Posts Tagged ‘hybrid’

It’s fair to say that the Honda Insight has not been living up to expectations. Despite excellent fuel economy and a futuristic interior, Honda’s compact hybrid hasn’t done much to dent sales of its major rival, the Toyota Prius.

Honda once boasted a goal of selling 90,000 Insights during the vehicle’s first year on the market but was on track to achieve less than a third of that target by summer’s end.

Though Honda claims the Insight was never intended to compete directly with the Prius, the two hybrids share a windswept, five-door profile and are frequently cross-shopped. The Honda’s 41 mpg rating falls short of the Toyota’s 50 mpg, but the Insight is priced about $2,000 less.

To combat the Insight’s free-falling sales, Autocar reports that Honda will make changes to boost fuel economy. New software will triple the amount of time the hybrid’s start/stop system can leave the engine off when the vehicle is stationary and in the driver-selectable Eco mode.

The current software assumes worst case scenario conditions: five passengers on board in near-tropical levels of humidity. Conditions like these force the Insight’s gasoline-powered engine to fire up after only 30 seconds of rest so that the air conditioner can dehumidify the cabin and keep the windows from fogging. The new software extends the engine-off time to as much as 90 seconds, saving more fuel.

Honda’s new software will no doubt improve the Insight’s mileage in the real world, but it’s unlikely that this change will have a positive impact on the official EPA rating that appears on the Monroney Label window sticker. Those government test procedures require all vehicles to run in default mode, effectively rendering the Eco mode off-limits.

While the Insight’s new software will be nice to have for owners trying to maximize their fuel savings, it’s unlikely to steal many sales away from the popular Prius.

Honda recently announced that it will begin selling a hybrid version of its popular Fit subcompact car in Japan and Europe starting next year. With a starting price of 1.59 million yen ($19,310), the Fit Hybrid will be the most affordable hybrid in Japan. But what about bringing it here to America?

The entry-level Honda has enjoyed great success in the States thanks to a hugely flexible interior and sub-$15k price tag. In reviews on Honk, Fit owners rave about the high fuel economy, EPA rated at 27 miles per gallon in the city and 33 on the highway.

At current exchange rates, the Fit Hybrid would add about $3,000 to the bottom line but would boost fuel economy into the 40 mile-per-gallon range. That’s on par with the Fit’s big brother, the Honda Insight, but still below the 50 mile-per-gallon rating of the best-selling Toyota Prius.

The Fit Hybrid uses the same 1.3-liter hybrid powertrain that’s found in the Insight. On the road, its 98 horsepower and 123 pound-feet of torque should match up closely to the standard Fit’s 117 horsepower and 106 pound-feet.

Honda so far won’t commit to selling the Fit Hybrid in the US, the obvious fear being that a Fit Hybrid would cannibalize sales from the already slow-selling Insight.

But the longer Honda delays, the more hybrid sales they risk losing to Toyota. And with Toyota’s CEO, Akio Toyoda, announcing the company’s intention to be a leader in hybrids and all things green, it doesn’t seem wise for Honda to hesitate.

Let’s hope that Honda chooses to bring this fuel-sipping Fit Hybrid to market before competitors makes them green with envy.

Remember the Honda Accord Hybrid sold from 2004-06? You may have to dig deep because Honda sold fewer than 6,000 of those cars in its final year before deciding to cancel the hybrid model. New rumors suggest that the Honda Accord Hybrid may make a comeback soon, though.

But first, why did the first generation Accord Hybrid fare so poorly?  Critics say it’s because Honda engineered the car for performance instead of fuel economy. Rather than convert electrical energy into miles per gallon, Honda used the hybrid’s motor and battery pack to add about 15-horsepower to the already stout 240-horsepower V6 engine.

The result was the world’s first “performance hybrid” that boasted the power of a 6-cylinder engine and the fuel economy of a 4-cylinder engine. Had Honda added its hybrid system to the Accord’s thriftier 4-cylinder engine, it may have given competitors like the Toyota Camry Hybrid a run for their money.

Maybe the Honda Accord Hybrid was simply ahead of its time, though. I had a chance to drive two new muscle-bound hybrids recently: the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 and the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. While these large sport utility vehicles are very different from a midsize sedan, they do share the old Accord Hybrid’s preference for power.

Both of the models I drove featured burly V8 engines with a two-mode hybrid system that allows for all-electric driving at low speeds. The fuel efficiency gains of these two hybrids are modest, but no one can complain that these brawny ‘utes are slow.

So what will the new Honda Accord Hybrid offer? It’s too early for specifics, but my hope is that Honda will change direction this time and uses those extra electrons to eke out more MPGs instead of horsepower.

If there are any muscle hybrid drivers out there, sound off and share your thoughts.

In time, this may become known as the worst deal of the century.

Toyota and electric car maker, Tesla announced yesterday a new partnership to develop electric vehicles and the necessary engineering and manufacturing support to back them.  As part of the deal, Toyota will purchase $50 million of common stock in Tesla as soon as the fledgling automaker goes public.  Tesla also takes over Toyota’s recently shuttered NUMMI manufacturing plant in Fremont, California for an undisclosed sum.

This is great news for Tesla.  But what’s not clear is why Toyota would agree to such a hugely lopsided deal.

Akio Toyoda and Elon Musk pose with California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger at a press conference Thursday (Photo: SF Chronicle)

Tesla has burned through $236 million in capital since it’s 2003 founding.  The Silicon Valley automaker has so far delivered about 1,100 of its $109,000 Roadster electric sports cars and hopes to produce its next vehicle, the Model S electric sedan, by the end of 2012.  Tesla also qualified for $465 million in federal loans last year to be used to purchase a factory and get the Model S to market.

The new deal gives Tesla a fresh infusion of capital and a deal to produce a Toyota-branded vehicle with a Tesla electric powertrain by 2012.  This gives the young automaker a vote of confidence from a major global player and a steady stream of revenue until the Model S comes to market.  Investors will no doubt be salivating in anticipation of the IPO.

Tesla also receives a modern factory with a trained workforce that’s eager to return to work.  Tesla has never manufactured a vehicle from scratch – the Roadster’s chassis and body is built by Lotus Cars in England – and Toyota will supply critical engineering support to get the two new models to market.  Toyota’s manufacturing expertise will allow Tesla to overcome an enormous hurdle that may have otherwise delayed the introduction of the Model S by many months.

Global recall scandal notwithstanding, Tesla also stands to benefit from Toyota’s reputation for quality and efficiency.  And since the Toyota-branded product will launch first, Tesla has time to iron out the kinks in their processes before the Model S comes to market.

The Tesla Model S on display next to the company’s $109,000 Roadster

But why would Toyota willingly enable a competitor with such a generous offer?

From a dollars and cents standpoint, the Japanese automaker will gain virtually nothing from this deal.  Toyota saddling up to Tesla is the automotive equivalent of MIT developing curriculum for the University of Phoenix.

Toyota does not need Tesla’s help to develop electric vehicles.  They’ve already proven their basic competency with the RAV4 EV of the 1990’s and are the undisputed market leader in gas/electric hybrid technology.  Toyota also has a joint venture in place to produce battery packs with Panasonic and has shown working prototypes of plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Put simply, Toyota already knows how to work magic with electrons.

Is this partnership perhaps motivated by guilt from shutting down the NUMMI plant earlier this year?  Toyota CEO, Akio Toyoda reportedly met with Tesla CEO, Elon Musk for the first time six weeks ago, right around the time the NUMMI closed its doors.  Toyoda, himself, apprenticed at the NUMMI plant years ago and said that he, “learned much about working in America (there) so I feel a personal attachment to the plant.”

Though the CEO is obligated by Japanese business culture to provide for his workers, he must know that a niche manufacturer like Tesla is only capable of hiring a handful of the thousands of workers who were laid off at NUMMI.

The truth may be less about money and more about company culture.

Since coming to power in June of 2009, Toyoda has made it clear that he is unhappy with the trajectory established by his predecessor.  He berated his senior managers for allowing the company to grow too quickly, sacrificing quality and customer satisfaction along the way.  Weeks later, Toyota was drawn into a global recall scandal that has so far affected over 9 million vehicles worldwide.

The partnership may signal the fresh direction that Toyoda has been seeking.  The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Musk and Toyoda spent their time together talking and driving around Los Angeles in a Tesla Roadster.  It was a pivotal day for Toyoda, who said, “Simply put, I felt the wind, the wind of the future.”

“He really sees value in understanding how a fast-moving Silicon Valley startup operates,” Musk revealed of Toyoda. “He’s sort of looking at this and saying, ‘We need to go back and remember what it’s like to be a startup.’”

In a press release, Toyoda referenced his own company’s roots and said that by partnering with Tesla, “my hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that ‘venture business spirit,’ and take on the challenges of the future.”  But if a startup spirit is all that the CEO is in search of, why not just hire some senior managers from Silicon Valley and allow employees to wear jeans every day?

The partnership instead removes an enormous barrier for Tesla, teaching them world-class techniques for how to build cars with impeccable quality.  The student will quickly become master and may soon threaten its own teacher.

For Mr. Toyoda’s sake, let’s hope that the inspiration he feels from this deal will translate to his own company’s products.

Week in the knees?  Rapid heartbeat?  Glowing smile?

That, my friends is love at first drive.  It’s the kind of love that can only come from a deep emotional connection to the automobile of your dreams and it’s a feeling that I want to highlight from time to time here on the Honk Blog.

I came across a review today from Lupara and caught myself grinning from ear to ear as she shared stories about her Mercury Milan Hybrid.  Any time you see “WOW!” or “I LOVE IT!” in big capital letters, you know you’ve found someone who is head over heels for their car.

Lupara claims that the fuel economy is even better than her old Vespa scooter and loves that the clever navigation system can pull and map an address that’s stored on her phone.

Besides the enormous enthusiasm for the car, what I liked most about Lupara’s review is that she explained features in the context of her own life.  Her kids, for example, love that they can stay in the car and watch DVDs on the nav-system screen while they wait for her to run errands.  That’s a pretty handy feature if you have children of you own.

Many thanks, Lupara, for sharing such a great review with the Honk community.  Here’s wishing you many happy miles!

To read Lupara’s full review, click here.