The car is part of a UK-based ten-strong fleet made up purely of Honda hybrids, also including Jazz and Insight models, which has racked up an amazing half a million miles since 2010.

The fleet is owned and run by Renewable Solutions UK, designers and installers of Renewable Energy Systems for business and domestic customers.

With the cars used on a daily basis in its work up and down the country, Mike Lowes, Managing Director of Renewable Solutions UK commented: “Honda hybrids are a perfect fit for our business, with the efficiency of battery power and the many environmental and financial benefits this brings. The fleet is worked very hard, every day, for both short and long journeys, but we’ve only ever had to pay for standard servicing and wear and tear costs, and no major breakdowns. They just keep going without skipping a beat!”

The fleet has been built up over the last three years with all of the cars bought from Greenacre Honda in Blackburn.

“We have complete free rein in what we buy and where we buy it from, so the fact that we stick with Honda is testament to the trust we have in the brand,” continued Mike Lowes. “Honda hybrids are a reliable, no-compromise solution to our needs, and Greenacre have offered us great customer service and value for money.”

Renewable Solutions UK offers a complete range of Sustainable Energy Systems to domestic, commercial and agricultural clients. The company installs Wind Turbines, Solar Panels, Biomass boilers and Heat pumps. Working across the country and internationally, it offers a range of tariffs, grants and funding solutions to clients.

Honda UK offers a range of three gasoline-electric hybrids, which currently includes the CR-Z, Insight and Jazz models.

The CR-Z is the world’s first sporty hybrid coupe, delivering a combined 56.5 mpg with CO2 emissions of just 116 g/km. It features three driving modes and a six speed manual gearbox.

The post Honda CR-Z Hits 100,000 Miles Without Skipping A Beat appeared first on HybridCars.com.

This is good news for a car that is known to be one of the most popular small car among individual buyers

The 2013 Civic Sedan recently received the top 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score in the NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), and the highest possible rating of Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS, including a top score of Good in the new small overlap frontal collision test.

Honda said it leads all automakers with every one of its tested model year 2013 vehicles earning a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS.

The 2013 Honda Civic Sedan and Coupe are the first and only small cars to earn the IIHS’ highest safety rating of Top Safety Pick, and the NCAP 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score for the Civic Sedan further separates Civic from the competition in safety ratings performance.

The 2013 Accord also earned these high safety ratings in the midsize segment.

“Car shoppers cannot find a small car with higher overall safety ratings than the 2013 Honda Civic,” said Art St. Cyr, vice president of product planning and logistics at American Honda. “Safety ratings leadership across product lines is a fundamental part of not only our strategic business plan, but also our philosophy as a company.”

The Civic Sedan, which Honda said was significantly re-engineered for 2013, is equipped with Honda’s next generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, which contributes to make Civic the first small car to earn a Top Safety Pick+ crash safety rating, and the first to earn the highest rating of GOOD in the IIHS’ new small overlap frontal crash test (sometimes called a ‘narrow offset’ test).

This aggressive test is designed to simulate what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole at high speed.

Honda said the reinforced ACE body structure found on the 2013 Civic further enhances frontal crash energy through a wider range of these offset and oblique collision scenarios.

Additional standard safety equipment on all Civic models include Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with traction control; an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS); side curtain airbags; dual-stage, multiple-threshold front airbags; and driver and front passenger side airbags.

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“As current Subaru owners prepare to off-load their current vehicle, it is easy to reconsider the brand as it offers a diverse lineup, including models that not only appeal to the everyday shopper like the all-new 2014 Forester, but also a sportier option like the BRZ,” said Akshay Anand, Kelley Blue Book Insights analyst of its survey data collected. “With Subaru’s first-ever hybrid vehicle arriving at dealerships in Q4 2013, the 2014 XV Crosstrek Hybrid is expected to help the brand retain even more shoppers as its portfolio expands into hybrid technology.”

A manufacturer known for its hybrid vehicles is holding its ground as the No. 1 brand in terms of shopper loyalty for six consecutive quarters: Toyota, which held 53.6 percent if its owners’ interest in Q1 2013. Honda is in second place with 50.8 percent (Subaru is at 49.9 percent).

“Toyota’s esteemed stance as the leading automaker in KBB.com shopper loyalty continues into Q1 2013 with help from the recently redesigned 2013 RAV4,” said Anand.  “For those shoppers interested in a full-size sedan, Toyota also saw a surge of shopper interest to its redesigned 2013 Avalon, showcasing the brand’s positive response from consumers with its updated styling and features.”

While Hyundai and Kia garnered tremendous success during the past few years, these brands dropped in shopper loyalty among KBB.com’s new-car audience, which can be attributed to the lack of redesigns or refreshes in the last year from both Korean companies from key models.

Hyundai continued its slow fall from No. 4 in Q4 2012 to No. 6 in Q1 2013, while Kia dropped from the No. 4 spot between Q4 2011 and Q2 2012 to the No. 7 position in Q1 2013.

“Hyundai is expected to regain shopper loyalty when the brand’s best-selling Sonata is updated for 2014,” said Anand. ”Not only will the redesigned Sonata help it compete better with its rivals, but it also will catch the eye of new-car shoppers with its fuel economy and affordability.”

Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence examines shopper loyalty while consumers are still in the shopping phase.  For this analysis, shopper loyalty is defined as owners of the brand who are currently shopping the same brand for their next new vehicle.  This includes data from consumers who view a trade-in page or private party page, in addition to a new-car page on Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com.

The post Subaru Rises To Third In Shopper Loyalty Study With Help From Coming Hybrid appeared first on HybridCars.com.

This vision includes the use of solar power to charge a Honda Fit EV battery electric vehicle.

A groundbreaking held April 25 at the construction site on the campus of the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), marked the start of the building process, which will be documented and shared through the Honda Smart Home US website.

Envisioning a lifestyle of renewable energy for home and transportation, Honda said the Honda Smart Home US will feature new and emerging technologies to greatly reduce the amount of energy consumed by individual households, and will provide a pathway for the full integration of electric vehicles into the home.

The hi-tech sustainable home will demonstrate an approach to meeting the state of California’s goal of requiring all new residential construction to be “zero net energy” by 2020.

It is expected to produce more energy than it consumes, using less than half of the energy of a similarly sized new home in the Davis area for heating, cooling, and lighting.

Honda said the Smart Home will also give its occupants comprehensive control over all home systems, allowing the residents to remotely and continually monitor and adjust all aspects of energy use in real time.

Among the many technologies that will be applied to the Honda Smart Home US are:

• Solar Power System

A photovoltaic (PV) system will provide the energy for the home and for daily commuting in an all-electric vehicle like the Honda Fit EV. The zero net energy home will generate, on average, more electricity from on-site renewable power sources than it will receive from its electric utility provider.

• Honda Energy Management System

The Honda Energy Management System introduces a smart-grid technology that will actively manage energy use and communicate with the homeowner and utility provider, allowing the home to maximize its energy efficiency while responding to the needs of the electrical grid, thereby minimizing the impacts of solar generation and electric vehicle charging on the utility grid.

• High-efficiency HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and Lighting System designed by UC Davis

UC Davis energy research centers will design high-efficiency, cost effective solutions to major home energy loads. UC Davis researchers will explore new methods for geothermal heating and cooling, and a new circadian color control logic LED lighting system to improve quality of life while reducing energy consumption.

• Direct solar PV-to-vehicle charging

Direct PV-to-vehicle DC battery charging will substantially improve charging efficiency by reducing losses associated with DC-to-AC and AC-to-DC conversion. “PV-to-EV” charging will decrease CO2 emitted in the lifecycle of an electric vehicle by avoiding the carbon associated with grid electricity production.

• Certified “Green” Home

The home will be designed to achieve top-level green building certifications from the major U.S. rating systems. With a holistic approach to sustainability, the home will feature passive design elements as well as novel materials to further reduce CO2 emissions from the production of building materials and the construction and operation of the home.

The company anticipates construction of the Honda Smart Home, at a site in the UC Davis West Village development, to be completed by the end of 2013.

The home will be leased to individuals associated with UC Davis, though further details have not been finalized.

In 2012, Honda unveiled the Honda Smart Home System (HSHS) in the city of Saitama, Japan. The HSHS project includes two homes: one is a demonstration-only home while the other serves as a residence for Honda associates.

Both feature comprehensive controls of in-house energy supply and demand, and help manage both the generation and consumption of energy for the home.

The post Honda Smart Home US To Use Solar Power To Charge Fit EV appeared first on HybridCars.com.

For a deposit of £5,000 potential owners can be among the first in the UK to get behind the wheel of the brand new NSX when it hits showrooms in 2015.

“We are really pleased with the interest we’ve already seen for the new NSX” said Phil Crossman, Managing Director, Honda (UK). “We are still two years away from the launch of the car and yet we’ve received over 20 deposits and that’s before we’ve even announced prices or seen the final production car. With this process in place we are confident demand will remain strong and early hand raisers can now visit any Honda dealership in the UK and place a deposit.”

The dynamically-styled hybrid NSX Concept was first unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show in 2012 giving an indication of the design of the next great performance vehicle from Honda.

The NSX Concept features, according to Honda, a low and wide stance with dynamic proportions highlighted by clean, modern and simple surfacing, and edgy details that communicate supercar attitude. While the interior package boasts outstanding visibility, a strong driving position, and an intuitive “Simple Sports Interface” that minimizes interior clutter, allowing the driver to focus on the driving experience.

Consistent with the spirit of the original NSX, Honda’s designers have strived to deliver synergy between man and machine, said Honda.

The new NSX will aim to deliver a new sports car experience that combines supercar dynamic capabilities with environmental performance.

The NSX will be powered by a mid-mounted, direct-injected V6 engine combined to Honda’s Sport Hybrid SH-AWD (Super Handling All-Wheel Drive) system. It will also utilize a unique 2 Electric Motor Drive Unit with a bilateral torque adjustable control system so the new hybrid all-wheel-drive system can instantly generate negative or positive torque to the front wheels during cornering, which Honda anticipates will deliver handling performance unmatched by previous AWD systems.

The new NSX is being developed by a global R&D team led by designers and engineers at Honda R&D Americas, Inc. located in Los Angeles, California, and Raymond, Ohio.

The new NSX will also be manufactured at a new production facility in central Ohio.

The news of a pre-order bank follows in the footsteps of the previous NSX which saw 25 pre-orders being taken a year ahead of its UK launch. The first generation NSX was launched in 1990 and spent 15 years in production selling 18,000 units globally.

The post Honda UK Accepting Pre-Orders For NSX Hybrid Supercar appeared first on HybridCars.com.

This fine is the largest ever ordered by a court in Canada for a bid-rigging offence under the Competition Act.

The evidence shows, according to the Competition Bureau, that Furukawa secretly conspired with other Japanese motor vehicle components manufacturers to submit bids or tenders in response to requests for quotations to supply Honda of Canada Manufacturing Inc. (Honda) with certain motor vehicle components.

“Cracking down on cartels, including bid-rigging offences, is a top priority for the Bureau,” said John Pecman, Interim Commissioner of Competition. “This criminal activity defrauded the automobile sector in Canada and the substantial fine demonstrates the seriousness of such an offence.”

Furukawa’s plea relates to electrical boxes, including fuse boxes, relay boxes and junction blocks, sold to Honda between 2000 and 2010 for the Honda Civic. The total volume of commerce in Canada affected by the bid-rigging conspiracy was approximately $41 million.

Since 2000, Honda has produced over 2.2 million Honda Civics in Canada. The Civic has been Canada’s best-selling passenger car for 15 consecutive years.

The Bureau said its investigation only relates to motor vehicle components manufacturers. There is no allegation of wrongdoing against motor vehicle manufacturers, such as Honda, or the customers of the companies under investigation.

The Bureau became aware of the motor vehicle components cartel by way of its Immunity Program. The investigation also benefited from the cooperation of numerous companies under the Bureau’s Leniency Program.

Furukawa participated in the Bureau’s Leniency Program and provided substantial assistance to the Bureau and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. The company’s cooperation has saved considerable costs associated with the investigation and prosecution.

The Bureau’s ongoing investigation into the motor vehicle components industry is its largest to date with respect to bid-rigging, and is being coordinated with a number of other jurisdictions, including the United States, Japan, the European Community and Australia.

The Competition Bureau, as an independent law enforcement agency, ensures that Canadian businesses and consumers prosper in a competitive and innovative marketplace.

The post $5M Fine for a Japanese Supplier of Motor Vehicle Components appeared first on HybridCars.com.

The fuel cell will produce one megawatt of energy, and significantly reduce CO2 emissions from Honda’s operations in the region.

“A stationary fuel cell system is a natural next step in our ongoing efforts to further reduce American Honda’s environmental impact” said Garth Sellers, Honda’s manager of North American corporate facilities  “Honda already produces a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle – the FCX Clarity – so we know this type of technology is an effective means of reducing our carbon footprint.”

The fuel cell system consists of five energy servers each producing 200 kilowatts of power, and will provide 25 percent of Honda’s electricity needs for its 1.13 million square feet of office space, research, design and development operations, and parts distribution center on the 101 acre campus.

The power generated by the fuel cell system would power approximately 750 average-sized homes each day.

For each megawatt-hour of power the fuel cell system generates, CO2 emissions will be reduced by 18 to 25 percent. Over a project life of ten years, the system will reduce Honda’s carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 16 million pounds.

Fuel cells convert fuels – in this case, natural gas – into electricity through an electrochemical process that is much more efficient than combustion, thereby reducing CO2 emissions of fossil fuels.

Honda said that, additionally, fuel cell technology delivers extraordinary water savings as it requires no water beyond an injection of 240 gallons at start-up. Compared to the average water demands of California power plants, it is estimated that Honda will save more than 3.25 million gallons of equivalent water used per year.

Over the past decade, American Honda said it has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce the company’s carbon footprint at its Torrance campus, including the installation of high efficiency cooling systems and a recent lighting retrofit that cut the facility’s CO2 emissions by nearly 750,000 pounds per year.

American Honda contracted with Bloom Energy and its partner, Core States Group, to design, develop and implement this project. Bloom Energy will provide all monitoring and maintenance for the fuel cells.

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Honda said that so far, it has been extracting an oxide containing rare earth metals from used nickel-metal hydride batteries at the plant of Japan Metals & Chemicals Co., Ltd. (JMC).

Now, by applying molten salt electrolysis to this oxide, Honda has succeeded in extracting metallized rare earth that can be used directly as negative-electrode materials for nickel-metal hydride batteries.

Honda said that the rare earth metals extracted in this process has a purity of more than 99 percent, which is as high as that of ordinary traded, newly mined rare earth metals.

In addition, the new process enables the extraction of as much as above 80 percent of rare earth metals contained in nickel-metal hydride battery.

Under the newly established process, the extracted rare earth metals will be supplied from JMC to a battery manufacturer in early March, which will reuse them as negative-electrode materials for nickel-metal hydride batteries for hybrid vehicles.

This time, the rare earth metals were extracted from nickel-metal hydride batteries collected from 386 Honda hybrid vehicles that were stored prior to being on sale but became unusable by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Further, as soon as a sufficient volume is secured, Honda said it will begin applying the same process and recycle rare earth metals extracted from used nickel-metal hydride batteries collected by Honda dealers through battery replacement.

Honda said it strives to extract rare earth metals not only from nickel-metal hydride batteries but also from various used parts to achieve the further recycling of limited and precious resources.

The post Honda Now Recycling Rare Earth Metals For Batteries appeared first on HybridCars.com.

These first electric vehicles are located at the Portland State University (PSU). Charging stations for the EVs are provided by ECOtality Inc., which is also providing Zipcar members access to the company’s Blink Network of charging stations in Portland during their reservations.

Zipcar did not reveal the exact number of Fit EV incorporated in its Portland fleet.

“We are very excited to introduce Honda Fit EVs into the Zipcar fleet here in Portland. The new EVs add to the selection of smart and sustainable vehicle options Zipcar currently offers, and will help our members further reduce their environmental impact by driving on electricity only,” said Jeremy Nelson, General Manager, Zipcar Portland.

The new Honda Fit EVs are located on PSU’s campus at Parking Structure 1, and are available to all Zipcar members for hourly reservations, starting at $10.25 per hour.

Zipcar said it chose PSU for the location of its first EVs in Portland because of the University’s leadership in environmentally conscious innovations, including its Electric Avenue automotive charging stations on campus.

“Having electric vehicles available at PSU through Zipcar fits perfectly with our sustainability mission,” said Portland State University President Wim Wiewel.  “It’s a clean transportation option that I think our students, faculty and staff are really going to appreciate.”

Through Zipcar’s program with ECOtality, members who reserve Honda Fit EVs in Portland will have full access to ECOtality’s Blink Network of charging stations located throughout the Portland area if they are in need of a charge during their reservation.

Each Zipcar Fit EV is outfitted with a Blink InCard, which provides complimentary access to Blink Network charging stations to charge up, similar to the way gas cards work in other Zipcar vehicles.

“As EV’s enter into mass adoption, innovative companies such as Zipcar allow us to introduce our Blink charging stations to an audience that might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience an EV,” stated Greg Fioriti, Chief Revenue Officer of ECOtality, Inc. “We look forward to working with Zipcar and generating increased awareness of EVs throughout the Portland area.”

Prior to reserving one of the Zipcar EVs, members will have the opportunity to learn more about driving electric vehicles through Zipcar’s member education program. Members can visit www.zipcar.com/portlandev to learn more about the electric vehicles, watch an instructional video, go through a quick orientation process and make a reservation.

Honda’s 2013 Fit EV, based on its five-passenger Fit, earns a combined adjusted Environmental Protection Agency mile-per-gallon-equivalency rating of 118 MPGe, and a  consumption rating of just 29 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles.

The  Fit EV features a 20 kilowatt-hour Lithium-Ion battery and relies on a 92 kilowatt AC synchronous electric motor that generates 189 foot-pound of torque.

When plugged in a 240-volt circuit, the Fit EV battery can be recharged in less than three hours.

The post Honda Fit EV Added To Portland’s Zipcar Fleet appeared first on HybridCars.com.

The partnership is establishing an investment fund to finance $65 million in solar projects to assist Honda and Acura customers with the initial cost of solar power installation.

Many Honda and Acura customers and dealerships in SolarCity’s 14-state service area may be eligible for the special offer. SolarCity and Honda expect to be able to accommodate thousands of interested homeowners in the fund.

Honda and Acura dealerships in SolarCity’s service territory may also be able to take advantage of the offer to install affordable solar power through the partnership.

Additionally, the partnering companies said they will explore opportunities to integrate solar power and electric vehicle recharging, envisioning a future in which Fit EV and Accord Plug-In Hybrid owners will be able to charge their cars from the power of the sun, thereby reducing household CO2 emissions to nearly zero.

Honda and SolarCity have established the $65 million investment fund to remove what both companies qualify as a pervasive obstacle to the broader adoption of solar power: the high initial investment associated with installing solar power.

Through the partnership, the first for any automaker, Honda and Acura customers and dealerships will be able to install solar power with little or no upfront cost, depending on the customer’s choice of plans.

Customers will be given a choice to pre-pay for their solar electricity or pay a monthly payment that will be lower than the cost of their current utility bill, with insurance, repairs and monitoring service included.

SolarCity said it has developed a proprietary system that has greatly simplified the process by which homeowners can go solar. From an initial phone call or Web consultation, SolarCity can quickly assess whether a homeowner is a good candidate for solar, and can design a custom solar system to meet a customer’s specific energy needs.

SolarCity offers service in all or parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

Honda and Acura customers interested in these new clean energy options can find more information here.

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