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Honda
Honda Recommits To Fun, Frugal Path
By Paul Seredynski December 10, 2011The 2011 Tokyo Auto Show punched up its glitz factor this year, but the real pageant for major Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. Ltd. took place the day before the show. Gathering the international press at its Twin Ring Motegi racetrack, Honda – for some time under fire for losing its powertrain-engineering edge – previewed a salon-season’s worth of advanced-drivetrain technologies. The well-choreographed demonstration acknowledged a Honda that may have strayed a bit, but one that is re-correcting with gusto. Via a sneak peak at a bevy of new technologies, the tech tour-de-force message was crystalline: Honda products will more
Thai Floods Prolong Honda's Uphill Recovery
By Lacey Plache November 28, 2011Honda's recovery from the Japanese earthquake gained momentum the past couple months, but now more production disruptions from flooding in Thailand threaten to cause another setback. The threat comes as Honda increased month-over-month sales from September to October, accounting for its first year-over-year increase since April. But limited production caused by the Thai floods could constrain sales of Honda’s redesigned 2012 CR-V, which is due to launch December 15 and is expected to be a key contributor to Honda's market share recovery. As a result, Honda must fight an even greater competitive disadvantage to recover lost share and make more
2013 Honda Fit EV On Sale Next Summer
By Scott Doggett November 18, 2011The 2013 Honda Fit EV made its world debut at this week’s Los Angeles Auto Show, with the automaker announcing it will begin leasing the hatchback to customers in select California and Oregon markets next summer and expand the targeted rollout to six East Coast markets in early 2013. The Fit EV will carry a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $36,625 with an estimated lease priced at $399 a month. Honda said it expects to sell 1,100 Fit EV's annually over the next three years. Honda said it designed the Fit EV to meet the needs of an average more
2012 Honda CR-V Gets Tech-Savvy Refresh
By Paul Seredynski November 16, 2011The 2012 Honda CR-V has been given a modest but smart makeover. The new CR-V is retuned for slightly better fuel efficiency, gets a connectivity and functionality boost and is restyled to broaden its appeal in the segment. Honda was mindful not to meddle with the core attributes of its mini-ute segment stalwart and the CR-V’s loyal sales following will not be disappointed. Though availability issues stemming from Japan’s natural disasters caused the CR-V to cede the segment sales title earlier this year to the class’s other perennial (Ford’s fleet-heavy Escape), the revamped CR-V should easily regain its segment lead more
Thai Floods Slow Honda Output, Delay CR-V
By Michelle Krebs October 31, 2011American Honda, coming off one of its worst quarters ever, announced Monday it would slash vehicle production at its U.S. and Canadian plants to 50 percent through Nov. 10 as a result of the devastating floods in Thailand, which are causing shortages of electronics parts. Honda could also delay the launch of its 2012 CR-V sport utility (in "concept" form, above), shown to the media just last week, by “several weeks,” the automaker said. Honda, which was trying to accelerate production to replenish depleted inventory caused by the March 11 earthquake in Japan and make up resulting lost sales, more
2012 Honda Insight Gets Fuel Economy Boost
By John O'Dell October 18, 2011Honda Motor Co. launched the updated 2012 Honda Insight hybrid this week, and along with a freshened exterior and interior comes a tiny boost in fuel economy. Each of the Insight's estimated EPA segments have increased by one mile per gallon to 41 mpg city, 44 mpg highway and 42 mpg combined. The Insight has become the best-selling of Honda’s three hybrids since its introduction last year, but has failed to live up to its early media billing as a Honda hybrid with the potential to eat into Toyota’s commanding lead in the hybrid segment. The Insight is handicapped more
American Honda Issues Yet Another Recall Notice
By Scott Doggett September 6, 2011In the latest of a string of recall announcements this year involving Honda cars sold in America, the automaker this week said it will voluntarily recall 5,626 CR-Z (above) hybrid sports cars from model year 2011. The recall effects CR-Z models equipped with manual transmissions, and will involve updating the software that controls the vehicles' electric motors. In the affected cars, when the gasoline engine has stalled with the integrated-motor-assist (IMA) battery in a very low state of charge and the transmission is in gear, it is possible for the electric motor to rotate in the direction opposite to more
Former Chrysler Exec To Lead Honda Marketing
By Michelle Krebs August 18, 2011In an untraditional move during unusually difficult times, American Honda Motor Co. has recruited an outsider -- a former Chrysler executive -- to lead it U.S. marketing efforts. Honda acknowledged Thursday that the Japanese automaker had hired Michael Accavitti as its chief marketing officer, after trade journal Automotive News broke the news of his appointment. Most recently Accavitti was executive automotive adviser for information technologies company Cisco Systems. However, Accavitti spent 15 years at Chrysler, where he was president of the Dodge brand and lead marketing executive of the Chrysler Group before he left the company in 2009, the more
Honda Profit Plunges, Still Forecast Is Raised
By Michelle Krebs August 1, 2011Honda Motor Co. reported its quarterly profit plummeted but still the automaker raised its annual outlook in a sign that the company sees a quickening recovery quickly from production disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake in Japan. Honda’s operating profit for the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year that ended June 30 plunged 90 percent to 31.7 billion yen ($406 million). Quarterly sales dropped 27 percent to 1.7 trillion yen ($22 billion). The fact that Honda, hurt the worst of Japan’s manufacturers by the earthquake, made a profit at all was a surprise to analysts who predicted more