of 0-60mph in around 7.5sec.

Best of all is the handling. The Legends we drove were more softly suspended than they’ll be in Europe, and the initial swoops and troughs of the handling track made it seem that the cars would disappear off the road in terminal understeer. Honda gave us ample opportunities to make this happen – including several bumpy and tight sections drenched by water sprays on which we were invited to drive flat-out.

Understeer was remarkably mild. At the point you’d expect it to take over, all that torque at the outside rear wheel seemed to kick the car back on line. And if you overcooked it the other way, the stability control was there to tame the tail. It was an impressive early demonstration which seems, at this stage, to justify Honda’s pride in the Legend.

This new Legend is a far better offering than either of the first two generations, and may well shade the Germans and Jaguar around a handling course. Quality and equipment won’t be concerns, either. But buyers will still have to decide whether there’s enough room in the rear of this new Legend and, indeed, whether any Honda saloon can be worth £35,000.

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De la dixy despre viitorul motoarelor (diesel):

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005...making_si.html

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Bittersweet:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2005/...ap2325065.html

Honda Civic Tops Stolen-Car List

The 1995 Honda Civic, 1989 Toyota Camry and 1991 Honda Accord were the vehicles most often reported stolen in the United States in 2004, according to a nonprofit group that tracks insurance crimes.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau, based in Palos Hills, Ill., said motor vehicle theft was down 1.9 percent last year. A total of 1.2 million vehicles were reported stolen. Car thefts were down in all regions except the West, where they were up 36.2 percent over 2003, the NICB said Monday.

Rounding out the list of the top 10 most-stolen vehicles were the 1994 Dodge Caravan; the 1994 Chevrolet C/K 1500; the 1997 Ford F-150; the 2003 Dodge Ram; the 1990 Acura Integra; the 1988 Toyota Pickup and the 1991 Nissan Sentra.

Some most-stolen lists calculate how likely a vehicle is to be stolen by comparing the number of models stolen to the total number of models registered. The NICB list shows which were stolen most often. The Civic and Camry are among the best-selling vehicles in the United States.

The NICB said the best defense against car theft is using the lock. A visible or audible warning device also can help deter thieves, the group said.

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Primul test european cu noul Civic:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/61...hits_road.html

[Guest Close BogdanRR]

A se lua aminte aici:

"Equipment is generous, with most trim levels getting climate control, while ES versions add cruise control and a panoramic glass roof. Prices are competitive, too, with the ES model costing about the same as the equivalent Focus and £900 less than the Golf."

[cioli Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cioli]

mda ...am obs. ca modelul nou de civic vine cu destul de multe dotari ...de acolo sa fie oare si pretul mai maricel ? :roll:

[Guest Close BogdanRR]

Tocmai, ca in ciuda faptului ca vine bine echipata, afara e cu vreo 1200 E mai ieftina decat Golf-ul omolog, numai la noi se anunta cu preturi de Seria 1.

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Chiar daca la Honda e sau a fost pana acum in stadiu de secret, publicatia nemteasca Auto Bild ne anunta ca, Honda lucreaza cu presiune la un motor de 1.6L i-CTDI! Deci pentru cei ce 2.2L e prea mare si prea scump, viitorul e mai roz ca oricand. Nu se specifica pe ce modele va fi acesta de gasit si nici ce putere va avea.
Tot la un diesel dar dublu de mare ca si cilindree (3.2L) se lucreaza intr-un ritm mai lent fiindca acesta este gandit pentru piata nord-americana in cazul in care aceasta o va cere, iar posibilele modele pe care acesta ar putea fi de gasit nu sant greu de ghicit: MDX, Ridgeline, Pilot.

[Guest Close BogdanRR]

Honda Civic named car of the year

Honda Civic named car of the year!

Tue Nov 22, 3:52 PM ET

CHICAGO (AFP) - The redesigned Honda Civic was named Motor Trend magazine's 2006 Car of the Year, one of the most prestigious awards in the US auto industry.
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"Honda deserves a standing ovation for not playing it safe again," Motor Trend editor-in-chief Angus MacKenzie said in a statement.

"With the sizzling Si, a sleek coupe, an elegant sedan, and a Hybrid that averages 50 miles (80 kilometers) per gallon, each model shines," he said. "The engineering passion that Honda Motor Company was founded on radiates from these new Civics."

The award was granted to all four Civic models after two weeks of track testing, performance drives, and walk-around appraisal.

It beat out 28 other new or substantially revised models, including the Audi A3, BMW 3 Series, Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, Pontiac Solstice, Toyota Avalon, Volkswagen Jetta, and Volkswagen Passat.

The Civic has been the best-selling compact car in the US for the past nine years.

The US division of the Japanese automaker said it was pleased that the Civiv was being recognized after it underwent the most radical transformation in its 33-year history.

"It is a cornerstone of the Honda lineup, and we're delighted that Motor Trend has recognized the new levels of styling, performance, technology, safety and value that characterize the new Civic," John Mendel, senior vice president of American Honda, said in a statement.

"Customers have validated our direction too, as evidenced by strong sales of the new model."

=D> :supz:

[Marius -Iulian Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Marius -Iulian]

Chiar daca la Honda e sau a fost pana acum in stadiu de secret, publicatia nemteasca Auto Bild ne anunta ca, Honda lucreaza cu presiune la un motor de 1.6L i-CTDI! Deci pentru cei ce 2.2L e prea mare si prea scump, viitorul e mai roz ca oricand. Nu se specifica pe ce modele va fi acesta de gasit si nici ce putere va avea.
Tot la un diesel dar dublu de mare ca si cilindree (3.2L) se lucreaza intr-un ritm mai lent fiindca acesta este gandit pentru piata nord-americana in cazul in care aceasta o va cere, iar posibilele modele pe care acesta ar putea fi de gasit nu sant greu de ghicit: MDX, Ridgeline, Pilot.

e si cazul... piata americana este inca croita pe hibride. deja pentru prius si Civic Hybrid guvernul federal a oferit scutire de taxe de 3400$ pentru cumparatorii acestor masini ( ceea ce inseamna un castig real de 20-40% din suma respectiva in functie de nivelul de taxatie al personei respective; in mod hilar cei mai bogati care sunt taxati mai mult vor primi o reducere mai mare decat cei mai saraci).

tot administratia Bush este cea care a amant asta toamna introducerea normelor europene pentru motorina ecologica. motorina prezenta in USA are un continut ridicat de sulf care afecteaza catalizatoarele diesel, motiv pt. care sunt f. putine masini diesel oferite ( DCX si VAG sunt singurii care ofera diesele pe turisme sau SUV-uri ).

[Marius -Iulian Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Marius -Iulian]

despre Acura RL ( Honda Legend):

la masini pana in 55k USD a obtinut locul2 ( dupa Infiniti M45= Nissan Fuga) intr-un comparo in care a surclasat trioul german E klasse/ serie5/ A6 ( desigur versiunile disponibile pana in pretul de mai sus):

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1