World Auto News & Reviews

The second-generation Honda Insight has been named one of five finalists for the 2010 World Green Car award, to be announced at the New York International Auto Show on 1 April, 2010.

The World Car awards were launched in January 2004 to recognise and reward automotive excellence on an international scale.

Should the second-generation Insight win, it will follow in the wheel tracks of Honda’s FCX Clarity which was the 2009 World Green Car.
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The 2010 Year Model Honda Accord is to receive curtain airbags as standard across the entire range.

Already standard on the Accord VTi-L and V6L models, curtain airbags are now standard in the entry level Accord VTi.

All 2010 Year Model Accords feature a comprehensive array of safety equipment including the ACE body structure, VSA, ABS brakes with EBD, dual front, side and full length curtain airbags.
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Judging by the comments you made on our 2011 Honda CR-Z Detroit Auto Show debut post, you guys don’t seem too impressed by Honda’s new hybrid hatchback. We haven’t driven the CR-Z (and probably won’t for a while), but we’re praying that its better than the Insight we drove last month.

Nonetheless, Honda seems pretty keen on letting people know that the CR-Z will be fun to drive hybrid. In a new video released today, Honda engineers let us know what their inspirations were when producing the CR-Z hybrid.

Some quotes in the video that may surprise you:

* “We therefore wanted to realize the agile handling of the Mini…”
* During the development of the CR-Z we have driven many cars and have also bought several cars for comparison and benchmarking – the Mini, the Scirocco, but also a Lotus Elise.”
* …”and set the body stiffness at a similar level to that of a Civic Type R.”

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After a few weeks worth of leaked images and brochure fluff, Honda has finally pulled the covers off its next new production hybrid hatchback. The Japanese automaker claims the CR-Z will bring back the kind of driving joy that hasn’t been felt since the CRX last left dealer lots in 1991, saying that owners will embrace this new mild hybrid with both their hearts and minds. We certainly hope they’re right.While we’re really digging the looks of the CR-Z and the way it hearkens back to the classic CRX and even the original Insight hybrid, we’ve gotta admit that we’re a tad bit disappointed with the specifications. With 122 horsepower on tap and just 128 lb-ft of torque from the 1.5-liter VTEC four-cylinder with Integrated Motor Assist, shouldn’t we expect more than 36 miles per gallon in the city and 38 on the highway from the CR-Z?
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Honda Helpful Campaign Celebrates Inspiring Individuals Who Make a Difference in the Community During Ceremony at Petersen Automotive Museum, January 20th
The Southern California Honda Dealers Association, known for the memorable “Helpful” campaign now in its fourth year, has selected the recipients for this year’s Honda Helpful Awards, a commemorative event honoring true Helpfulness among residents in Southern California. Chosen from over 700 nominations submitted to the Association last fall, individuals who dedicate their lives to helping those in need will be surprised with a brand new Honda vehicle at an invitation-only event, taking place on Wednesday, January 20th at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California.

“For the third year in a row, I am humbled by the caliber of nominees and the selflessness of each,” said Matt Tachdjian, SoCal Honda Dealers President. “The spirit of the Awards allows us to honor local heroes who do their part to help out in the community, not for the recognition but for the benefit of others. It’s exciting to be able to celebrate individuals each year who embody the message of Helpful.”

From September through November 1st, 2009, Southern Californians were invited to nominate a deserving member of their community whose life would be significantly improved by a new Honda and whose efforts largely go unnoticed. Following the same guidelines as previous years, the application required each nominator to include a written explanation outlining the reason(s) the nominee should be awarded a new car, how the car would allow them to expand their helpful mission, and which Honda model would benefit them the most. The Awards were promoted in participating dealerships, through a variety of local and national volunteer organizations and online communities, and the “Honda Guys and Girls in Blue” field teams. Nominations were valid for California residents only, and accepted for consideration online, through standard mail, or in dealership entry boxes.
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With the introduction of the Ford Fusion Hybrid, the redesigned Honda Insight, and a slew of other hybrid-versioned mainstream models, 2010 will go down as the model year that the hybrid market blew open and progressed from being the ‘Prius’ market.Though Honda is no newcomer to the hybrid market, the 2010 Insight is their answer to the Toyota Prius; the iconic hybrid that defined the inaugural generation of the gas-electric hybrid vehicle. The low, flowing design with sporty rear hatch gives the Insight a a sleek, competitive, and hybrid-centric design, while not embarrassingly screaming ‘tree-hugger on board’ as you drive by.

But how will it hold up to the 2010 Toyota Prius? Let’s find out. (more…)

Just in time for Christmas Eve, an environmental group known as “Save the Earth Enterprises” has filed a lawsuit against Honda Motor Corp. U.S. and its ad agency RPA. The lawsuit points to the use of the trademarked slogan, “Save the Earth” without permission in a recent ad campaign.

According to the lawsuit, Honda used the trademarked slogan on the shirt of a an actor portraying a hippie as he exited his 1970-something Civic and then continued through time-lapse footage across the decades. The group, Save the Earth Enterprises, says it sent Honda cease-and-desist-letters without acknowledgment from Honda or its ad agency, RPA.
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