Honda is adopting a brighter shade of green with the surprise announcement of an additional hybrid sedan and the fast-tracking of its stunning fuel-cell car to production.
Honda president Takeo Fukui said a dedicated hybrid would go on sale in 2009 to support the existing Civic Hybrid. The new car is smaller and is expected to cost about 2/3 of the Civic price.
The news is slightly more blurred about Honda's cute CR-Z sports coupe, also slated for a hybrid powerplant.
Better news is for Honda's medium-size fuel-cell car, the FCX Clarity, which goes on sale in the US in June and in Japan in October. The FCX theoretically has a market in Australia, though Honda Australia spokesman Mark Higgins said an immature infrastructure for hydrogen would delay local sales.
Honda also released details of a sophisticated low-emission 2.2-litre diesel called the i-DTEC. This engine will appear first in the European-spec Accord but won't come to Australia for at least two years.