New Honda New cars review 2009

In my younger days I worked for a number of advertising agencies the most well known of which was McCann Erickson. As a result I still have a keen interest in advertising especially on television where the commercials tend to be the most memorable. Every once in a while an advert comes along that really sticks in the mind, often long after you have forgotten what the actual product being advertised was.The famous ‘Cog’ advert for the Honda Accord was first aired on British television back in 2003. Honda has a huge diverse market in the US but in the UK the appeal has always tended to be towards older buyers perhaps with the exception of the high performance models. The creative brief for the 2003 campaign must have incorporated a section which said something like we need more mass appeal for the Accord and how do we target a more youthful aspiring and ultimately trendier buyer?

Cue the ‘Cog’ advert to the soundtrack of “Rappers Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang. The agency must have pitched the concept impeccably and how the suited Honda executives approved the advert we may never know. At the time it was a creative stroke of genius, the advert was two minutes long so the media budget alone would have been huge. Although the running time was subsequently reduced the message had certainly been delivered in style. The advert consisted of a visually stunning chain reaction of car components rolling together to create a domino effect which culminated in a finished car effortlessly rolling off a balanced trailer and coming to rest before the camera. The cleverly chosen voiceover of US author Garrison Keillor then delivered the line “Isn’t it nice when things just work?”

I first saw the advert at the cinema and was fascinated by the attention to detail. I have subsequently found out that the advert took over 600 takes to complete and utilised only minimal amounts of CGI. That was the brilliant thing about it, someone had lovingly and meticulously arranged all the individual components to move at just the right moment and it must have taken hours to set up just for one relatively short commercial. I can’t remember what film I saw but I remember the Accord advert so there’s the power of advertising for you!

Echoing the sentiments of the commercial it is nice when things work especially cars as let’s face it they are a means of getting us from A to B without letting us down. This has been the appeal of the Accord and for Honda and Japanese cars in general. Critics would say that the Accord doesn’t have the flair or Gallic charm of French cars or the sheer status of German Marques but after having once owned a Honda I realised what owning a reliable car is all about. They always start first time, mine never needed any oil between changes and it never let me down once. The trouble is you can easily take this for granted, something that I later discovered when I decided to return to a French car which although had bags of character it always managed to leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere in the rain.

The Accord has been getting people to work on time and not blowing up on family holidays since 1976 and is now in its eighth generation. Honda has developed a diesel engine which is the envy of the competition and has exemplarary standards of emissions and fuel economy which is becoming ever more important in this age of increasing fuel prices. The latest Accord is larger than its predecessors and has a high quality feel and outstanding build quality. Bullet proof reliability now comes as standard and with the popularity in the US the Accord doesn’t need clever advertising it just seems to sell itself.

Just after Toyota’s announcement, that the production of the Plug-In Prius is fastened, Honda revealed the concept of new Honda Insight. The Honda Insight will be the world’s cheapest hybrid car ever, with a price of roughly $18,000, it will undercut the best selling hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, by at least $5,000. Honda announced the company’s goal is to sell around 200,000 Insight’s annually, 50 percent of that in the U.S. The Toyota Prius was sold 181,000 times last year, so Honda aims to build a best-seller.Honda will officially debut the concept of the new Insight at the Paris Autoshow next month. Although only a concept car, the Insight looks down-to-earth and ready for production. Honda declared the new Insight will look almost the same as the concept car, except some minor changes.

The Insight will be offered as a five-door hatchback, with five seats for the passengers. Honda’s new hybrid car will be built on a lately engineered platform. Power will be produced by the Honda Civic’s IMA electric motor coupled with a gasoline engine. The company also revealed the car will feature a lighter and weaker electric motor than the successful Honda Civic Hybrid. Thanks to the lighter engine, Honda managed to reduce the price of this vehicle. The company also promised the Insight will achieve an unbelievable 60 miles per gallon.

The new Honda Insight will be built in Japan and go on sale in the U.S., in Japan and on the old continent, Europe, in the middle of 2009.

The Price

The biggest disadvantage of hybrid cars is definitely the price! For instance, the 2008 Toyota Camry costs about $19,000, while the hybrid version costs almost $25,000. That is approximately a $6,000 difference, which is a lot of money. Another example is the 2008 Honda Civic with a base price of $15,000, while the Civic Hybrid is costs $7,000 more. On average, the hybrid version of a car costs between $2,000 and $4,000 more than the non- hybrid version.

Dangerous in Accidents

Although the electric engine gives you more mileage and helps you save gas, it can be also dangerous in a collision. Most hybrid cars use metal hydride batteries and the high voltage that they store can be really unsafe when the wires are exposed, thus there is a chance the driver will get electrocuted when involved in an accident.

The Battery

As mentioned above, the batteries in hybrid cars can kill theoretically. There are some other issues with the battery. Hybrid car manufacturers include warranties to cover the batteries for 80,000-100,000 miles. The carmakers also say the car’s battery will last forever. But what if something unforeseen happens and the car’s batteries are not under warranty anymore? Unfortunately batteries cost a fortune! The other problem with the batteries is that it needs to be recharged at least every second week. So, if you go to vacation you might need to find a “car-sitter” to take care of your car. Some hybrid car owners also report problems with the battery in cold weather.

Performance

No offense, but most hybrid cars are slow! They have slower acceleration and a lower top-speed than conventional counterparts. If you are in need for speed, hybrid cars won’t satisfy your needs! Hybrid cars will make you drive slow, which is actually not a bad thing!

Despite all these drawbacks, hybrid cars are the way to! Car manufacturers are working to eliminate these disadvantages. I am pretty sure hybrid cars in the near future will be lighter, safer and provide better performance!

Here are the top reasons not to buy a hydrogen conversion kit or invest in a hydrogen car:

1. Do I look like a mechanic? I’ll never figure it out! Hydrogen conversion kits are too complicated.

2. I’m not made of money! I can never afford a hydrogen car!

3. It will damage my car and then I’ll be out of several grand.

4. These are nothing but scams. There’s no way this hydrogen conversion kit can work, despite all evidence to the contrary.

5. I really like spending my money at the gas station. It gives me a reason to stop and buy candy and soda.

Let’s look at these items one at a time.

1. Building and installing a hydrogen conversion kit is a bit of a task, but if you are the kind of person who changes your own oil, you can make your own hydrogen car modification.

2. The instruction manuals are cheap these days. Most starting around the sixty dollar mark and the majority of the hydrogen conversion kits come with a money back guarantee. You can’t beat that.

3. Hydrogen conversion kits give you instructions to only produce hydrogen on demand, making it much safer than a hydrogen fuel cell car.

4. There have been papers written on the subject of hydrogen conversion kits. As well as a plethora of videos uploaded to YouTube from people like you who achieved success. The truth is, whether you believe it or not, people are getting positive results from creating hydrogen cars with hydrogen conversion kits they have bought online. Currently they are being bought and installed on thousands of cars. If hydrogen cars were not a viable option car manufactures such as Honda, Toyota, and Chrysler would not be wasting their time developing hydrogen car prototypes. Whether you believe it or not, it’s hard to deny the fact that hydrogen can be extracted from water and that hydrogen generators are currently working on thousands of cars.

5. If you really like spending an average of fifty dollars a week on gas, or more, then a hydrogen car isn’t for you. If you want to spend this summer home rather than on a family road trip, you should pass on the hydrogen conversion kit. Just keep on walking.

The highly acclaimed Civic and Accord saw Honda make rapid international progress. Today, the company makes everything from cars and motorbikes, robots, jets and jet engines, to lawn and garden equipment. Honda’s current crop of cars includes the Accord, CR-V, Civic, FR-V, Jazz, Legend and S2000.

HONDA HISTORY
In 1948 Honda’s founder, Soichiro Honda, started a new company: Honda Motor Co. They soon came up with the “batabata”, a motorised bicycle named after the sound the engine made which became a huge hit across Japan. Later, Honda’s most popular model, the Dream, could be spotted all over the Japanese islands.

Honda introduced its first car in 1957, the N360. In 1958, the American Honda Company was created. In 1972 Honda entered the American market with the small fuel efficient Civic - just as the energy crisis was hitting economies. In 1986 Honda introduced a luxury line of cars and in 2007 Honda announced plans to launch low-priced hybrids.

HONDA FACTS

• Type: Public company
• Founded: September 24, 1948
• Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
• Key People: Soichiro Honda, Founder. Takeo Fukui, CEO
• Industry: Automobile & Truck manufacturer & Motorcycle
• Products: cars, trucks, motorcycles, scooters, ATVs, electrical generators, robotics, marine equipment, jets and jet engines, and lawn and garden equipment, Acura vehicles.

FEATURED MODELS

• HONDA ACCORD - manufactured since 1976, first as a compact hatchback and then evolving into a premium large family estate and saloon car
• HONDA CIVIC - a compact car first manufactured in 1972 and now in its eighth generation. The Civic Type-R is a widely respected hot hatch, while the Civic IMA is a hybrid with an electric motor and petrol engine
• HONDA CR-V - public demand for a sport-utility vehicle from Honda led to the creation of this compact crossover SUV in 1996
• HONDA FR-V - a clever six seat MPV, which features three seats in the front and three in the back
• HONDA JAZZ - a five-door hatchback car first produced in 2001. It rivals the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris and is known as the Fit in Japan, China, and America
• HONDA S2000 - a two-seat roadster created to celebrate Honda’s 50th anniversary and launched in April 1999
• HONDA LEGEND - a large luxury car which is currently in its fourth generation

DID YOU KNOW?

• The Honda Cub motorcycle is the best-selling vehicle in history, with around 50 million sold worldwide
• Soichiro Honda was president of the Honda Motor Company until retiring in 1973. He was labeled “the Japanese Henry Ford” by People magazine in 1980
• The first passenger vehicle in the world to have four-wheel steering technology was the Honda Prelude in 1987
• In 1964, Honda entered Formula One racing for the first time, recording its first victory the following year. It’s current F1 campaign is headed by British racer, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello from Brazil
• In 1991, Honda posted its 10th consecutive win in the Isle of Man TT.

What Makes a Car a Hybrid?

Essentially, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that runs on two different fuel sources. A great example would be a sailboat that runs on rowing as well as electric power. Hybrid cars on the other hand run on both fuel and electricity. It then allows the car to run longer on lesser fuel. That makes the hybrid car an environmentally and wallet friendly vehicle.

Hybrid Cars and the Environment

Other than consuming lesser fuel, hybrid cars also generates lesser amounts of harmful car emissions compared to other vehicles. Here are a few ways that Hybrid cars save on fuel.

SUFFICIENT BATTERIES - The secondary power source of Hybrid cars are the batteries. Hybrid car batteries are capable of saving and reusing energy. It works similarly to electric cars, sans the plug, making it more convenient.

GASOLINE/ DIESEL CHOKE - regular cars use up a lot of gasoline when the engines continue running even when the car is at a standstill. Hybrid cars supplement that. They are designed to shut off the gasoline or diesel engine when it is not moving. During this time, the car relies on the power provided by the battery. A decrease in fuel use also means a decrease in car emissions.

Top Hybrid Cars in the Market Today

Hybrid cars are all the rage today because not only are they fuel efficient, they do the environment good too. The top three hybrid cars available today are as follows.

TOYOTA PRIUS - The Prius has been in the market for nearly a decade. Such longevity can only attest to the quality of the vehicle. It is the best car if you want to save money. This little beauty can run for miles and miles and still have a gallon or two to spare. The great thing about the Prius is that its manufacturers have made it functional as well. Unlike other hybrid models, the Prius comes with a spacious cargo hatch. It is also one of the most affordable hybrids in the market today.

SATURN VUE GREEN LINE - It may not be considered as a full hybrid, but the Saturn Vue Green Line can certainly hold off on fuel use. And, if you are looking for an SUV and save money on fuel at the same time, then this is the hybrid car for you. The only problem with this SUV hybrid is that it’s doesn’t have a 4-wheel drive option.

HONDA CIVIC HYBRID - The Honda Civic is one most recognizable car in the world. That is why it’s such a treat that the company has come up with a hybrid version. The Civic Hybrid can run up to 54% longer on a full tank of gas compared to a regular car. Not bad. As an added bonus, the Civic Hybrid is also a great car to drive.

Hybrid cars definitely help fight the pollution problem by reducing emissions.Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor. The electric motor kicks in at certain because of this hybrid engine gets significantly better gas mileage than a conventional gas engine.

Hybrids consume less gas and produce less pollution per mile than conventional gasoline engines. Hybrid cars have been on the market in the United States since 1999, but more and more are being developed and introduced each year.

The hybrid engine currently sold in the Honda Civic Hybrid gets 10 to 15 miles more per gallon than a regular gas engine in the same car. The hybrid engine of the Prius, made by Toyota, produces 90 percent fewer harmful emissions than a comparable gasoline engine. No doubt about it, these cars are good for the environment!

Hybrids are more expensive. Just like with any new technology, you will pay for the privilege of being a pioneer. The hybrid cars on the market today cost as much as $6000 more per car than comparable cars with conventional gas engines.

This means that the amount of money you save, or don’t save, by buying a hybrid is very much dependent on gasoline prices and also depends upon how long you intend to keep the vehicle.

If you are the type person who trades every two years you may very well not benefit from the savings. If gas is priced at $1.80 per gallon (we wish), it could take the average driver (15,000 miles per year) between 10 and 15 years to amortize the $3500 increase in the initial price.

If gas prices stay the way they are at the time of this writing in October, 2005 you will realize savings much more quickly.

The Federal government is still offering tax breaks to buyers of hybrid cars through 2006. The amount of the tax break you are able to claim depends on the year in which you file and the tax bracket you’re in. Some individual states also offer tax breaks for hybrid buyers. So maybe being an environmentalist has its tax advantages.

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Gas prices have stabilized somewhat over the last few weeks and even dipped a bit. That’s great news for folks who have long commutes, or who operate vehicle fleets. Most of us seem to relax when gas prices go down ten cents or so, if only because that means that they are at least not rising. In doing so we lose sight of the fact that gas is still really expensive.The current national average price of gas is $3.94 a gallon and while that is somewhat better than the $4.07 a gallon a month ago, we quickly forget that a year ago gasoline was $2.89 at the pump. That’s a 27% increase in price. Can you imagine if other things in your life were to go up 27%? Most people exist with less than a 10% margin between their income and their bills. An increase of that size in too many things would drive most people irreparably into the red.

So what are we going to do about it?

Well, to start with, we know that it’s energy in general that is becoming more expensive. While there are certainly people standing to profit from this increase the main cause is that more nations are becoming industrialized and starting to drive cars. China and India represent 1/3 of the world’s population and their booming auto industry is creating unheard of demand for gasoline. On top of that most of the easily accessible hydrocarbon fuel deposits are gone and it costs more money to get at coal and other power and heating fuels. Since many power plants run on oil, this brings the price of all fuels up.

It’s the unfortunate downside to the global economy.

One of the fuels that is being heralded as a potential savior is hydrogen. It is the most common element in the universe and is available in abundant supply on earth. It’s one of the core components of water, H20. Through a process known as electrolysis, the hydrogen can be extracted from water and made available as a fuel. The byproduct of this process is oxygen, not a bad thing to have a refinery spit out at all.

Many car manufacturers have recognized Hydrogen as a promising fuel source and vehicles such as the BMW Hydrogen 7 and the Honda FCX Clarity have been produced. While they are currently only available in limited numbers and markets where there are hydrogen fuel stations, they are out there and it is a positive step for the economy and the world in general as their only exhaust is water vapor.

BMW’s Hydrogen 7 Car uses a fairly regular car engine.

The engines that our car’s use are called Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) and essentially they simply burn something inside of themselves. An example of an External Combustion Engine would be a steam engine where the fire is outside of the engine itself. While these engines have been refined to burn petroleum based fuels, they are capable of running on many other fuels, the only concern being that some fuels are more corrosive, or may be a solvent to some of the elements of the car’s engines.

Luckily hydrogen is not corrosive and none of a car’s components will dissolve in it. In fact with not a lot of alteration, most car engines could run 100% on hydrogen.

How would you store enough hydrogen to run your car on it entirely? Well, quite simply you wouldn’t. It’s not that you couldn’t, but the cost of getting a fuel tank for your car that could safely store that amount of hydrogen is somewhat prohibitive.

So is there an alternative that can help out?

Interestingly enough, there is. The engine in your car would be perfectly happy to get a mixture of Hydrogen and gasoline. In fact, the hydrogen and the extra oxygen that you get from electrolysis actually help the gasoline to burn better. Some people get as much as a 42% increase in their mileage by simply adding a moderate amount of hydrogen to their car’s engine.

That’s the same as paying $2.20 a gallon for gasoline.

So how is this done, you ask? The process is achieved by using a device that you can install under the hood of your car and using electric power from your car’s alternator to power an electrolyzer that produces hydrogen on the fly as it is needed. This means that there is no storage of hydrogen and no issues with having to find a gas station that sells hydrogen as there are less than 200 worldwide. The only thing you have to add to the device is water!