At last a chance to post after a busy few weeks.
In Austria at the launch of the new Honda Accord. As usual with Honda, while the car is pretty good, this is really all about engines. Just spent the afternoon trying the 2.2 litre diesel unit, which according to Honda is all, or nearly all new. It really is staggeringly good - it feels five or ten years ahead of most other four cylinder diesel engines out there. I'll be particularly interested to see how Subaru's new boxer diesel stacks up against it; that's turning up in the Legacy in a few weeks' time.
Showing posts with label Honda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Honda. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Sunday, 4 November 2007
What's outside today 29 - Honda CR-V
This is broadly comparable with the Chevrolet Captiva and the Land Rover Freelander 2 which have featured on the Verdict over the last few months.
The Freelander represents a particularly interesting comparison. The first Freelander and the first CR-V had fairly similar styling, which was hardly surprising given that Honda and Rover would still have been close partners during the early part of the two cars' development, although AFAIK they never actually shared any parts.
Honda has just launched the third generation of CR-V - the car tested here - while the Freelander is just into its second model generation, which gives you some idea of the funds available to the two manufacturers for new development.
The two cars are now very different in appearance; Land Rover has very successfully kept the best elements of the first Freelander's styling while at the same time linking its smallest 4x4 more directly in visual terms to its more expensive models such as the Range Rover. Honda's car looks good but a bit anonymous given that it doesn't have sixty years of 4x4 design heritage to tap and therefore has to do its own thing. The Freelander's interior is a lot classier as well, in my opinion.
The CR-V is very car-like to drive - there's very little roll on corners for example - although I'm not especially keen on the steering. Diesels work best in something like this, and Honda's petrol engines, which tend to be revvy with a strong top end would normally be the exact opposite of what you'd want, but the petrol unit in our test car worked reasonably well.
The Freelander represents a particularly interesting comparison. The first Freelander and the first CR-V had fairly similar styling, which was hardly surprising given that Honda and Rover would still have been close partners during the early part of the two cars' development, although AFAIK they never actually shared any parts.
Honda has just launched the third generation of CR-V - the car tested here - while the Freelander is just into its second model generation, which gives you some idea of the funds available to the two manufacturers for new development.
The two cars are now very different in appearance; Land Rover has very successfully kept the best elements of the first Freelander's styling while at the same time linking its smallest 4x4 more directly in visual terms to its more expensive models such as the Range Rover. Honda's car looks good but a bit anonymous given that it doesn't have sixty years of 4x4 design heritage to tap and therefore has to do its own thing. The Freelander's interior is a lot classier as well, in my opinion.
The CR-V is very car-like to drive - there's very little roll on corners for example - although I'm not especially keen on the steering. Diesels work best in something like this, and Honda's petrol engines, which tend to be revvy with a strong top end would normally be the exact opposite of what you'd want, but the petrol unit in our test car worked reasonably well.
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
UK car production on the up
According to the SMMT, UK vehicle production was up 2.1% at the end of September on a year-to-date basis, at 1.29 million.
This means full year production is likely to be not far off the highs achieved in the early Seventies and then again in the first few years of this decade. Thats a remarkable achievement considering that the last few years have seen the closure of Peugeot's plant at Ryton, Vauxhall's Luton works, and the final car assembly end of Ford's Dagenham operation - not to mention the demise of MG Rover.
It is a little remarked upon fact that Britain has lost almost an entire car industry in the last twenty or so years but gained almost an entire new one as well. The old 'Big Four' volume manufacturers - Leyland, Ford, Chrysler/Rootes and Vauxhall, have with the exception of Vauxhall largely disappeared in terms of UK production. What we have in their place are new Japanese plants run by Honda, Toyota and Nissan, as well as revived, previously niche-bound but now massively expanded prestige operations such as Bentley, Aston, Rolls, Land Rover and MINI - only Jaguar isn't really living up to its potential, and even that may change once the new XF hits the market.
One by-product of this shift is that not only is the industry almost as big as it's ever been, but the average value of the cars being made is probably a lot higher. Notwithstanding the possible rationalisation of Land Rover's and Jaguar's production facilities after Ford has sold these off, I think we will now hold on to most of what is left of the British industry.
This means full year production is likely to be not far off the highs achieved in the early Seventies and then again in the first few years of this decade. Thats a remarkable achievement considering that the last few years have seen the closure of Peugeot's plant at Ryton, Vauxhall's Luton works, and the final car assembly end of Ford's Dagenham operation - not to mention the demise of MG Rover.
It is a little remarked upon fact that Britain has lost almost an entire car industry in the last twenty or so years but gained almost an entire new one as well. The old 'Big Four' volume manufacturers - Leyland, Ford, Chrysler/Rootes and Vauxhall, have with the exception of Vauxhall largely disappeared in terms of UK production. What we have in their place are new Japanese plants run by Honda, Toyota and Nissan, as well as revived, previously niche-bound but now massively expanded prestige operations such as Bentley, Aston, Rolls, Land Rover and MINI - only Jaguar isn't really living up to its potential, and even that may change once the new XF hits the market.
One by-product of this shift is that not only is the industry almost as big as it's ever been, but the average value of the cars being made is probably a lot higher. Notwithstanding the possible rationalisation of Land Rover's and Jaguar's production facilities after Ford has sold these off, I think we will now hold on to most of what is left of the British industry.
Monday, 30 July 2007
Great spots 7 - hybrid Ikea company car
A month or two back, Ikea made a bit of a splash in the national press when it announced that it was switching its fleet of company cars from diesels to hybrids.
I spotted one of these recently in the car park at Ikea's store near Leeds - interestingly enough, it's a Honda, rather than the more common Toyota Prius.
I heard a whisper that IKEA's fleet only contains about a dozen cars, so perhaps the impact of this move is going to be limited. However, I did notice that IKEA has switched almost all of the light bulbs on sale in its stores over to the long-life energy-saving type, so perhaps this is more than just corporate greenwash.
I spotted one of these recently in the car park at Ikea's store near Leeds - interestingly enough, it's a Honda, rather than the more common Toyota Prius.
I heard a whisper that IKEA's fleet only contains about a dozen cars, so perhaps the impact of this move is going to be limited. However, I did notice that IKEA has switched almost all of the light bulbs on sale in its stores over to the long-life energy-saving type, so perhaps this is more than just corporate greenwash.
Thursday, 24 May 2007
Damage limitation at Honda
Today's Financial Times carried a report of an interview with Honda's president Takeo Fukui. This conveyed the clear message that Honda's Swindon plant wouldn't receive future major investments because of Britain's failure to join the Euro, and this was quickly picked up by media outlets in other countries.
His language as reported by the Pink'un was unusually blunt by Japanese standards. As the online version of the FT piece has it,
"On past investment in Swindon, Mr Fukui said: “We made a mistake. We thought the UK was in Europe but its reluctance to join the euro is a big problem.” He criticised government ministers who had held out the hope of joining the euro. He now recognises these were empty words."
In future, the UK was likely to lose out to that well-known Eurozone country, er, Turkey.
This evening, the soothing 'what he meant to say' press release from the UK end of Honda, which I reproduce in full below. To be honest, though, I don't know why they bothered. Most Brits couldn't give a toss where their cars are built.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
24 May 2007
Investment in Honda manufacturing story: update from Honda (UK)
BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR HONDA OF THE UK MANUFACTURING
Expansion to maximum 250,000 cars on target
Honda’s manufacturing operation in Swindon is on track with its planned expansion to full capacity. By the end of this year, the UK operation will be producing cars at a rate of 250,000 per annum. An extra 700 associates are being recruited, which will bring the total workforce at Swindon to 5,000.
Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) is also to become a ‘mother’ plant for Honda’s eastern European production facility in Turkey. The UK operation will support the Turkish plant as it increases its production capacity to 50,000 by the end of 2007, with HUM’s design and construction engineers overseeing the expansion programme and helping to train workers. The joint operation will facilitate this growth for Honda in Europe, to a total production figure of 300,000 cars.
Ken Keir, Managing Director of Honda (UK) and Senior Vice President of Honda Motor Europe said: “Honda’s fundamental strategy has been to manufacture products where the demand is, and this very practice has been carried out for our operations here in Europe.”
Mr Keir added: “In terms of business efficiency, we think a single currency would allow us to run our business in a more efficient way. However, Honda has always believed that whether the UK adopts the Euro or not, is a decision for the British people. Therefore, we respect the UK government’s policy concerning the Eurozone.”
Honda’s investment in HUM in Swindon stands at £1.33 billion, since the production facility was opened in 1986. The factory builds the Civic and CR-V cars for European markets in its two car plants. Of the 328,430 Honda cars sold in Europe last year, over 44 per cent were produced by HUM.
Honda has a strict policy of never receiving aid or grants from the governments in any country in which it operates.
ends…
His language as reported by the Pink'un was unusually blunt by Japanese standards. As the online version of the FT piece has it,
"On past investment in Swindon, Mr Fukui said: “We made a mistake. We thought the UK was in Europe but its reluctance to join the euro is a big problem.” He criticised government ministers who had held out the hope of joining the euro. He now recognises these were empty words."
In future, the UK was likely to lose out to that well-known Eurozone country, er, Turkey.
This evening, the soothing 'what he meant to say' press release from the UK end of Honda, which I reproduce in full below. To be honest, though, I don't know why they bothered. Most Brits couldn't give a toss where their cars are built.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
24 May 2007
Investment in Honda manufacturing story: update from Honda (UK)
BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR HONDA OF THE UK MANUFACTURING
Expansion to maximum 250,000 cars on target
Honda’s manufacturing operation in Swindon is on track with its planned expansion to full capacity. By the end of this year, the UK operation will be producing cars at a rate of 250,000 per annum. An extra 700 associates are being recruited, which will bring the total workforce at Swindon to 5,000.
Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) is also to become a ‘mother’ plant for Honda’s eastern European production facility in Turkey. The UK operation will support the Turkish plant as it increases its production capacity to 50,000 by the end of 2007, with HUM’s design and construction engineers overseeing the expansion programme and helping to train workers. The joint operation will facilitate this growth for Honda in Europe, to a total production figure of 300,000 cars.
Ken Keir, Managing Director of Honda (UK) and Senior Vice President of Honda Motor Europe said: “Honda’s fundamental strategy has been to manufacture products where the demand is, and this very practice has been carried out for our operations here in Europe.”
Mr Keir added: “In terms of business efficiency, we think a single currency would allow us to run our business in a more efficient way. However, Honda has always believed that whether the UK adopts the Euro or not, is a decision for the British people. Therefore, we respect the UK government’s policy concerning the Eurozone.”
Honda’s investment in HUM in Swindon stands at £1.33 billion, since the production facility was opened in 1986. The factory builds the Civic and CR-V cars for European markets in its two car plants. Of the 328,430 Honda cars sold in Europe last year, over 44 per cent were produced by HUM.
Honda has a strict policy of never receiving aid or grants from the governments in any country in which it operates.
ends…
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
Greenery. There are other ways - perhaps
When it comes to green PR, Toyota seems to be making most of the running at the moment. Hollywood stars have been flocking to the Prius for a good few years now, and Toyota's hybrid also enjoys an exemption from the London congestion charge - evidence of some effective lobbying work, I guess. Honda gets quite a bit of kudos for going down the hybrid route too, while Ford, and especially Saab, have also won a certain amount of recognition for offering cars that can run on E85, which is 85% renewable bioethanol.
But a couple of other manufacturers are now starting to pipe up, and are politely pointing out that you can get some pretty good results in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions without resorting to drastic solutions like stuffing a car full of batteries and electric motors, or switching to alternative fuels.
Citroen, for example, recently published a pamphlet listing some of its achievements in this area. This mentions its new C4 BioTech which can run on E85, and a prototype diesel hybrid C4, but the emphasis is very much on what it's already been able to do with smaller changes to mainstream cars - small diesel engines that have tailpipe emissions that are almost as low as those of the Prius, particulate filters, Sensodrive automated manual gearboxes and stop-start mechanisms that shut down the engine when a car is stationary and automatically restart when you go to set off.
BMW is another manufacturer that is introducing a lot of these smaller changes in its mainstream cars, as I discovered when I spent yesterday trying some of the company's revamped models in Wiltshire. The main visible changes are modest (to my eye barely noticeable) facelifts for the 1-series and the 5-series, and the introduction of a new pretty three door version of the 1. Under the skin, though, there is a bit more going on, a series of improvements that are being introduced piecemeal to different models under the general heading 'Efficient Dynamics'. This comprises stuff like better diesels, energy-saving electric power steering, regenerative braking and a stop-start system similar to Citroen's. The idea is to save fuel without cutting down on the sort of driving enjoyment that BMWs are famous for, and in this the company seems to have succeeded. I was able to try the revised 535d and 118d; the latter had the stop-start system, which works almost imperceptibly; the engine is cut out if you put the car into neutral with the brakes on, say when you stop for a traffic light. The engine restarts immediately as soon as you depress the clutch and put the car into gear. I was impressed to discover that a by-product of the new start system is the car's ability to restart automatically if you stall it as I did on one occasion.
It wasn't all incremental changes, though; for the longer term, BMW is betting on hydrogen in liquid form. I had a chance to see, but not to drive, a 7 series converted to run on the fuel; this had part of its bodywork cut away to show off the big hydrogen tank that sits between the boot and the back seat. There's a chance the Independent may get to try one of these priceless cars - there is a limited production run of 100 for the time being, with only a few making it to the UK - later this year, so I'll be eager to see whether I can get my hands on it.
But a couple of other manufacturers are now starting to pipe up, and are politely pointing out that you can get some pretty good results in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions without resorting to drastic solutions like stuffing a car full of batteries and electric motors, or switching to alternative fuels.
Citroen, for example, recently published a pamphlet listing some of its achievements in this area. This mentions its new C4 BioTech which can run on E85, and a prototype diesel hybrid C4, but the emphasis is very much on what it's already been able to do with smaller changes to mainstream cars - small diesel engines that have tailpipe emissions that are almost as low as those of the Prius, particulate filters, Sensodrive automated manual gearboxes and stop-start mechanisms that shut down the engine when a car is stationary and automatically restart when you go to set off.
BMW is another manufacturer that is introducing a lot of these smaller changes in its mainstream cars, as I discovered when I spent yesterday trying some of the company's revamped models in Wiltshire. The main visible changes are modest (to my eye barely noticeable) facelifts for the 1-series and the 5-series, and the introduction of a new pretty three door version of the 1. Under the skin, though, there is a bit more going on, a series of improvements that are being introduced piecemeal to different models under the general heading 'Efficient Dynamics'. This comprises stuff like better diesels, energy-saving electric power steering, regenerative braking and a stop-start system similar to Citroen's. The idea is to save fuel without cutting down on the sort of driving enjoyment that BMWs are famous for, and in this the company seems to have succeeded. I was able to try the revised 535d and 118d; the latter had the stop-start system, which works almost imperceptibly; the engine is cut out if you put the car into neutral with the brakes on, say when you stop for a traffic light. The engine restarts immediately as soon as you depress the clutch and put the car into gear. I was impressed to discover that a by-product of the new start system is the car's ability to restart automatically if you stall it as I did on one occasion.
It wasn't all incremental changes, though; for the longer term, BMW is betting on hydrogen in liquid form. I had a chance to see, but not to drive, a 7 series converted to run on the fuel; this had part of its bodywork cut away to show off the big hydrogen tank that sits between the boot and the back seat. There's a chance the Independent may get to try one of these priceless cars - there is a limited production run of 100 for the time being, with only a few making it to the UK - later this year, so I'll be eager to see whether I can get my hands on it.
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Featured web-links 1 - Fourwheelsteer
This is aspiring motoring journalist John Lambert's blog. John is especially keen on those fascinating but obscure old Hondas that had four-wheel steering. John has already had work published at the Pistonheads website and in the Independent.
http://fourwheelsteer.blogspot.com
http://fourwheelsteer.blogspot.com
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