Honda / Acura Tidbits

[mwqa]

I wouldn't mind seeing a Fit without ABS brakes (and with manual, crank windows).

But would taking off the ABS really make much difference to the car's weight?

And would it really be much less safe? 

I'm still not convinced you'd buy a Yaris with limited room over a Fit, which I consider a larger car, just for the $1000 bonus.

Simple solution to it all, however. Get rid of the incentive and keep the penalties. 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

SAE CONGRESS

Honda: Involving suppliers early can cut costs

Ralph Kisiel  |  Automotive News / April 19, 2007 - 1:18 pm   

 
DETROIT -- Honda will work with suppliers to achieve low cost, but the automaker won't buy low cost.

Akio Hamada, CEO of Honda of America Manufacturing Inc., said at the SAE 2007 World Congress here today that involving suppliers early in product development is one strategy for achieving low cost.

"There is a lot of talk about outsourcing components to China and Asia," Hamada said. "But we believe in building products close to our customers. So, we work to strengthen our local supply network to make sure it can be globally competitive."

For example, Hamada said Grand Haven Stamped Products Co. in Grand Haven, Mich., makes the automatic transmission lever assembly for the Honda Civic. The supplier feeds Honda's East Liberty, Ohio, plant, where the Civic is assembled.

"But they also supply this component to Honda plants in Japan, Thailand and the U.K.," Hamada said. "That shows they have become globally competitive and achieved it locally in the U.S."

Hamada spoke during a panel discussion, "From Design to Manufacturing: The New Realities."

How did Grand Haven Stamped Products learn to be a global supplier to Honda?

Honda Civic suppliers sent representatives to Japan to take part in designing dies and processes, Hamada said. Combining the know-how of Honda's r&d and manufacturing with that of its suppliers helped achieve a smooth mass production with parts that meet Honda's quality and performance requirements, he said.

But it's not always necessary for Honda suppliers to work closely with Honda r&d and manufacturing in Japan. Delphi Corp. is such an example, Hamada said.

Delphi supplies an active damping system - the first of its kind for Honda - on the 2007 Acura MDX crossover launched last fall. Honda's U.S. r&d team and a factory team from Honda's Alliston, Ontario, assembly plant arranged early supplier factory visits at Delphi, Hamada said.

"This project included Delphi's Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers," Hamada said. "We wanted Delphi's top management and actual line staff to understand Honda's design and manufacturing philosophy throughout the value stream."

Delphi executives took the Honda challenge seriously, he said.

"They provided the investment, manpower and effort to create the product we were seeking," Hamada said.

In Ohio, Honda established a One Team Room in its r&d center near its Marysville and East Liberty assembly plants. Hamada said the manufacturing team and suppliers meet in this room to work closely with r&d to create parts, tooling and technologies and resolve manufacturing challenges.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Honda sees lower profit on yen, small-car shift

Reuters / April 25, 2007 - 8:00 am   

TOKYO (Reuters) -- Honda Motor Co. forecast a surprise 3 percent drop in profit this year citing an expected rise in the yen, high commodity prices and a global shift to lower-margin compact cars.

Even taking into account Japanese carmakers' traditional conservatism, analysts said the guidance was exceptionally low given Honda's forecast that its global car sales were set to increase 7.7 percent to a record 3.935 million.

Honda, which last year overtook Nissan Motor Co. as Japan's No.2 automaker, said sales would continue to grow in all regions except Japan, driven by the popular CR-V SUV, Fit subcompact and the soon-to-be-redesigned Accord sedan.

Tokyo-based Honda forecast net profit of $4.86 billion (575 billion yen) for the year to end-March 2008, well below the market's consensus estimate for $5.40 billion (641 billion yen). At an operating level, it predicted profit of $6.48 billion (770 billion yen), down 9.6 percent.

"The forecast for 2007/08 is extremely weak," said Koji Endo, an auto analyst at Credit Suisse Securities.

Honda's forecasts are based on an assumed average dollar rate of 115 yen, against a more favorable 117 yen in 2006/07. Honda expects the euro to weaken by 1 yen to 150 yen.

The stronger yen would knock $683.8 million (81.2 billion yen) off its operating profit, Honda said.

"All in all, if you strip out currency headwinds and other special factors, our business should grow this year," Executive Vice President Satoshi Aoki told a news conference.

Still, Honda's operating margin would drop to 6.6 percent from 7.7 percent in 2006/07 as it makes less money on each car sold due to the popularity of cheaper, smaller cars such as the Fit/Jazz subcompact.

Honda and other automakers have been forced to offer hefty incentives to shift bigger vehicles as consumers increasingly seek better fuel economy.

Senior Managing Director Koichi Kondo, who is set to replace Aoki in June, said Honda was spending about $2,000 in incentives on each Ridgeline pickup and more than $1,000 on the Pilot SUV in the United States. He said the automaker planned to spend a little less than $900 per vehicle in incentives in North America this business year, slightly less than in 2006/07.

Also pressuring margins are high precious metals and aluminum prices, which are expected to outstrip cost cuts.

ROOM FOR OVERSHOOT?

Despite the headwinds, most analysts say Honda's prospects for steady growth are good thanks to its fleet of fuel-efficient cars amid high fuel prices.

As big U.S. rivals scale back production to reflect a loss of customers to Japanese brands, Honda is to add more capacity in North America, including a new factory in Indiana next year.

Top Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. is also expected to grow this year, albeit at a slower pace, while analysts say third-ranked Nissan faces tough hurdles to convince consumers to buy its cars over rival products.

For January-March, Honda's net profit fell 20 percent to $1.48 billion (176.18 billion yen) due to a one-off $1.16 billion (138 billion yen) pension related gain a year earlier.

Quarterly operating profit fell 27 percent to $2.11 billion (250.22 billion yen), while sales grew 9 percent to a record $26.01 billion (3.088 trillion yen).

Car sales in the quarter rose 6.2 percent to 957,000 units fueled by brisk sales of the CR-V and Civic models in North America and Europe. That made up for the chronic weakness in domestic sales.

"The company is assuming conservative foreign exchange rates while being aggressive about research and development costs," said Fujio Ando, senior managing director at Chibagin Asset Management. "I have a feeling it will revise up its forecasts in the future."

Honda is factoring in research and development spending of $4.97 billion (590 billion yen) this year, up nearly $336.9 million (40 billion yen) from 2006/07.

Among other Japanese automakers, Toyota unit Daihatsu Motor Co. forecast a sharp drop in profits this year after a strong rise in 2006/07, when it overtook Suzuki Motor Corp. to become the top seller of 660cc minivehicles for the first time in its 100-year history.

Truck maker Hino Motors Ltd., also part of Toyota, predicted another double-digit fall in earnings this year on weak truck demand.

Honda forecast an 11 cents (13 yen) increase in its dividend this year to 67 cents (80 yen).

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Report: Honda to sell diesel cars in Japan by 2009


Reuters |
June 13, 2007 - 1:00 am   
 
TOKYO (Reuters) -- Honda Motor Co. plans to sell diesel-fueled cars in Japan by 2009, the Nikkei business daily said, a move that could reignite the all but dead diesel passenger car segment in the world's third-biggest auto market.

While diesels make up more than half of new cars sold in Europe due to their relatively low emission of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, they have mostly been wiped out from passenger cars in Japan due to their poor image as dirty and loud.

But the powertrain is slowly gaining traction around the world since it typically gets 30 percent better mileage than gasoline engines, while tailpipe emissions have become much cleaner with new technology.

A spokesman at Honda, Japan's No.2 automaker, said no decision had been made on whether or when to introduce a diesel car in Japan, repeating the company's stance that it was simply under consideration.

Last year, Honda said it had developed a new and simple diesel powertrain that is as clean as gasoline-fueled cars and would mount on it on a car for the U.S. market by 2009.

The newspaper said Honda planned to introduce diesels also in Japan from 2009, and might speed that up to 2008. The engines would first be used in key models such asthe CR-V SUV and Accord sedan, it said.

Executives at many Japanese automakers, including Honda President Takeo Fukui, have over the past few years warmed to the idea of a return of diesel-fueled cars in Japan. Nissan Motor Co. and Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. are also keen to see diesels challenge the green image that gasoline-electric hybrids enjoy.

Toyota Motor Corp., which controls more than 40 percent of the Japanese market, has been notably lukewarm on diesels for Japan and the United States, saying the cost of developing an engine clean enough to meet the upcoming strict emissions standards there would be prohibitive.

DaimlerChrysler AG is so far the only automaker to offer a diesel passenger car in Japan, through the Mercedes E 320 CDI sedan. The German automaker has said orders have surpassed expectations, hitting 1,000 in April since its launch in August.

Diesel cars' weakness has been higher exhaust levels of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and carmakers are racing to come up with ways to meet what will be the world's toughest emission standards to be introduced in the United States this year.

Honda's new diesel drivetrain generates and stores ammonia within a two-layer catalytic converter to turn NOx into nitrogen.

[G0dspd]

Honda, Toyota Incentives Balloon In June
http://news.windingroad.com/car-buying/honda-toyota-balloon-incentives-in-june/

Honda and Toyota both bumped up their June incentives in a major way, according to a new article in Automotive News. Year-over-year, Honda’s incentives jumped by 73.2 percent to an all-time high, and Toyota’s increased by 53.6 percent. That stands in contrast to the industry average, which actually dipped by some 7.3 percent versus a year ago.

Critically, however, even with that new jump, Honda’s incentives totaled an average of $1221 per vehicle, and Toyota’s moved to $1567. Despite big jumps, both companies remain well shy of the industry average of $2422.

For its part, Honda is seeking to move older models, many in tough segments (think: 2007 Accord and Pilot, as well as Odyssey and Ridgeline). The automaker still doggedly refuses to put cash back offers on the hoods of their vehicles, a move designed to protect resale values. Instead, it subsidized leases and lower financing rates.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070718/UPDATE/707180414/1148/AUTO01
Honda boosting production in North America to meet growing demand

Yuri Kageyama / Associated Press

TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. is increasing production capacity in North America and elsewhere to keep up with growing demand for its fuel-efficient cars and to maintain the momentum for global growth, the company's president said Wednesday.

Annual production in North America will reach 1.62 million vehicles by the fall of 2008 from the current 1.4 million, President Takeo Fukui told reporters.

The maker of Accord and Acura cars would also boost production capacity in other parts of the world, he said.

Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker behind Toyota Motor Corp., plans to build a second auto plant in Thailand and its first auto plant in Argentina, and it is setting up a research and development center in China to build models especially to appeal to that growing market, Fukui said.

In North America, a new auto plant in Indiana, Honda's seventh in North America, is set to begin production in late 2008, he said.

Later this year, a plant in Mexico will start making the CR-V sport utility vehicle, raising annual production capacity from 30,000 vehicles to 50,000 vehicles, he said.

Demand has been healthy for Honda's cars with a reputation for good mileage, such as the Fit subcompact and CR-V, at a time when gas prices are soaring. But competition has also been intensifying among the automakers to cut costs and develop environmentally friendly vehicles.

Fukui said Honda was contributing to production locally, with 80 percent of Honda cars sold in North America being produced there.

"Honda will further accelerate its efforts to strengthen the core characteristics that make Honda unique in each business area," he said at the company's Tokyo headquarters.

In one such effort, Honda will also boost production capacity at its plants in Mexico and Turkey, he said.

In Turkey, Honda is pushing annual capacity to 50,000 vehicles from 30,000 by early 2008, to meet burgeoning demand in Europe, according to the company.

Honda is investing about 23 billion yen ($188 million) in the plant in Thailand, where demand is expected to grow. The plant, which will go up next to Honda's existing Thai plant, will have annual output capacity of 120,000 vehicles, doubling Honda's production there. It is expected to start running in the latter half of 2008, Fukui said.

Honda is investing about $100 million in the auto plant in Argentina, which will employ 800 people and produce 30,000 compact passenger vehicles a year by the latter half of 2009, he said.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070718/AUTO01/707180396/1148
Honda to roll out a redesigned Fit

Christine Tierney / The Detroit News

Honda Motor Co. will launch a redesigned version of its popular Fit subcompact in the fall, Honda CEO Takeo Fukui said in Japan today in a speech updating the automaker's progress on its three-year strategic plan.

He confirmed that Honda would introduce a clean diesel engine to the U.S. market in 2009 that would meet emission standards in all 50 states, and he announced that the engine also would be marketed in Japan.

In its 2005-08 plan, Honda outlined goals to improve its environmental performance, strengthen the Honda brand in Japan, and reinforce the automaker's foundation for global growth.

"Honda will further accelerate its effort to strengthen the core characteristics that make Honda unique in each business area," Fukui said.

The automaker, Japan's second largest after Toyota Motor Corp., is investing heavily in gas-electric hybrid and diesel technology as well as developing more small cars in its effort to be environmentally friendly.

Over the past two years, as gas prices have risen, Honda has struggled to meet demand for its small cars. Cumulative sales of the Fit, launched in Japan in 2002 and first introduced to the U.S. market last year, have exceeded 2 million units.

The new Fit is likely to be available in the U.S. market soon after its fall launch in Japan.

Honda's vehicle range is among the most fuel-efficient, and the Union of Concerned Scientists in April rated the company the greenest automaker.

All automakers are addressing concerns about fuel economy and the environment, but Honda's efforts in this area are longstanding. "They've done it much more consistently and with more dedication than Toyota has, although Toyota gets more credit because of the Prius (hybrid)," said George Peterson, chairman of AutoPacific, a consulting firm in Tustin, Calif.

"If Honda just wanted to sell cars, they'd have a V8-powered luxury car out there -- and there ain't no V8 around," he said.

In his update, Fukui confirmed that Honda will roll out a dedicated hybrid model in 2009 that will cost less than the Honda Civic hybrid, which starts at $22,600. Fukui also said:


For the Japanese market, Honda plans to strengthen its mini-vehicle business. Mini-vehicles, fitted with very small engines, are among the most resilient segments in the weak Japanese auto market.

Honda also will delay the launch of its Acura premium brand in Japan for two years or so. Honda had planned to bring Acura to its home market in the fall of 2008 but is revising its plans "based on a comprehensive evaluation of the current market environment." Like Toyota's Lexus brand, Acura was first established in the United States.


In North America, Honda's production capacity will reach 1.62 million units after the construction of an assembly plant in Indiana, the expansion of a Mexican plant and the construction of an engine factory in Canada.


In China, the Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co. venture will establish an R&D facility and develop a vehicle that will be sold under an original brand of Guangzhou Honda starting in 2010.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Looks like BMW Canada and Honda Canada will be new neighbours for each other. Honda Canada will be moving from Scarborough to join them in Markham.

http://www.wheels.ca/article/31046

Honda heads to Markham
Betsy Powell

Toronto Star


In a decision attributed to timing and a lack of red tape, Honda Canada has decided to build its new head office in Markham, not Richmond Hill.

Richmond Hill's loss is a boon for Markham, which bills itself as Canada's high-tech capital and is home to corporate head offices for IBM and American Express.

Honda will initially relocate 500 employees to the new site to be built on a 19-hectare parcel of land facing Highway 404, just north of Elgin Mills Rd. The tentative move-in date is two years from now.

"They saw a municipality that was willing to work with them and make things happen quickly," Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti said yesterday.

"They didn't want this process to go on forever and we made a very strong commitment to them to get them through the process as quickly as possible, to ensure some of the transportation network that they needed would be there in time for their opening."

Richmond Hill is, of course, disappointed, said Deputy Mayor Brenda Hogg, who also sits on York Region council.

She played down any friction between the neighbours and said there's "always competition" among municipalities trying to attract companies, and the valued tax base they bring, to set up shop.

And, more importantly, Honda is remaining in York Region, Hogg said. "It still speaks to the southern end of York Region and the opportunities that exist here. What we didn't get today, we will get tomorrow."

While Honda owned a large chunk of land at Highway 404 and Major Mackenzie Dr. – that it will now sell – it was located close to the environmentally sensitive Rouge River Valley system, Hogg noted.

"In Richmond Hill we did have environmental constraints, we did need a bridge to be built, that's a tremendous expenditure," she said, adding Richmond Hill was nevertheless "willing to negotiate on those major infrastructure costs."

The new location is about three kilometres north on the east side of Highway 404, which separates Richmond Hill from Markham.

Two months ago, Honda Canada publicly announced it was looking at options other than Richmond Hill after running into numerous delays getting municipal approvals for the complex, which will consolidate operations now based in three locations, including Scarborough.

Jim Miller, Honda's senior executive vice-president, said last night while Honda is an environmentally responsible company and was prepared to work to ensure safeguards were met as far as development, "the timing of roads, bridges, infrastructure, every time we turned around it seemed to be taking longer and longer and ... all things being equal it looks like it's going to come together as we had originally anticipated."

Scarpitti said his work began behind the scenes last fall before he was elected mayor. He sent out a clear message that if he won, "Markham would do everything that we could to attract Honda and certainly to keep them in the Region of York."

Despite there being a winner and loser here, "this wasn't a battle," Scarpitti said. "It was really Honda coming to the conclusion that they needed to get onto a site that worked for their timeframe," and "time was not on their (Richmond Hill's) side."

"We worked very diligently to get them through a complex planning process. It was sort of our can-do attitude, our infrastructure, that will be available to them when they open their doors and an opportunity to develop a key site that will have exposure to the 404 without anything that really stands in their way of moving right ahead with their building of the facility."

Scarpitti also touted the overall benefit to the region.

"They're going to be on east of the 404 versus the west side but it's going to mean jobs for many communities, not just Markham. It means some of their executives and employees will end up moving and purchasing homes" in other areas close by, he said.

"They're certainly going to shop and eat and they won't know the political boundaries. From that perspective, there's three parts of the tax bill: the local municipality but also a major part is that of the region and school board. ... We're happy to accommodate a facility that keeps them within the region and contributes to the economy of Ontario."

A move was needed to respond to Honda's growing sales and expanding workforce, Miller said.

The home office "campus" will house three interconnected buildings, including a four-storey energy-efficient "green" building, a technical centre for research and development, engineering and training, and a one-storey parts distribution centre.

Honda employs 5,000 people across Canada and manufactures 390,000 vehicles a year at two facilities in Alliston, northwest of Toronto.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Accord goes 'Beyond the road' in new ads
Laura Clark Geist
Automotive News
August 27, 2007 - 12:01 am EST
 
DETROIT -- The advertising campaign for the redesigned Honda Accord includes a new tag line: "Beyond the Road."

Ads for the mid-sized car are scheduled to break Sept. 12, the day the 2008 Accord sedan and coupe go on sale. So far this year, the Accord is the third-best-selling car in the United States, behind the Toyota Camry and Corolla/Matrix.

Gary Robinson, a senior product planner for American Honda Motor Co. Inc., is overseeing the Accord launch. He said the launch "will make up the largest part of our advertising budget" this year, although he did not give specific figures.

"The bulk of the advertising will be on television," Robinson told Automotive News at an Accord press event here last week. "We will have a large presence on several Internet sites."

Honda's ad agency, RPA, of suburban Los Angeles, is handling the campaign.

Honda Division spent nearly $587.2 million to advertise in U.S. media last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence. No figure is available for 2007.

Honda seeks to position the redesigned Accord as a luxurious yet practical car with performance features, Robinson said.

The median age of the Accord buyer is in the "mid-to-high 40s," Robinson said. That's down from about 50 years old in 2005, he said, but up from 41 in 1995.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Honda recalls 200,000 Civics
Harry Stoffer
Automotive News
September 14, 2007 - 2:01 pm EST

WASHINGTON — American Honda Motor Co. is recalling more than 180,000 Honda Civic coupes and sedans built for the 2006-07 model years because their rear wheel bearings may fail.

Separately, dealers will install new brake light switches with protective coverings in about 20,000 Civic sedans and Civic Hybrids built for the 2006 model year.

In the larger recall, Honda told regulators that an improperly assembled O-ring on a wheel speed sensor housing allows water and road salt to reach the wheel bearing. In time, the bearing can loosen, overheat and fail.

Honda investigated after wheels came off two cars in Canada, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Dealers are to inspect wheel speed sensors and bearings and replace those that are damaged, NHTSA said.

In the other recall, Honda told NHTSA that lubricant from the telescoping mechanism of the steering column causes some brake light switches to fail.

[Allen]

Honda squeaks through Ottawa's green gates
GREG KEENAN

Globe and Mail Update

October 16, 2007 at 10:48 PM EDT

The smallest Honda Canada Inc. car now fits in the federal government feebate scheme for the 2008 model year, a development that re-energizes the debate over Ottawa's green auto program.

The manual transmission version of Honda's subcompact Fit has been modified to use one-10th of a litre less of gasoline per 100 kilometres than the 2007 model. That makes it the second gasoline-powered subcompact eligible for a $1,000 rebate under the federal program.

The thresholds for rebates in 2008 will be the same as those set in the 2007 model year, which was first introduced in the controversial ecoAUTO Rebate program in the March federal budget and so angered the industry that all auto makers but one urged the government to scrap the program.

For the Canadian units of the Detroit Three and the Canadian Auto Workers union, which also blasted the program, there could be renewed fury because another car assembled offshore qualifies for taxpayer assistance.

Cars that consume 6.5 litres to go 100 kilometres, light trucks that use 8.3 litres of gas and vehicles consuming 13 litres of E-85 ethanol will be eligible for rebates, Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a letter to the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada.

The feebate system rewards buyers of hybrids and other fuel-efficient or alternative-fuel vehicles and puts a penalty on gas guzzlers.

Vehicle companies told Ottawa that the program was messing up the market and favoured Toyota Canada Inc. because the highest-selling vehicle eligible for a rebate is the subcompact Toyota Yaris, which travels 100 kilometres on 6.4 litres of gas.

Competing subcompact cars that were just above the 6.5-litre limit did not qualify.

Honda Canada, whose 2007 model year Fit used 6.6 litres to travel 100 kilometres, was closest to the line. So Honda began offering $1,000 rebates of it own to keep the car competitive with the Yaris.

Auto makers also criticized the government for taking several months to notify them of the fuel consumption guidelines for 2008 models.

Dealers and others have also taken Ottawa to task for taking almost six months to start accepting applications for rebates for 2007 model year vehicles. The application for rebates was posted on Transport Canada's website on Oct. 1, although rebates are available to any Canadians who bought qualifying vehicles after the budget was introduced on March 19.

Auto makers wouldn't identify vehicles, but an examination of fuel consumption figures on some of their websites shows that some vehicles that did not qualify for rebates in the 2007 model year are eligible in 2008.

That examination reveals that rebates for some vehicles increase, there are some new vehicles for 2008 that qualify and the fees levied on several gas guzzlers will fall because they have new, more efficient engines or because auto makers have slimmed them down.

Chrysler Canada Inc., for example, has told its dealers that removing the roof rack and adjusting the axle ratio has improved the fuel consumption of the V6 four-by-four version Jeep Commander sport utility vehicle so that it's no longer subject to a $1,000 gas-guzzler levy.

The Dodge Durango SUV has a new 4.7-litre V8 engine that reduces its fuel consumption and cuts the penalty to $1,000 from $2,000.

The Saturn Vue hybrid from General Motors of Canada Ltd. should now qualify for a $2,000 rebate, compared with $1,500 in 2007.

The fuel economy rating for the new Rogue SUV from Nissan Canada Inc. will sit at 8.2 litres, which means it will qualify for a $1,000 rebate.

Nissan appears to have tweaked the six-cylinder version of its Pathfinder SUV because its fuel consumption has been reduced to 12.94 litres from 13.1 litres, so it's no longer subject to a $1,000 levy.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Interesting article Allen, with the tweaks we probably wouldn't otherwise hear about. I'm glad Honda in particular worked to make it happen.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Honda sees big hybrid volume push with next model

Reuters
October 23, 2007 - 6:50 am ET

 
TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co. will start churning out gasoline-electric hybrid cars in large volumes in earnest with a hybrid-only family car planned for a 2009 launch, CEO Takeo Fukui said today.

Japan's second-biggest automaker ranks a distant second behind Toyota Motor Corp. in the hybrid market, now selling only the Civic hybrid after discontinuing production of the Insight two-seater and gasoline-electric Accord.

"Right now, the Civic hybrid is pretty much hand-made," Fukui told an industry conference ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show.

"We don't have much of a desire to expand volumes under these circumstances," he said, citing the high cost of producing the fuel-sipping vehicles.

Honda, which launched its first hybrid, the Insight, in 1999 -- beating Toyota to the U.S. market -- has admitted to making no money on sales of hybrid cars, which add a pricey electric motor and battery to capture energy while driving.

But Honda is working on lowering production costs, promising a hybrid that would have a premium of up to 200,000 yen ($1,750) for consumers over a similarly sized gasoline-engine car -- a difference that Fukui said would be low enough to be made up for in lower running costs.

With the cheaper hybrid system, Fukui said twinning it with a diesel engine for further fuel savings was a possibility if gasoline prices continued to rise.

But he was skeptical about up-and-coming plug-in hybrids, or a hybrid car that can be recharged through an electric socket, saying it would require heavy batteries being loaded on the vehicle.

"I'm not sure what kind of real advantages they would have," he said.

General Motors has been notably keen on the powertrain, aiming to begin production in 2010.

Fukui said Honda had more faith in zero-emission fuel-cell vehicles, which run on hydrogen fuel, for the future.

"I think in 10 years' time, we will have come much, much closer to mass-volume production," he said.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Honda quarterly earnings jump 63% on CR-V sales
Automaker wary of weakness in U.S. economy

Reuters
October 25, 2007 - 6:40 am ET   
 
TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co. posted a forecast-beating 63 percent jump in earnings for the quarter ending Sept. 30 as strong sales of its new CR-V crossover made up for higher raw material costs. The Japanese automaker raised its full-year net profit forecast on a lower tax rate.

Honda's factories are running at full capacity around the world -- including in Japan despite weak sales at home -- thanks to brisk demand for exports to North America and Europe.

Orders at Japan's second-biggest automaker have been especially strong for the remodelled CR-V from would-be SUV drivers hoping to go further with expensive gasoline.

Honda, also the world's top motorcycle maker, said July-September net profit was 208.5 billion yen ($1.83 billion), ahead of an average estimate of 185.8 billion yen from four brokerages surveyed by Reuters Estimates and above last year's 127.9 billion yen profit.

Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management, said the results were firm, but warned U.S. demand warranted close monitoring.

"They rely quite heavily on the U.S. market and housing there right now is very weak. Cars and housing are really linked, so we have to watch this," he said, adding that a recent strengthening in the yen was also a potential risk.

Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo said that while the subprime mortgage issue has had little impact on its U.S. car sales, it was dealing a "significant" blow to motorcycle sales.

"It seems people are pulling back on leisure products," he told a news conference, adding a further 10 billion yen of profit-eroding sales incentives will be offered in North America.

For the year to March 31, 2008, Tokyo-based Honda lowered its dollar-yen exchange rate assumption by 1 yen to 116 yen, pushing its revenue forecast down 50 billion yen to 12.3 trillion yen. The yen is now around 114.3 to the dollar.

But Honda kept its operating profit forecast at 880 billion yen ($7.69 billion), saying it would make up for the difference through cost cutting. It raised its net forecast to 640 billion yen ($5.60 billion) from 625 billion yen on lower tax payments.

Consensus forecasts from 16 brokerages ahead of the results were for a net profit of 639 billion yen and operating profit of 884 billion yen.

Robust overseas sales more than made up for a 16 percent plunge in domestic sales, helping Honda expand its global sales by 6 percent in the quarter to 937,000 cars.

But the deeper-than-expected decline at home forced Honda to slightly lower its global sales forecast for the full year to March 2008, by 25,000 cars to 3.935 million.

OVERSEAS MARKETS SUPPORT

Second-quarter operating profit, which excludes earnings made in China, grew 48 percent to 286.3 billion yen ($2.50 billion) as sales rose, particularly of higher-margin vehicles,.

Rising commodity and depreciation costs erased the impact of cost-cutting, while higher sales incentives and advertising spending also hurt.

A 2 yen rise in the dollar and 14 yen climb in the euro, meanwhile, added 27 billion yen ($236 million) to operating profit. Revenue for the quarter rose 13 percent to 2.971 trillion yen ($25.98 billion).

A powerful earthquake in northern Japan at the beginning of the quarter disrupted production at all of the country's automakers, but was not enough to dent profits.

Honda, which has never posted a loss, is hoping to reverse a domestic sales slide with the launch on Friday of the revamped Fit subcompact, its best-selling car in Japan.

Shares of Honda, the world's fourth-most valuable automaker behind Toyota Motor Corp., Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG, fell 21 percent in the year to Thursday, faring worse than Tokyo's transportation index, which has fallen 18 percent.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Acura plans RL makeover

Kathy Jackson
Automotive News
November 19, 2007 - 12:01 am ET   
 
LOS ANGELES — Acura dealers are excited about word from company insiders that the poor-performing RL will get a makeover next summer.

Dealers do not have many details on changes coming for the brand's flagship model, but they believe the changes will be dramatic. "I hear it will be a major facelift in the front and back — new sheet metal," says Jim Smail, an Acura dealer in Pittsburgh.

Adds John Hawkins, an Acura dealer in the Los Angeles area: "Dealers have said they want three things: They don't like the styling, there is not enough rear-seat legroom and it needs a turbocharger or V-8."

The redesigned RL was introduced in October 2004 and has sold poorly. Sales through October were down 47.5 percent from the same period last year.

A chief complaint is that the all-wheel-drive vehicle powered by a V-6 is not desired by luxury buyers, who may choose from a slew of rear-wheel-drive V-8s.

Dan Bonawitz, vice president of corporate planning and logistics for American Honda Motor Co., confirms the RL is due for a mid-term model change next year, but he would not be specific,

"The three big complaints of the car are interior space, trunk space, and for some, style," Bonawitz told Automotive News during an interview at the Los Angeles auto show. "You can do some things to create some more interior space. So that's within the realm of possibility."

But as for powertrain changes, he was mum. 

[Mitlov]

I think that a twin-turbo V6 would be cool in the RL, but most buyers do demand a V8.  I think the AWD would be acceptable to buyers in this segment if the RL had a V8, at least as an option to get people into the showrooms.

A bigger trunk and new front fascia alone will not save the RL.  It needs powertrain upgrades.

[Snowman]

Acura needs RWD more than anything.

[Mitlov]

Acura needs RWD more than anything.

I disagree.  Audi does just fine without RWD.  And just as Infiniti is directly targeting BMW and Lexus is directly targeting MB, I think Acura should directly target Audi.  They've got a cool AWD system, they're starting to play with turbos, and they're slightly cheaper than their competition...sounds like Audi to me.

[Snowman]

Audi is known for AWD systems with a stable of high performance cars and has marketed on that strength. Acura is known as a less expensive luxury alternative with nothing exciting other than the dated NSX. Acura needs to step it up quite a bit to mount a serious challenge to what Audi has to offer.

[inco]

The RL was supposed to do that, but a little greed and perhaps an ego caused them to price it way too high. The $15,000 price bump was too big for that car IMHO.