Honda readies new hybrid attack, calling the Civic Hybrid a mistake
Honda CEO Takeo Fukui has said Honda will now take the hybrid war seriously, with a claim that, "The real competition has just begun." Honda is planning to come out with a hybrid-only model in early 2009 that will provide genuine competition for the Toyota Prius.It seems everyone has been forced to play off the Prius' cues, such as when Fukui says that, "Until now, it has been an image-based competition, not a business-based competition." Which explains the Civic Hybrid being a misstep, because according to CNW research, 50-percent of folks who buy hybrids need the world to know it's a hybrid because they don't want people to think they are burning the remains of giant lizards.
How does Honda plan to get the consumer's attention a year from now? Primarily, sticker shock -- but the good kind. Fukui said he wants the car to come in below the price of the current Civic Hybrid, which is $23,235. The current Prius starts at $20,950, so Honda needs to count a fair number of beans if they want price alone to be the allure. Fukui did say, nevertheless, that he expected the car to have a lighter hybrid engine, which would give better gas mileage. But will either the Prius or new Honda hybrid get better mileage than the MINI Cooper D?
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Mobius_1 8:15AM (12/25/2007)
More cars for Clarkson to destroy in Top Gear???
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JM 12:26PM (12/27/2007)
funny that Takeo Fukui doesn't even consider domestic hybrids a threat. wait till they see the two-mode hybrids show up in domestic cars next year.
...did they say the Prius now starts at $20,950?!
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stang fan 8:54AM (12/25/2007)
Honda sells the Civic in a body style not available in the U.S., that is as a small, wagonish, MPV-like vehicle called the stream. It's too bad this model isn't adaptable to the Hybrid powertrain, as it would give Honda a unique Hybrid....both in looks and utility. AND, it wouldn't "force" Honda to come up with a Hybrid model that would require it's own "special look" to be a sales success.
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Mark Meachen 9:30AM (12/25/2007)
ANY diesel is a righteous conpetitor to the hybrid and diesels can use biodiesel, which truly IS renewable and usually vegetarian (but not necessarily).
GO DIESELS
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j_diesel 1:12PM (12/25/2007)
the image of a diesel car being loud, slow, and generally offensive is as outdated as the idea that a hybrid is the only way to save the planet. more diesels NOW please.
JGN 3:53PM (12/25/2007)
Diesel engines don't meet clean air requirements, until they do, they are not going to be widely available.
Though it sounds like Honda is about to fix that with their new Accord.
GM and Ford should have been all over that.
Robert Aitchison 12:37PM (12/26/2007)
Diesels need clean (low sulphur) diesel fuel to reduce emissions and producing that would drive up the cost of the fuel so the trucking lobby has worked very hard to prevent it.
Hank 9:57AM (12/25/2007)
But, uh, hybrids are burning the remains of giant lizards, just at a lower pace (unless you include those burned during manufacture, then it's a wash some days).
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gsolman6 10:24AM (12/25/2007)
Its not a wash b/c only 10 to 20 percent of the energy used by a car in its lifetime is from manufacture.
150,000 lifetime miles divided by 40 mpg equals 3750 gallons of fuel times $3.00 gallon equals $11,250 fuel burnt in use over its lifetime. On a $23,000 car the cost of labor and materials is much higher than fuel so no it is not "a wash."
Bryan 11:00AM (12/25/2007)
They kept saying "current prius." Next Gen comes out in 09/10 from the sounds of it. So they better come out with something that'll blow the next gen prius outta the water. Which I doubt.
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Hwins 2:49PM (12/25/2007)
Yeah, I read the next prius will get 100mpg and cost half as much.
Right, like the next version of Windows has no bugs and is secure. Expect the next prius to be a modest increase in mpg, with bleeding-edge unproven (and biohazard) batteries. Oh, and the body will probably be even uglier. Yelch.
Sean Morris 11:25AM (12/25/2007)
Hybrids aren't the answer , however a car like the Civic hybrid just goes to show you , going in the right direction, with a car that looks like every other Civic , and the "trendy green" driver doesn't buy it.
It has to look like an ugly jellybean for people to "know" you are driving a hybrid. Poser people.
http://gtrusa.blogspot.com/2007/12/offset-your-carbon-output.html
If I buy enough carbon offsets , will the police leave me and my car alone ? $90 a year and I get a certificate. I can put them big on the door , and people won't look down their nose at me in my gasoline burner.
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Lee Gibson 1:05AM (12/26/2007)
You know what's even cheaper? Not caring what other people think. It's awesome!
ermax18 8:27AM (12/26/2007)
I love doing burn outs next to hybrids. I like to consume as much fuel as I can around them. HAHAHA. Actually, what always trips me out is watching hybrid owners driving their cars like they stole them. If these supposedly green people really were green then they would drive the hybrid in such a way that the benefits shine. Like you said, "Poser People".
3000GT TwinTurbo 11:30AM (12/25/2007)
i dont know why they're bothering. Hybrids are just a band-aid. The real future is most likelt E-85, so they should start developing engines that make the most power from this fuel, rather than strapping electric motors on to IC engines.
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JGN 11:40AM (12/25/2007)
E-85 is a gimmick, it is not a long term solution.
Hybrid technology will continue to improve. When diesel can be burned without releasing huge amounts of particulate matter, it will become more viable.
You can take any position you like, but clearly, people are getting behind hybrids.
Fast evo 8 11:53AM (12/25/2007)
you know that E-85 still requires an IC engine right? and just like oil, using a hybrid system will still make it more efficient right? regen braking, running on electric motors at idle, etc will make the car more efficient regardless of what fuel it is burning.
i'm still waiting for someone to come out with a plug-in turbo diesel hybrid that gets 100+ MPG.
Dad 11:43AM (12/25/2007)
" 50-percent of folks who buy hybrids need the world to know it's a hybrid because they don't want people to think they are burning the remains of giant lizards"
I have a friend who bought 2 of the Prius models, one silver and one red. He is on the ego trip of a lifetime. And it is a very expensive ego trip. He feels good and ultimately, from a cost savings that is all he can show for his efforts. I tank him everyday for spending all that $$$ so I can burn all the dino fuel that he is not using.
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Bill L 11:50AM (12/25/2007)
I bought a previous generation Civic Hybrid for my wife. Prompltly, I changed the wheels and took off the hybrid badging so I would not look like a granola. I always like the fact that with a Honda you could be economical without shouting it out to the world.
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mojo 6:59PM (12/25/2007)
Ummmm, without the hybrid badging, you're still driving an econocar/McCivic. Unless you removed the McHonda badges too I don't think you're fooling anybody but yourself...