Honda's 5 mantras to win in India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/19300937.cms
Honda wants to be numero uno in India is hardly surprising. The two-wheeler giant is the leader in virtually every country it operates in, except China. In Brazil, it has a dominant 80% share, and controls half of the pie in Indonesia.
What is eye-popping is the hurry in which Honda wants to rule Indian roads. A little over two years after it exited a joint venture with the Hero group, HMSI has overtaken TVS and more recently edged ahead of former No. 2 Bajaj Auto to become the second-largest two-wheeler company in India.
And, in the next two to three years, HMSI, with a market share of just under 20%, has set its sights on beating the India leader Hero MotoCorp, which is currently sitting pretty with a 46% share. Here's a look at how Honda plans to be the new Hero:
Honda recently opened up a world-class technical centre in Manesar on Delhi's outskirts. By 2015-16, the centre will be able to develop and test new vehicles for the Indian market, help cut costs and shorten timelines for launches. So far, India was dependent on Honda's global R&D setup. The R&D unit will improve indigenisation (which is already at 97%), and help cut costs and improve quality.
HMSI recently introduced "eco technology" in its scooters that improved fuel efficiency from 54 km/l to 60 km/l. It was developed jointly by R&D teams in Japan and India. The technology will be used to develop four new models at the Manesar tech centre for India, one of which will be a 100-110 cc low-cost motorcycle on the lines of the Dream Yuga.
=======================
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hon...04-02-54851431
Honda's China March car sales down 6.6% on year
SHANGHAI--Japanese car maker Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday that it sold 61,108 vehicles in China through its two joint ventures in March, down 6.6% from a year earlier.
Honda's joint venture with China's Dongfeng Motor Group Co. sold 25,013 cars last month, down 16% from a year earlier, while sales at its joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. rose 1.3% to 36,095 units.
In the first quarter of this year, Honda reported a 5.2% fall in its China sales to 140,380 cars.
Japanese brands suffered a sharp fall in sales amid a flare-up in a long-running dispute between Japan and China last year. The Japanese government in August announced a move to nationalize the uninhabited islands of Senkaku in the East China Sea to prevent commercial development, which prompted a public outcry in China. Beijing also claims sovereignty over the islands, known in Chinese as Diaoyu.
Honda targeted 25% growth in China sales to 750,000 vehicles for this year. The No. 3 Japanese auto maker posted a 3.1% decline in China sales last year.
===========================
http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...ng_back_to_us/
Vile Gossip: Is Honda Coming Back to Us?
You would think Honda has been quietly seething about the trash talk the enthusiast press has been heaping on its bland lineup of perfect cars for the past decade. You know, like: We want a CR-Z like that 1990 CRX. Could the Accord be any more boring? Why can't Honda bake a little excitement into the Civic along with all that reliability and ridiculous resale value? Even Consumer Reports went off on Honda's brand-new 2012 Civic, calling the interior "dismal" and pulling its coveted "Recommended" rating. Whoa. We don't like boring cars at Automobile Magazine. But here's a shot of reality: Times have been tough. Honda saw a recession coming and pulled in the reins on frivolity when it designed the subdued 2012 Civic. "We thought the market would be more value driven," explains American Honda executive VP John Mendel. "It has been, but not at the cost of content."
Well, of course not! We're Americans, for heaven's sake. But was the 2012 Civic really a mistake? Honda had a jazzy redesign in the works soon after its introduction. Before it could act, Consumer Reports struck. Yet Honda sold 317,909 "dismal" Civics in 2012, making it the third-best-selling car in the U.S. The Accord (you know, the previous stodgy one) was the second-best seller at 331,872. The CR-V was the best-selling SUV/crossover at 281,652. We should know in our hearts that when times are tough, Americans buy Hondas. Says Mendel: "Here's the conundrum for any mass-market brand building three vehicles that each sell 300,000 examples a year. You have to be edgy yet not offensive. It's like a red suit; you say, 'Wow! But it's not for me.' The number-one ice cream sold in the world is still vanilla. It's horrible to say, I suppose, but you can't be so polarizing. It's a nightmare for designers and engineers. We want to be fun, yet we want to be safe, but we also want to be out there. "It tweaks me when I read that Honda has lost its way. No one sweats what the customer thinks more than we do. An old friend at Ford used to say that at the end of the day, you have to pass the pub test. You throw your keys on the bar. When you do and people see them, you don't have to explain yourself. Honda has always passed that test." Still, the 1990s were the end of hot Hondas as we knew them. That's when chief engineer Nobuhiko Kawamoto, the brilliant father of the world's first aluminum production car, the 1991 Acura NSX, became president and, sadly, transferred control from the wild-eyed engineers to the responsible manufacturing and marketing guys. Although he had been a racing mechanic himself, he pulled Honda out of Formula 1. By doing so, Kawamoto saved his company from the serious threat of a takeover by Mitsubishi Motors (imagine that). Honda then got down to the business of building sensible Civics and Accords with a vengeance. Mister Kawamoto retired in 1998, and we still miss talking with him. Fortunately, the racing heads in the company did not go away. In 1993 they became Honda Performance Development, keeping the pilot light burning as a subsidiary of American Honda. Now, on the eve of the Acura NSX's return to production, it is fitting that the HPD guys might be building the successor to the CRX of our dreams -- a hot CR-Z very much like the HPD concept we spied at the 2012 SEMA show in Las Vegas. The concept has a 185-hp, supercharged four-cylinder engine, a sport suspension, a trick exhaust, big brakes, and eighteen-inch wheels. These HPD guys have pretty good credentials: since 2006, some ninety-eight IndyCar drivers have done business with HPD-prepared racing engines and have completed more than a million miles of practice, qualifying, and racing with only six in-race engine failures. You may want to begin a letter-writing campaign to Honda and put the hot CR-Z on your wish list. Meanwhile, there might be another Honda you can fall in love with. We have driven the new 2013 Honda Accord, and it is magnificent. Two weeks ago, most of the staff abandoned the office for a unique, bracketed, head-to-head test of eight mid-size cars, arguably the finest group of family sedans ever on the market at one time. Go to automobilemag.com or download our May iPad issue to read the report. I will tell you one thing: the 2013 Honda Accord blew everyone away. It's been a long time coming.
=================================
http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/04/...ke-active.html
Honda Introduces City-Brake Active System to Help Prevent Low Speed Accidents
LONDON, April 2, 2013 — /PRNewswire/ --
Honda has developed an accident avoidance support system called City-Brake Active System.
The City-Brake Active System operates when the vehicle is travelling at speeds of less than 18mph*. It uses a laser radar installed in the upper part of the windscreen to detect when a collision is imminent. If the City-Brake Active System identifies** a high risk of collision it will issue audio and visual warnings to the driver. If the driver does not take action to avoid the collision then the system will automatically apply the brakes.
The City-Brake Active System also protects drivers from accidental acceleration at speeds of less than 6mph* or from standstill. If the system determines that the driver has pressed too hard on the accelerator pedal, for example by mistakenly stepping on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal, when there is another vehicle within 4m* of the front of the vehicle, the driver will receive audio and visual warnings and the City-Brake Active System will control engine output to restrict the vehicle from moving forward.
Honda will first introduce the City-Brake Active System on the all-new Honda Fit which will go on sale in Japan later this year. The introduction of this new technology to Honda models in Europe has yet to be confirmed.
Honda's commitment to safety is embodied by the term 'Safety for Everyone' and Honda will continue to equip cars and motorcycles with the most advanced, effective safety features possible.
Notes to Editors
* Approximately
** Depending on driving and/or weather conditions, the radar may not be able to recognise vehicles properly.
Contact
Honda Press Office Honda (UK) Office: +44(0)1753-590193 Email: huk.pressoffice@honda-eu.com
Ellie Ostinelli Honda (UK) Office: +44(0)1753-590193 Mobile: +44(0)7872-103205 Email: ellie.ostinelli@honda-eu.com
Kate Saxton Honda (UK) Office: +44(0)1753-590768 Email: kate.saxton@honda-eu.com
SOURCE Honda (UK)
============================
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...sales/2044193/
Honda sales rise in March, led by Accord
Honda's core models point to sales success
Honda reported a healthy 7.1% sales increase in March compared to the same month last year, led by a 36.4% boost in sales of its flagship sedan, the Accord.
The Honda division had an increase of 5.3% while Acura was up 26.3%. Sales of Honda's other big seller were impressive, but down 1.9% from a year ago.
"Our core models, Civic, Accord, CR-V and Odyssey, continue to lead the industry where it counts," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. "It's particularly rewarding to see Accord and Civic winning new customers against a headwind of competitor incentives and value-reducing fleet sales."
Other highlights included a third straight month of sales growth for Honda's Crosstour, a sort of combination car and crossover. It and the Pilot crossover SUV both had sales increases of 11%.
==================================
http://www.hondainthenews.com/honda-...-carpool-lane/
Honda Dominates California Carpool Lane
When people think of Honda, they usually think reliability and fuel economy. There are car shoppers, though, to whom carpool access is a top priority. Honda says it can satisfy that requirement. The automaker offers four vehicles that are HOV-compliant: the all-new Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), natural gas-powered Civic CNG, Fit electric vehicle (EV), and FCX Clarity, which draws its power from combining hydrogen and oxygen into electricity.
The 2014 Honda Accord PHEV marks the automaker’s return to the mid-size hybrid sedan field after discontinuing the Accord Hybrid in 2007. Unlike its predecessors, which were mild hybrids, the Accord PHEV is a full hybrid and utilizes a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a 120 kW electric motor. The motor doubles as a continuously variable transmission (i.e., e-CVT).
Under this setup, the Honda Accord PHEV gets an estimated 115 miles per gallon-equivalent (mpge) and can travel up to 15 miles on battery power alone before its hybrid engine kicks in. Fuel economy remains at the top-of-the-pack with an EPA-estimated 47 mpg city, 46 mpg highway, and 46 mpg combined. According to the automaker, that’s higher than the Ford Fusion Energi PHEV, which gets 100 mpge and gets 44 mpg city, 41 mpg highway, and 43 mpg combined. A full, non plug-in variant of the Accord is scheduled to go on sale later this year.
According to Dallas Honda Dealers, it’s not these particular numbers that help qualify the Accord Hybrid Plug-in for the green sticker. It’s the sedan’s exhaust emissions, or lack thereof. The Accord PHEV is the first — and currently only — gasoline-powered vehicle to meet California’s new super ultra-low emission vehicle (SULEV20) standard. Buyers of the Accord PHEV also get a $1,500 rebate from the state and a $3,626 federal tax credit.
If a plug-in hybrid qualifies for California’s HOV lanes, then a pure-electric vehicle like the Honda Fit is a shoo-in for a white sticker. Debuting in 2012 as a 2013 model, the Honda Fit EV is available in select areas in California and Oregon. Honda recently announced that its zero-emission subcompact hatch is now available in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.
The 2013 Honda Fit EV gets an EPA-estimated 118 mpge and has a range around 82 miles between charges. The automaker offers three-year leases for qualified buyers, with California adding a $2,500 rebate as well.
The 2013 Honda Civic CNG is currently the only natural gas-powered car available to the public. While its range of 190 miles is not as high as a regular, gas-powered Civic (which gets up to 300 miles on a tank), fuel economy figures are similar with the Civic CNG getting an EPA-estimated 27 mpg city, 38 mpg highway, and 31 mpg combined. More importantly, the natural gas burned emits few harmful emissions, which earn the Civic CNG its white sticker for HOV access.
The rare Honda FCX Clarity combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity and thus qualifies for the white sticker HOV access. The Clarity’s 60 mpge puts it on the low side among electrified vehicles (i.e., pure electrics like the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus Electric, etc). However, its 240-mile range is more than twice that of most EVs on the market.
Like the Fit EV, Honda only offers the FCX Clarity for lease. California offers a $2,500 for this green sedan.
====================================
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...cking+Tires%29
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: March 2013
With the top seven automakers reporting numbers — which account for the vast majority of new-car sales — March sales have crept up around 3.2% over year-ago levels. Honda, GM and Ford saw the largest gains, but no major automaker saw a double-digit increase.
The top sellers are a reshuffle from February's list; all 10 are back. The Nissan Altima jumped three spots from February, and despite an 8% sales drop, it's the best-selling sedan by just 100 cars in March. Madness? Not really. Look back at March 2012 and the Altima even beat out the Chevrolet Silverado for a podium finish in monthly sales.
Lower year-over-year incentives played against Nissan's redesigned sedan as surging competitors — the Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion — saw larger gains. Ford says the Fusion had its best sales month in the nameplate's 7 1/2-year history, and this happened with fewer incentives than on last year’s outgoing model. The Escape hit its highest monthly total in its 12-plus-year history. Those two cars — and rising Explorer and F-Series sales — overcame falling Focus, Edge and Mustang sales to drive Ford to a 5.7% year-over-year increase.
Not to be left behind, GM saw double-digit sales gains in its Buick, Cadillac and GMC divisions; they drove GM to a 6.4% increase. "Trucks have improved in lockstep with the housing market," GM sales chief Kurt McNeil said in a company statement. Indeed, February housing starts (the latest month reported) were the second-best since mid-2008. GM noted that sales of all cars to small-business buyers — another segment tied to housing — increased 32%. And sales of the automaker's Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups rose 6% despite both trucks being long in the tooth ahead of their 2014 redesigns. If that's how well an old truck does, how about a new one? Chrysler had the answer. Sales of the revamped 2013 Ram pickup rose 25.5% versus March 2012, despite much less cash on the hood. Deals be damned; Ram buyers lined up to pay full price for a truck whose 1500 variant just won the coveted North American Truck of the Year award.
Combined incentives from automakers and dealers actually rose in March, with total incentives up to $5,467 per car — 14.4% off the total average MSRP, in fact, which represents the steepest percentage discounts in 11 months, according to CNW Marketing Research. Still, rising MSRPs edged transaction prices ever higher; the average car in March sold for $32,524.
Last month's fastest sellers weren't always the highest sellers. Nissan slashed pricing for its Leaf electric car, and March represented the first full month of sales for the 2013 model. Each 2013 Leaf stayed at Nissan dealers on average just seven days — well under the 48-day average for all 2013s and 2014s — and sales rocketed 286.2%. Lincoln's MKZ, on the other hand, sat on dealer lots for an average of just 14 days. But Lincoln moved just 2,360 of them in March, down 19.5% versus March 2012.
Here are March's top 10 sellers:
====================================
http://greensburgdailynews.com/x1340...ership-changes
Honda Manufacturing of Indiana announces leadership changes
Greensburg — Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, LLC (HMIN) announced that Bob Nelson is the company’s new president, effective April 1.
As president, Nelson is responsible for total HMIN operations.
Nelson most recently served as senior vice president at HMIN. He has been with Honda for 26 years, starting his career at Honda of America Mfg., Inc. (HAM) in Ohio. Nelson’s career with Honda includes several assignments in purchasing, including three years in Japan, and Vice President of North American Purchasing for Honda.
Nelson replaces Jun Nishimoto as president. Nishimoto will move to Honda’s Saitama Factory in Japan as general manager of Automobile Production Supervisory Unit. Nishimoto joined HMIN as president in 2010, after spending nearly 30 years with Honda.
During his tenure as president at HMIN, the Greensburg plant launched the new model Civic, added a second shift, introduced the new Acura ILX and the plant increased its production capacity from 800 to 1,000 vehicles a day.
In addition, with Nelson’s new assignment as president, Toshikazu Kashida, who is currently vice president will assume the role as senior vice president.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/19300937.cms
Honda wants to be numero uno in India is hardly surprising. The two-wheeler giant is the leader in virtually every country it operates in, except China. In Brazil, it has a dominant 80% share, and controls half of the pie in Indonesia.
What is eye-popping is the hurry in which Honda wants to rule Indian roads. A little over two years after it exited a joint venture with the Hero group, HMSI has overtaken TVS and more recently edged ahead of former No. 2 Bajaj Auto to become the second-largest two-wheeler company in India.
And, in the next two to three years, HMSI, with a market share of just under 20%, has set its sights on beating the India leader Hero MotoCorp, which is currently sitting pretty with a 46% share. Here's a look at how Honda plans to be the new Hero:
Honda recently opened up a world-class technical centre in Manesar on Delhi's outskirts. By 2015-16, the centre will be able to develop and test new vehicles for the Indian market, help cut costs and shorten timelines for launches. So far, India was dependent on Honda's global R&D setup. The R&D unit will improve indigenisation (which is already at 97%), and help cut costs and improve quality.
HMSI recently introduced "eco technology" in its scooters that improved fuel efficiency from 54 km/l to 60 km/l. It was developed jointly by R&D teams in Japan and India. The technology will be used to develop four new models at the Manesar tech centre for India, one of which will be a 100-110 cc low-cost motorcycle on the lines of the Dream Yuga.
=======================
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hon...04-02-54851431
Honda's China March car sales down 6.6% on year
SHANGHAI--Japanese car maker Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday that it sold 61,108 vehicles in China through its two joint ventures in March, down 6.6% from a year earlier.
Honda's joint venture with China's Dongfeng Motor Group Co. sold 25,013 cars last month, down 16% from a year earlier, while sales at its joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. rose 1.3% to 36,095 units.
In the first quarter of this year, Honda reported a 5.2% fall in its China sales to 140,380 cars.
Japanese brands suffered a sharp fall in sales amid a flare-up in a long-running dispute between Japan and China last year. The Japanese government in August announced a move to nationalize the uninhabited islands of Senkaku in the East China Sea to prevent commercial development, which prompted a public outcry in China. Beijing also claims sovereignty over the islands, known in Chinese as Diaoyu.
Honda targeted 25% growth in China sales to 750,000 vehicles for this year. The No. 3 Japanese auto maker posted a 3.1% decline in China sales last year.
===========================
http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...ng_back_to_us/
Vile Gossip: Is Honda Coming Back to Us?
You would think Honda has been quietly seething about the trash talk the enthusiast press has been heaping on its bland lineup of perfect cars for the past decade. You know, like: We want a CR-Z like that 1990 CRX. Could the Accord be any more boring? Why can't Honda bake a little excitement into the Civic along with all that reliability and ridiculous resale value? Even Consumer Reports went off on Honda's brand-new 2012 Civic, calling the interior "dismal" and pulling its coveted "Recommended" rating. Whoa. We don't like boring cars at Automobile Magazine. But here's a shot of reality: Times have been tough. Honda saw a recession coming and pulled in the reins on frivolity when it designed the subdued 2012 Civic. "We thought the market would be more value driven," explains American Honda executive VP John Mendel. "It has been, but not at the cost of content."
Well, of course not! We're Americans, for heaven's sake. But was the 2012 Civic really a mistake? Honda had a jazzy redesign in the works soon after its introduction. Before it could act, Consumer Reports struck. Yet Honda sold 317,909 "dismal" Civics in 2012, making it the third-best-selling car in the U.S. The Accord (you know, the previous stodgy one) was the second-best seller at 331,872. The CR-V was the best-selling SUV/crossover at 281,652. We should know in our hearts that when times are tough, Americans buy Hondas. Says Mendel: "Here's the conundrum for any mass-market brand building three vehicles that each sell 300,000 examples a year. You have to be edgy yet not offensive. It's like a red suit; you say, 'Wow! But it's not for me.' The number-one ice cream sold in the world is still vanilla. It's horrible to say, I suppose, but you can't be so polarizing. It's a nightmare for designers and engineers. We want to be fun, yet we want to be safe, but we also want to be out there. "It tweaks me when I read that Honda has lost its way. No one sweats what the customer thinks more than we do. An old friend at Ford used to say that at the end of the day, you have to pass the pub test. You throw your keys on the bar. When you do and people see them, you don't have to explain yourself. Honda has always passed that test." Still, the 1990s were the end of hot Hondas as we knew them. That's when chief engineer Nobuhiko Kawamoto, the brilliant father of the world's first aluminum production car, the 1991 Acura NSX, became president and, sadly, transferred control from the wild-eyed engineers to the responsible manufacturing and marketing guys. Although he had been a racing mechanic himself, he pulled Honda out of Formula 1. By doing so, Kawamoto saved his company from the serious threat of a takeover by Mitsubishi Motors (imagine that). Honda then got down to the business of building sensible Civics and Accords with a vengeance. Mister Kawamoto retired in 1998, and we still miss talking with him. Fortunately, the racing heads in the company did not go away. In 1993 they became Honda Performance Development, keeping the pilot light burning as a subsidiary of American Honda. Now, on the eve of the Acura NSX's return to production, it is fitting that the HPD guys might be building the successor to the CRX of our dreams -- a hot CR-Z very much like the HPD concept we spied at the 2012 SEMA show in Las Vegas. The concept has a 185-hp, supercharged four-cylinder engine, a sport suspension, a trick exhaust, big brakes, and eighteen-inch wheels. These HPD guys have pretty good credentials: since 2006, some ninety-eight IndyCar drivers have done business with HPD-prepared racing engines and have completed more than a million miles of practice, qualifying, and racing with only six in-race engine failures. You may want to begin a letter-writing campaign to Honda and put the hot CR-Z on your wish list. Meanwhile, there might be another Honda you can fall in love with. We have driven the new 2013 Honda Accord, and it is magnificent. Two weeks ago, most of the staff abandoned the office for a unique, bracketed, head-to-head test of eight mid-size cars, arguably the finest group of family sedans ever on the market at one time. Go to automobilemag.com or download our May iPad issue to read the report. I will tell you one thing: the 2013 Honda Accord blew everyone away. It's been a long time coming.
=================================
http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/04/...ke-active.html
Honda Introduces City-Brake Active System to Help Prevent Low Speed Accidents
LONDON, April 2, 2013 — /PRNewswire/ --
Honda has developed an accident avoidance support system called City-Brake Active System.
The City-Brake Active System operates when the vehicle is travelling at speeds of less than 18mph*. It uses a laser radar installed in the upper part of the windscreen to detect when a collision is imminent. If the City-Brake Active System identifies** a high risk of collision it will issue audio and visual warnings to the driver. If the driver does not take action to avoid the collision then the system will automatically apply the brakes.
The City-Brake Active System also protects drivers from accidental acceleration at speeds of less than 6mph* or from standstill. If the system determines that the driver has pressed too hard on the accelerator pedal, for example by mistakenly stepping on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal, when there is another vehicle within 4m* of the front of the vehicle, the driver will receive audio and visual warnings and the City-Brake Active System will control engine output to restrict the vehicle from moving forward.
Honda will first introduce the City-Brake Active System on the all-new Honda Fit which will go on sale in Japan later this year. The introduction of this new technology to Honda models in Europe has yet to be confirmed.
Honda's commitment to safety is embodied by the term 'Safety for Everyone' and Honda will continue to equip cars and motorcycles with the most advanced, effective safety features possible.
Notes to Editors
* Approximately
** Depending on driving and/or weather conditions, the radar may not be able to recognise vehicles properly.
Contact
Honda Press Office Honda (UK) Office: +44(0)1753-590193 Email: huk.pressoffice@honda-eu.com
Ellie Ostinelli Honda (UK) Office: +44(0)1753-590193 Mobile: +44(0)7872-103205 Email: ellie.ostinelli@honda-eu.com
Kate Saxton Honda (UK) Office: +44(0)1753-590768 Email: kate.saxton@honda-eu.com
SOURCE Honda (UK)
============================
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...sales/2044193/
Honda sales rise in March, led by Accord
Honda's core models point to sales success
Honda reported a healthy 7.1% sales increase in March compared to the same month last year, led by a 36.4% boost in sales of its flagship sedan, the Accord.
The Honda division had an increase of 5.3% while Acura was up 26.3%. Sales of Honda's other big seller were impressive, but down 1.9% from a year ago.
"Our core models, Civic, Accord, CR-V and Odyssey, continue to lead the industry where it counts," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. "It's particularly rewarding to see Accord and Civic winning new customers against a headwind of competitor incentives and value-reducing fleet sales."
Other highlights included a third straight month of sales growth for Honda's Crosstour, a sort of combination car and crossover. It and the Pilot crossover SUV both had sales increases of 11%.
==================================
http://www.hondainthenews.com/honda-...-carpool-lane/
Honda Dominates California Carpool Lane
When people think of Honda, they usually think reliability and fuel economy. There are car shoppers, though, to whom carpool access is a top priority. Honda says it can satisfy that requirement. The automaker offers four vehicles that are HOV-compliant: the all-new Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), natural gas-powered Civic CNG, Fit electric vehicle (EV), and FCX Clarity, which draws its power from combining hydrogen and oxygen into electricity.
The 2014 Honda Accord PHEV marks the automaker’s return to the mid-size hybrid sedan field after discontinuing the Accord Hybrid in 2007. Unlike its predecessors, which were mild hybrids, the Accord PHEV is a full hybrid and utilizes a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a 120 kW electric motor. The motor doubles as a continuously variable transmission (i.e., e-CVT).
Under this setup, the Honda Accord PHEV gets an estimated 115 miles per gallon-equivalent (mpge) and can travel up to 15 miles on battery power alone before its hybrid engine kicks in. Fuel economy remains at the top-of-the-pack with an EPA-estimated 47 mpg city, 46 mpg highway, and 46 mpg combined. According to the automaker, that’s higher than the Ford Fusion Energi PHEV, which gets 100 mpge and gets 44 mpg city, 41 mpg highway, and 43 mpg combined. A full, non plug-in variant of the Accord is scheduled to go on sale later this year.
According to Dallas Honda Dealers, it’s not these particular numbers that help qualify the Accord Hybrid Plug-in for the green sticker. It’s the sedan’s exhaust emissions, or lack thereof. The Accord PHEV is the first — and currently only — gasoline-powered vehicle to meet California’s new super ultra-low emission vehicle (SULEV20) standard. Buyers of the Accord PHEV also get a $1,500 rebate from the state and a $3,626 federal tax credit.
If a plug-in hybrid qualifies for California’s HOV lanes, then a pure-electric vehicle like the Honda Fit is a shoo-in for a white sticker. Debuting in 2012 as a 2013 model, the Honda Fit EV is available in select areas in California and Oregon. Honda recently announced that its zero-emission subcompact hatch is now available in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.
The 2013 Honda Fit EV gets an EPA-estimated 118 mpge and has a range around 82 miles between charges. The automaker offers three-year leases for qualified buyers, with California adding a $2,500 rebate as well.
The 2013 Honda Civic CNG is currently the only natural gas-powered car available to the public. While its range of 190 miles is not as high as a regular, gas-powered Civic (which gets up to 300 miles on a tank), fuel economy figures are similar with the Civic CNG getting an EPA-estimated 27 mpg city, 38 mpg highway, and 31 mpg combined. More importantly, the natural gas burned emits few harmful emissions, which earn the Civic CNG its white sticker for HOV access.
The rare Honda FCX Clarity combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity and thus qualifies for the white sticker HOV access. The Clarity’s 60 mpge puts it on the low side among electrified vehicles (i.e., pure electrics like the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus Electric, etc). However, its 240-mile range is more than twice that of most EVs on the market.
Like the Fit EV, Honda only offers the FCX Clarity for lease. California offers a $2,500 for this green sedan.
====================================
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...cking+Tires%29
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: March 2013
With the top seven automakers reporting numbers — which account for the vast majority of new-car sales — March sales have crept up around 3.2% over year-ago levels. Honda, GM and Ford saw the largest gains, but no major automaker saw a double-digit increase.
The top sellers are a reshuffle from February's list; all 10 are back. The Nissan Altima jumped three spots from February, and despite an 8% sales drop, it's the best-selling sedan by just 100 cars in March. Madness? Not really. Look back at March 2012 and the Altima even beat out the Chevrolet Silverado for a podium finish in monthly sales.
Lower year-over-year incentives played against Nissan's redesigned sedan as surging competitors — the Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion — saw larger gains. Ford says the Fusion had its best sales month in the nameplate's 7 1/2-year history, and this happened with fewer incentives than on last year’s outgoing model. The Escape hit its highest monthly total in its 12-plus-year history. Those two cars — and rising Explorer and F-Series sales — overcame falling Focus, Edge and Mustang sales to drive Ford to a 5.7% year-over-year increase.
Not to be left behind, GM saw double-digit sales gains in its Buick, Cadillac and GMC divisions; they drove GM to a 6.4% increase. "Trucks have improved in lockstep with the housing market," GM sales chief Kurt McNeil said in a company statement. Indeed, February housing starts (the latest month reported) were the second-best since mid-2008. GM noted that sales of all cars to small-business buyers — another segment tied to housing — increased 32%. And sales of the automaker's Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups rose 6% despite both trucks being long in the tooth ahead of their 2014 redesigns. If that's how well an old truck does, how about a new one? Chrysler had the answer. Sales of the revamped 2013 Ram pickup rose 25.5% versus March 2012, despite much less cash on the hood. Deals be damned; Ram buyers lined up to pay full price for a truck whose 1500 variant just won the coveted North American Truck of the Year award.
Combined incentives from automakers and dealers actually rose in March, with total incentives up to $5,467 per car — 14.4% off the total average MSRP, in fact, which represents the steepest percentage discounts in 11 months, according to CNW Marketing Research. Still, rising MSRPs edged transaction prices ever higher; the average car in March sold for $32,524.
Last month's fastest sellers weren't always the highest sellers. Nissan slashed pricing for its Leaf electric car, and March represented the first full month of sales for the 2013 model. Each 2013 Leaf stayed at Nissan dealers on average just seven days — well under the 48-day average for all 2013s and 2014s — and sales rocketed 286.2%. Lincoln's MKZ, on the other hand, sat on dealer lots for an average of just 14 days. But Lincoln moved just 2,360 of them in March, down 19.5% versus March 2012.
Here are March's top 10 sellers:
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http://greensburgdailynews.com/x1340...ership-changes
Honda Manufacturing of Indiana announces leadership changes
Greensburg — Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, LLC (HMIN) announced that Bob Nelson is the company’s new president, effective April 1.
As president, Nelson is responsible for total HMIN operations.
Nelson most recently served as senior vice president at HMIN. He has been with Honda for 26 years, starting his career at Honda of America Mfg., Inc. (HAM) in Ohio. Nelson’s career with Honda includes several assignments in purchasing, including three years in Japan, and Vice President of North American Purchasing for Honda.
Nelson replaces Jun Nishimoto as president. Nishimoto will move to Honda’s Saitama Factory in Japan as general manager of Automobile Production Supervisory Unit. Nishimoto joined HMIN as president in 2010, after spending nearly 30 years with Honda.
During his tenure as president at HMIN, the Greensburg plant launched the new model Civic, added a second shift, introduced the new Acura ILX and the plant increased its production capacity from 800 to 1,000 vehicles a day.
In addition, with Nelson’s new assignment as president, Toshikazu Kashida, who is currently vice president will assume the role as senior vice president.
"We are excited by the opportunity for our scientists to test new ideas for integrated and commercially viable carbon-reduction technologies."
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