Honda Betting on Hydrogen Only

Honda has long been a maverick in the auto industry. It currently does not produce a V-8 engine; years back, during SUV's heyday, an American Honda dealership begged Honda America to consider a V-8 block for its pickup trucks or SUVs. The dealership recieved a box of V8 tomato juice.

Going further against the vehicle mainstream, Honda is also staying away from EV development, instead focusing on hydrogen only. Is this a good decision? Is hydrogen more practical; will it not matter, meaning we'll use both; or is Honda on the path of foolhardiness?

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Despite recent blows to hydrogen infrastructure development, Honda this week reaffirmed that it will be mass-produced. The automaker still has plans to make a future version of the FCX on a mass-production scale within ten years.

California has kept with that long-term vision, along with a short-term one to build up the infrastructure before the vehicles. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been bullish on hydrogen, pushing ahead for more hydrogen vehicles and an expanded infrastructure, and even declaring his love for the FCX. And that was after the Obama administration had made some strong moves away from federal funding of hydrogen projects and toward battery technology and charging infrastructure, with Energy Secretary Steven Chu declaring that hydrogen vehicles were still 10 to 20 years from viability.

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Toyota president Akio Toyoda last week said that the company also plans a publicly available fuel-cell car within six years, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi and Nissan are betting on electric cars, with Nissan recently unveiling its LEAF, a car that will be mass-produced in the U.S. beginning in 2012. General Motors is preparing its much-publicized extended-range electric vehicle, the Volt, but it's also still moving ahead with fuel-cell development, says Automotive News, despite tremendous cost hurdles to overcome.

An important point to remember is that these two technologies aren't completely independent. However, a Honda engineer explained to TheCarConnection.com earlier this year that electric-vehicle technology is a building block for hydrogen tech. Honda is working on lithium-ion batteries, motors, and charging as part of its fuel-cell development, so if electric vehicles end up being the popular solution, the company will be prepared.

- Brewskie

Honda Planning Two More Cheap Hybrids

Honda is planning to roll out two more gas-electric hybrids - both cheaper than the current Insight:

With news coming in that Honda isn't selling nearly as many Insight hybrids in the U.S. as it would like, it would seem the Japanese automaker could go one of a few different directions. It's possible that Honda could reverse course on hybrids and focus instead on incremental improvements to its already excellent line of internal combustion engines. Alternatively, Honda could double down on its hybrid program and commit to more models and development. It's this latter path that the automaker seems to favor.

According to a report in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper in Japan (via Green Car Advisor), Honda President Takeo Fukui says the automaker is working on two new hybrids that would cost less than the Insight's already low $19,800 starting price. We've already heard about the planned Fit Hybrid, but we'd be a bit surprised if the second low-cost model were the upcoming CR-Z hybrid hatchback, which is expected to join Honda's lineup as a 2011 model.

- Brewskie

Second-Generation Insight Hits Showrooms March 24

The second-generation Honda Insight, the first sub-$20,000 hybrid, goes on sale March 24 with a sticker price starting at $19,800. It's estimated fuel economy will be 40 mpg in the city, and 43 on the highway. While respectable, it's two less highway mpg than the Civic hybrid, eight fewer highway miles than the current-generation Prius (the next-generation Prius is suppose to achieve 49 city, 50 highway), and one city mile less than the upcoming Ford Fusion hybrid - a medium sized car (starting at $27,000).

Undoubtedly, the relatively low sticker price is sparking interest in the car, as evidenced by Honda's recent announcement that they'll increase hybrid production.

- Brewskie

Honda to Increase Hybrid Production

(Editor's note: Ghawar Guzzler will once again try blockquote for article excerpts.)

Honda has been hit by the global slowdown like most carmakers, and has seen its earning decline like oil companies; but this isn't stopping the pirate from unloading its war plunder and gear for battle. It's time to whip the lackadaisical crew into battle frenzied and churn out more Insights.

Demand for Insight hybrids has been overwhelming; Honda is beefing up factory RPM's, planning to spit out more Insights. Excerpt from the blog below:

Honda had originally planned to sell 200,000 Insight hybrids over the next year — half in America and 60,000 in Japan, reports Reuters. But the “response has been overwhelming,” said Hiroshi Kobayashi, deputy chief operating officer for Honda’s domestic operations. “We will have to increase production plans,” he said, though he stopped short of saying how many more Honda would build.

In Japan, the Insight will start at about $20,000, which is much cheaper than the new Toyota Prius, which will go on sale in May with a base price of about $24,300.

- Brewskie

Honda's 2010 Insight

The return of Honda's Insight. It will be priced around $19,000 - $4,000 cheaper than the Prius, but with lower fuel efficiency. A strange oddity is Ford's upcoming Fusion hybrid, a larger car, will achieve slightly better city fuel economy (41 mpg vs. 40 mpg) then this little space pod, though at a higher price of $27,000. Still, it's good to see Honda stepping up with a what appears as a competitive hybrid: one that doesn't resemble an aerodynamic soda can flying down the road, barely sipping atoms of petroleum-based fuel, while primarily running on psychedelic dreams. This will suffice until we get this money shot below filling up the roads: