New Honda New cars review 2009

That pesky recession! Who does it think it is, coming over here, taking our jobs, hitting everyone in the pocket, grabbing all the headlines, making the lives of us Brits a misery? The best way for Britain to cope with the dire straits that is the recession, is to put on a brave face. Britain may not be the best in the world at many things these days, but one thing we are good at is having a laugh in the face of adversity.The latest news that one of the world’s largest car manufacturers, Honda, are to stop production at their British factory in Swindon for the next four months, affecting 75 per cent of Honda’s 4,000 strong British factory workforce.

Honda’s global third quarter net profit has dropped by a staggering 89 per cent, and even though Business Secretary Lord Mandelson announced a government support package for the UK car industry which could be up to 2.3 billion pounds, the Japanese car giant has had to go ahead with the longest factory shutdown in recent history.

Many car manufacturers have had to make cut-backs in production simply because demand for brand new cars during these difficult financial times is way below levels of supply - Honda dealers have not experienced such a slowdown in turnover that something just had to give and it makes perfect business sense to cut production, sit back and reflect on how the next quarter pans out.

Despite Honda stating that they jobs are safe, it is common knowledge that over a quarter of factory staff have taken up voluntary redundancy, perhaps as they see no end to the gloom and doom in the near future.

Fears that the halt in production in Swindon may continue past the next four months have been dispelled, or at least there lies some hope, as Honda are going ahead with part orders - a measure that they surely would not take if they felt that production would continue to stop for an even longer time period.

Honda usually produce 240,000 cars from their Swindon factory, but that figure will halve over the course of the next year and elsewhere, global production will be slashed by 56,000 units. Honda is yet to announce whether employees from their other business sectors and departments in the U, such as Honda dealers and administration staff will be affected during the next year, which finance experts are saying will continue in recession, possibly through to 2010.

Honda dealers have obviously experienced a slowdown in business, both in the sale of brand new vehicles - the bread and butter, where the highest margins are made - and also used cars from Honda dealers.

Figures are set to continue to decrease for the duration of 2009 as Honda economists have forecast a net profit for the year to March 2009 to be less than half of its earlier forecast of 185 billion yen. The company’s net profit for the quarter ending December 2008 was 180 billion yen below the mark reached during the same quarter the previous year - a staggering example of just how badly affected the car industry has been since the global economy took a nosedive.

The Swindon factory workforce will obviously be concerned, but will no doubt be putting on a brave face, in true British fashion. Let’s hope, like the global economy, their fortunes can change over the next year.

Newer cars are coming out that get better fuel mileage than the older models. Also, there are all sorts of fuel additives that are able to increase your cars mpg.

In the first place, why do we cling to gasoline as our fuel source? Many other sources have materialized that can give power to a vehicle. There are technical as well as economical agents involved. There are certain citizens that have an invested interest in keeping gasoline as our main source of fuel who will want to make sure that it stays that way.

There are certain types of alcohols that can be applied as an alternative fuel for cars that have already been used in the past century to power cars. The electrical energy is stored in the shape of batteries.

Hybrid cars have been built to use electrical energy from both gasoline and battery storage. These cars run by battery, kicking the fuel engine in only when needed. The gas engine doesn’t usually kick in unless you are accelerating at a high speed or if you are going up a hill. This causes these cars to get much better miles per gallon of fuel.

One possibility would be hydrogen, which is much cleaner for the environment, but at the present time it takes up too much space which causes a problem with storage during transport.

There is also a water system being sold today that can be attached to your cars fuel system.There has been reportings of up to a 30% increase, and even a little more, of fuel efficiency. This is really good for many people who are concerned about getting high fuel efficiency, however it is highly recommended to check with a professional to see if your cars warranty will still be honored if this system is added to your vehicle.

You can also find other potential alternative fuel sources as well.

Even though gasoline fuel is not friendly for the environment,it does have a few friendly facets in regards to it. For a little bit of fuel it produces lots of zip! All of the alternatives each have their own effects in terms of how viable they are, both economically as well as environmentally.

For example, a fuel called ethanol, is produced from sugar cane or corn crops and is an inebriant that can be blended with gasoline up to a ratio of approximately 85% ethanol to 15% gasoline. A great deal of land is required to produce sufficient amounts of ethanol. It takes about 1 gallon of ethanol to give about 2/3 of the energy of 1 gallon of gasoline. When ignited it still creates a substantial amount of carbon dioxide, therefore it is not hugely environmentally friendly.

Another potential answer for an alternative fuel for cars in the future are batteries that store solar energy, but technology is not enough advanced at this point to provide adequate energy to run a vehicle as compared to cars running on gasoline.

Another potential solution would be atomic energy. But this, as well, has has various possible cons such as the yield of nuclear waste. The current use of nuclear power would increase by approximately nine times.

So, even though we would all be happy to get free from gas as our primary source of power to energize our cars and to have an alternative fuel for cars there are economic as well as technical matters which need to be mastered before this can be accomplished to our satisfaction in order to resolve our optional power sources.

The hybrid auto was made due to the insistence for cars that consumed less energy making it greener on the environment and more cost effective on your pocketbook. So what is a hybrid? Hybrids are vehicles that combine two or more sources directly or indirectly provide propulsion is a hybrid. In other words, when a vehicle uses gasoline and electricity as forms of power, then it’s a hybrid. When looking at the right hybrid auto for you, you need to research these five:Nissan Altima Hybrid

I’m from Bristol a city with a proud heritage albeit with the notable exception of the slave trade. One of the things we Bristolians do possess is a bit of a mischievous sense of humour which often involves taking the mickey out of surrounding towns. Unfortunately Swindon has long been the recipient of a lot of remarks although in fairness they have often been made by people who are actually from the town, most notably Mark Lamarr.I guess its a bit like when you are running down a member of your family and if your partner joins in you rush to the family member’s defence arguing that its ok for you to criticise them but no-one else. Having said that I have been to Swindon on a number of occasions and I have to agree with the sentiments expressed by Andy Partridge the former lead singer of Swindon band XTC. You’ll have to look these up for yourself.

Despite the amount of criticism Swindon has received, a fair amount of celebrities and stars including the late actress Diana Dors were born there. Who can forget the likes of Melinda Messenger who proved she had hidden talents whilst working at a local Direct Mail company before going on to more dubious fame.

Swindon has a strong railway tradition and was chosen by Isambard Brunel as the location for his Great Western Railway (GWR) works. Part of the site still remains and is the home of the steam railway museum.

Since the demise of the railways and the overall decline in British manufacturing industry Swindon became a centre of commerce with a lot of financial companies relocating from London to provincial towns and cities in order to reduce costs. As a result Swindon became a boom town in the eighties and nineties and even attempted to boost its importance by applying for City status. Unfortunately this proved to be unsuccessful but Swindon did succeed in drawing manufacturing back in the form of Honda.

This was a real coup for the area and for Britain as a whole which didn’t have the best reputation when it came to car manufacturing. We seem to be able to build some of the best cars in the world when it comes to hand crafting luxury or sports models for the rich and famous. When it comes to knocking out utilitarian vehicles for the masses you could guarantee production would last for about half an hour before some kind of industrial dispute would develop.

Honda took a big risk then and entrusted the manufacture of its successful Civic model which had been selling well since 1973 believe it or not. Honda had a brief encounter with Triumph who were part of British Leyland and some pretty ropey cars briefly appeared badged as Triumph and then Rover. Since then two million cars have rolled off the production line at Swindon including about a million Civics.

I must admit that personally I wasn’t a big fan of the Civic especially since the time I arrived back to a car park to find a collection of intellectually challenged young men attempting to remove the spoiler from the roof of my Mitsubishi Colt. They were then proposing to attach it somehow to their Honda Civic although as the spoiler was bolted to the roof they just succeeded in causing about £500 worth of damage to my car.

I have since recovered from this and must say that the latest version of the Civic and come to think of it the one before are very stylish cars.

I do still find it intriguing that the appeal of the Civic seems to be divided between those in their twenties and people above retirement age. Honda is no doubt aware of this but even the retro triangular designs of the latest Civic seem to work for young and old. The Civic shows no sign of losing its appeal though and long may it continue. There is no doubt that the Honda plant in Swindon has contributed significantly to the prosperity of the town.

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.

• Nissan Altima Hybrid: Getting fired up by the Hybrid rush, Nissan also choose to unleash its dragon- the Altima Hybrid. This 4 door family sedan has a capability of seating 5 people and does not have any variants. Equipped with 2.5 litre I4 hybrid engine that gives a mileage of 33-35 mpg with 158 Hp, Altima comes with a variable speed automatic transmission as standard.

• BMW 5 series: An already powerful, sophisticated and technologically advanced vehicle got a face lift in the year 2008. The major changes in the BMW 5 series happened in the exterior design and engine power area. BMW 5 series is available in six variants and caters to everything from super luxury sedan, luxury sports sedan to luxury wagon. The basic variant of this car starts with 528i sedan and has a 3.0 litre 16 valve engine that gives 230 Hp with 18-28 mpg in city and highway; this has a 6 speed manual transmission. The 550i sedan is the top end model of the 5 series line-up and comes in 4.8 litres, V8 engine which churns a 380 Hp with 15-22 mpg in city and highway; this variant also has a 6 speed manual transmission as standard and an optional 6 speed automatic transmission.

• Audi A4: 2008 came with another striking performer - the Audi A4. Sharing the visual appeal of the Audi A5, the Audi A4 is a visual masterpiece created to work wonders both inside and out. One of the major features of the Audi A4 is the presence of Daytime running lights and Drive select which make it distinct from the tough competition form BMW 3 series and the Mercedes C-class. With the press of just one button, the drive select feature can adjust the suspension, steering ratio and related knick knacks for a comfortable or sporty ride. Available with 10 variants, the Audi A4 2.0 litre 2.0T SE Avant Quattro Tiptronic gives a mileage of 19-27 with 200Hp and comes with 6 speed automatic transmission as standard.

• Honda Accord Coupe: Being one of the flagship models of the Honda brand, it was necessary to upgrade the Honda Accord Coupe to meet the likes of Nissan Altima. Honda Accord Coupe is a 2 door family coupe which has a 5 passenger seating capability. It is also available as a sports coupe. With a 5 speed manual transmission as standard, the basic LX-S 5-Spd MT has a 2.4 Litre I4 engine that gives 190 Hp and has a mileage of 22-31 mpg in city and highway. The top-end EX-L V-6 5-Spd AT w/ Navigation System comes with a 3.5 Litre V6 engine that can cruise with 268 Hp while achieving a mileage of 19mpg on city roads and 28mpg on highways, it has a 5 speed automatic transmission as standard.

Overall car production in 2008 has remained on expected lines however some companies did experience a slowdown in demand owing to the economic slowdown in many countries.