Honda CR-Z News

An estimated 250,000 people crowded into the party, held to mark the launch of the new CR-Z sport hybrid coupe.Onlookers were given 3D glasses to watch interactive footage of the new coupe on a Spectacolor screen, marking the first time ever 3-D footage has been broadcast in a public space.  Sony also handed out 3-D racing simulators to the crowd, giving them a chance to be first to play the new Gran Turismo 5 game, while Pharrell Williams and N.E.R.D took to the stage to rock the crowd

The European body that crash tests vehicles, Euro NCAP, has announced it is about to begin crash testing electric cars. This comes as Euro NCAP released its latest results which include the Honda CR-Z hybrid sports coupe coming to Australia next year.Euro NCAP claims the CR-Z demonstrates that "good all-round safety needs not be compromised by a fuel efficient petrol-electric hybrid powertrain". The car's pedestrian protection result of 71 per cent continues the high scores achieved by other recently tested Hondas.Euro NCAP also released the crash test results for Suzuki Swift, Citroen C4 and Hyundai ix35. All four scored a maximum five stars overall with more than 90 per cent for adult occupant safety and more than 80 per cent for child occupant safety.From October, Euro NCAP will begin assessing new driver assistance technologies not included in current crash tests. Euro NCAP secretary general Michiel van Ratingen says the new assessments will broaden their scope."It is reassuring that, as well as developing these new advanced technologies, manufacturers are not neglecting fundamental crash protection and today's results show that car-makers are still striving for the very best levels of protection," he says.Visit www.euroncap.com.

There could even eventually be a petrol-electric hybrid in every Honda model series, according to the company's Australian chief.  The existing Civic hybrid will be joined this year by the Insight hatch, with the CR-Z coupe to follow, says Satoshi Matsuzawa.He also promises the new Insight will be "affordable", unlike the expensive and unsuccessful first-generation hybrid with the same name.  The new Insight is expected to cost around $30,000, but Matsuzawa will not confirm a price.“Honda Australia will take the hybrid direction in the Australian market. Insight will be the initiation of that movement and CR-V next year," he says.Honda Motor president Takanobu Ito last week announced that a plug-in hybrid will be added to its range in Japan and the US in 2012 and Matsuzawa says it will also be “the right direction for Australia”.Honda’s plug-in hybrid will be charged from the engine as well as mains supply and will be able to drive up to 60km purely on its electrc motor.  Ito says Honda will develop “multiple hybrid systems that are appropriate for vehicles of different sizes and use”.And Matsuzawa dismisses diesel, at least in the foreseeable future.  “Diesel could be an option but so far the path is to proceed with hybrid strategy," he says.

The target price for the first of the Chinese plug-ins is around $25,000, a bottom line which would give the new imports a massive advantage over cars such as the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Smart, which are expected to have a bottom line beyond $50,000 in showrooms.Several importers are targeting the Chinese electric powerhouse, BYD, but it's the Chery brand which is most likely to hit the $25,000 target with a plug-in city car.  "We want an electric car by 2011," says Neville Crichton, head of the local Chery importer, Ateco Automotive."We plan to have an electric car in 2011 and I'm very confident we will.  The Chinese will be very, very important in the electric car market."Crichton accepts that electric cars will have limitations but he believes it could be a major selling point for start-up Chinese brands.  "If the price is cheap enough, you can do serious volume," he says."If you're going to do electric cars in any volume it's got to be below $45,000. If would have to be in the mid $20,000s to do any volume."  And he is also prepared to take a swipe at hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius and upcoming Honda CR-Z, which have yet to win mainstream acceptance in Australia."Hybrids are just a speed hump on the road to electric cars," Crichton says.  The first electric trial cars have already arrived in Australia, with the i-MiEV leading the way and already targeted at Federal and state governments, as well as green-focussed organisations and major city fleet operators.Subaru has also had a plug-in city car in Australia, Mini is planning a local promotional tour and Smart is on-track for sales in late 2011 or early in 2010.  Every major Chinese maker has at least a couple of electric car concepts on display at Auto China 2010 with Geely, which comes to Australia later this year through Perth-based importer John Hughes, dominating the green-power action.Chery also has plug-in concepts, and has a tie-up with the Better Place organisation working on new infrastructure for Australia, but it is the BYD brand which is the target for serious electric-car fans.  The BYD brand - its slogan is Build Your Dreams - is the fifth-largest local maker in China but also the world's second-largest maker of lithium-ion batteries.No-one has the local agency yet for BYD and Crichton is reluctant to commit his Ateco organisation."We talk to everyone. We are not representing BYD," he says.  I can't comment - I'm not about to."

They range from a tiny supercharged Toyota iQ to a full-race Lexus LFA and deliver on the recent promise by Akio Toyoda, the new chief executive of the Toyota Motor Corporation, to inject excitement, passion and driving enjoyment into the world's biggest brand.The most important car is a turbocharged version of Toyota's FT-86, which shows the potential of the production car that Toyoda plans to use to bring young people back to his brand.  There is no sign of a hotrod Camry at the show, the third-biggest 'tuner' event in the world after SEMA in the USA and Essen in Europe, but Toyota's introduction of its hero cars creates the biggest surprise since the start of the Global Financial Crisis. The Salon line-up is also a massive contrast to the conservative and underwhelming effort by Toyota at last year's Tokyo Motor Show, traditionally Japan's biggest motoring event.At the Auto Salon, Akio Toyoda does the introductions himself and spends more than 30 minutes talking about the cars during a presentation that partly erases some of the pain of the company's withdrawal last year from Formula One racing. Toyoda said simply ‘We quit’ at the F1 press conference, but also promised cars ‘that generate fun and passion’.The first of the passion pack is unveiled at the Salon and, despite a couple of aero-tweaked Prius sitting on the same stand in a nod to Toyota's hybrid drive, there is plenty of good news.  The FT-86 concept has pumped-out bodywork and a powered-up turbo engine, proving the tuner potential in a car that will be in showrooms in 2011. It's a classic rear-wheel drive coupe, just like the original Corolla Sprinter that has become a drift favourite around the world.The rich mix of raunchy metal actually starts with a supercharged iQ GRMN concept produced by Toyota's current tuner favourite, a company called Gazoo Racing Master of Nurburgring. It's still a tiny three-seater but it's quick.  There is also a 1.5 litre rear-drive Aigo that has been switched from front-drive, a 325 kiloWatt high-performance Lexus IS-F Circuit Club Sports and a full a race-specification LFA.The big surprise is a car called the GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept, also produced by Gazoo.  This two-seater, four-wheel drive hyrid sports coupe is based on the old Toyota MR-2 and boasts a mid-mounted 3.3-litre V6 engine and the company's well-known THSII hybrid system, a delicious combination that generates over 400 kiloWatts.Draped in a carbon fibre body and tipping the scales at around 1500 kilograms, against a final target in the 1300 range, the V6 drives the rear wheels while the electric motor propels the fronts. It can drive in silent EV mode in the city and, when called upon for some quick acceleration, the V6 springs to life and engages the rear rubber.This combination could very well put Honda's CR-Z to shame, even if Honda is calling its new coupe "The world's first hybrid sports car".  Stories leaking out of Honda say the CR-Z has only lukewarm performance, unlike the MR-S hybrid that has near-supercar performance and reportedly sprints from 0-100km/h in under 4.5 seconds.So, what's the bottom line from the Tokyo Salon? Based on what Toyota unveiled, it intends to make good on its passion promise and create cars that people really will want to buy.

After successive studies and concepts, the road-ready version joins Civic and Insight as the third hybrid in the Honda family.  Drawing on the style of the iconic CRX of the 1990s – and touted as its spiritual successor – the CR-Z intends to be “the first hybrid to maximise style and fun, in addition to efficiency and economy,” says Honda’s US vice-president of sales, John Mendel.The car features a 81kW/96Nm 1.5-litre petrol engine boosted by a parallel hybrid system – which means it never runs completely on electric power -- resulting in outputs of 91kw of power at 6000rpm and 174Nm of torque between 1000-1500rpm.Honda says the CVT automatic transmission version will return fuel economy of 6.5l/100km on the city cycle, dropping to 6.1l/100km out on the highway, while the six-speed manual transmission models will post 7.6 and 6.3 respectively.  The CR-Z’s three-mode drive system switches between Sport, Normal and Economy via three backlit buttons on the steering wheel.Sport tightens throttle, power steering and the electric motor’s power assist, while Economy loosens everything off for fuel efficiency – including adjusting the airconditioning system to reduce its drain on the engine.Honda says there’s a full raft of safety features, including front, side and side-curtain airbags, anti-skid brakes and active head restraints.  While the car is partly based on the hybrid Insight, it’s more powerful – and far more attractive.Demand for the Insight overseas when it launched early last year meant it has been delayed for Australia and is now expected to arrive some time this year – although there’s no word on when.  The CR-Z is also in Honda Australia’s sights, and is tipped for later this year or early in 2011. Depending on supply in the face of overseas demand.

A leaked Japanese brochure has surfaced of the new CR-Z hybrid sportscar, the spiritual successor to the CRX from the 1990s, ahead of its Detroit Motor Show debut next week. Honda enthusiast websites around the world, including the popular Temple of VTEC site, have splashed pictures and reveal specifications of the stylish little coupe.As the brochure shows, the new hybrid two-door is almost identical to the concept shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in October. The CR-Z is expected to be launched in Japan within months and is also destined to arrive in Australia late this year or early in 2011. It is Honda's first mass-produced hybrid sports car.According to the brochure the CR-Z is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine developing 84kW/145Nm, mated to an electric motor producing 10kW/78Nm. It will hit 100km/h in 9.7 seconds and is expect to deliver fuel economy between 4.0 litres/100km and 4.5 litres/100km.The CR-Z is expected to be available with a six-speed manual or continuously variable transmission. Although details are still scarce, the CR-Z is expected to have LED lights in the exterior wing mirrors and daytime LED running lights, leather interior and the option of a satellite navigation system.The CR-Z remains relatively compact. It is 4080mm long, 1740mm wide, 1395 high and sits on a 2435mm wheelbase. This makes it 305mm longer, 65mm wider and 125mm higher than the original, which was on sale here between 1987 and 1998. The wheelbase is also 135mm longer.

We’ve blended all the highlights in a one-minute tasting plate. All the glamour, all the glitz and definitely all the green gadgetry.The LF-A is being touted as the new Lexus sportscar and expected to go up against Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and other high performance supercars.Apart from these almost-production ready coupes, the show is shaping up to be a restrained affair as carmakers continue to battle the fallout from the global financial crisis. Just three smaller foreign brands, Caterham, BMW Alpina and Lotus are attending this year.In 2007 26 foreign brands lined up with the Japanese carmakers at the show. Despite the low attendance by carmakers, Tokyo is traditionally a show full of quirky city cars and concepts. Electric cars, from plug-in hybrids to full-blow electric vehicles remain popular, following on from the green theme at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.What's Hot:TOYOTAFT-EV II: This is the second generation of Toyota's electric car concept with a futuristic edge. Drive-by-wire technology and a solar panel on the roof give this urban commuter a distinct edge. Looks a little like the iQ sold in Europe. FT-86 Concept: Look beyond the lines are you'll see Toyota's new Celica. The rear-drive compact sportscar will borrow Subaru's 2.0-litre boxer four.CATERHAMThe world debut of the CSR 175 EU4, a more powerful version of its CSR.LEXUSThe much talked about LF-A is rumoured to get a 370kW V10, making it the most powerful production Lexus made. The front "mid-engine" layout is said to deliver outstanding handling.SUBARUThe Hybrid Tourer Concept is being touted as a new incarnation of the SVX. We hope for Subaru's sake it will not carry the SVX tag if it every makes it into production. The Tourer is far more attractive and practical. The gullwing coupe combines the boxer four-cylinder with hybrid power. A pair of motors provide regenerative braking, pure electric drive or a combination of both. Apart from showcasing the hybrid drivetrain, the concept also has a new direct injected version of its 2.0-litre four cylinder engine, which is likely to appear in a few years.HONDALike many carmakers, Honda has spilled the beans on some of its cars. The CR-Z concept is the close to production ready version of its hybrid coupe, powered by a petrol 1.5-litre four cylinder and the same electric powerpack we see in the Civic hybrid. The Skydeck is a futuristic six-seater hybrid using ultra-light weight materials. The big wagon may provide a pointer to what the next-generation Odyssey might look like. Inside, the Skydeck has "floating" slim-line seats with entry provided by huge opening gullwing doors.NISSANCarmakers love motorcycle-inspired cars. Nissan has lifted the wraps off its Land Glider, a compact four-wheel city commuter car. The two-seater uses electric motors and the driver and passenger sit in tandem, like a motorcycle. The car also leans into corners.SUZUKIWith green a continuing theme, Suzuki's Swift hybrid is a pointer to a new plug-in hybrid for short-distances.MAZDAThe Hiroshima-based carmaker has concentrated on its new Sky Concept to showcase a new Sky-G petrol and Sky-D diesel engine, as well as a new six-speed automatic gearbox.MITSUBISHIDo not think of the Concept PX-MiEV as a new off-roader. Mitsubishi says the PX crossover just houses a new plug-in hybrid system that gets around 3.0 litres/100km. Apart from its drivetrain, the interior uses seat upholstery that kills bacteria and gets rid of offensive odours. The i-MIEV Cargo is also a new commercial van concept taken from the i-MIEV electric car.SUZUSHOYou may not have heard about it but this Japanese kit car specialist has combined a tuned 200kW 2.3-litre turbo engine from the Mazda3 MPS and a lightweight body to deliver a hot-shot sportscar, the Supasse V. The V gets an aluminum twin-tube monocoque spaceframe chassis with a fiberglass body. Suzusho is a specialist builder of lightweight sportscars with a great deal of experience with Lotus 7 replicas. The Supasse is expected to sell in Japan for around $80,000. 

A petrol-electric CR-Z will be revealed in a fortnight as the centrepiece on the Honda stand at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.The car is fully road ready and should make it to Australia in the second half of next year, joining a new hybrid rush led by the all-new Insight and — perhaps — the upcoming Jazz hybrid.Full details are being kept secret until the show, but the CR-Z is intended to sporty driving back into the Honda line-up for the first time since the death of the Integra, the same styling tweaks of the CR- Z from the 1990s.The CR-Z will used a similar Integrated Motor Assist system to the one in today's Civic hybrid, complete with a 1.5-litre petrol engine upsized from the 1.3 in the Insight and a six-speed manual gearbox.Negotiations for local deliveries of the CR-Z, and the possible addition of the Jazz hybrid to the local line-up, will be lead at the Tokyo Show by the head of Honda Australia, Yasuhide Mizuno.But already the car is into planning for next year, probably with a price-tag in the $45,000 range. "We are hopeful. The CR-Z is certainly on our radar and we're doing everything we can to ensure the car is sold in Australia," says Mark Higgins, spokesman for Honda Australia. "But we have no timetable yet. The launch date has not been set,"The Honda line-up in Tokyo will be built around a range of concept cars which push its commitment to greener motoring - and particularly electric and hydrogen power - but will include a face-lifted CR-V, which will be in local showrooms before the middle of next year. 

The Honda CR-Z is being fast-tracked to showrooms as part of the Japanese brand's plans to tackle Toyota's dominance of the growing hybrid car market. It initially sold the car at a loss to establish its base and has recently clocked up its millionth sale. Still, it is way behind in its plan to put a million new hybrids on the road every year from 2010.But that is not worrying Honda, which revealed its CR-Z concept at the Tokyo Motor Show as part of a plan that will give it more than just the Civic Hybrid to draw green buyers into showrooms. It also showed off the Small Hybrid Sport Concept at the Geneva motor show and unveiled its FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle which is due for production in the US this year.Honda says it intends to have hybrids as 10 per cent of its fleet by 2010, after confirming the CR-Z and hinting strongly about a smaller city car in the Jazz size range. The Global Hybrid has not been revealed but is key to the plan, announced by Honda president Takeo Fukui last week.“The competition in hybrids has just begun,” Fukui says.The target is to sell 200,000 Jazz hybrids a year, with a price not much more than $2000 beyond the regular petrol model. The car is expected to be seen for the first time towards the middle of this year.Honda claims its hybrid system, a so-called “mild” hybrid that uses an electric engine mostly as a booster for a small-capacity petrol motor, has advantages over Toyota's in that it is simpler and cheaper.Even so, Honda will certainly have to get cracking on hybrid versions of its other mainstream models, the Accord and Accord Euro, after retreating from an early hybrid push in the US with the Accord.Fukui says Honda will spend more than $500 million on a new Japanese research centre which will be focused on future cars, from its hybrids to the fuel-cell models, that will follow its FCX concept into production probably within the next six months.The technical centre should be open by early 2009 and fully operational from the following year.Toyota has sold about 900,000 of the Prius worldwide since December 1997, and its popularity hasn't waned that much despite being on sale for a decade. Toyota offers several other hybrid models, including the hybrid Camry and hybrid Lexus models, although Prius is the better seller.It made up more than 40per cent of hybrid sales in the US in 2006.While Honda has the Civic sedan hybrid it acknowledges its error in not offering a hybrid-only model like the Prius, as well as not realising that hybrids tend to be more popular with smaller models because mileage improvements tend to be more pronounced. Hybrids, once dismissed by Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn and other auto executives, have become hot sellers. Their popularity comes amid rising petrol prices and greater environmental concerns.Fukui says Honda's hybrid system is better in some ways than Toyota's, and because it costs less, it will allow Honda to offer its planned hybrid at a competitive price. He declined to give a price.Honda expects sales to keep growing in nearly all regions around the world in 2008, including North America, Europe, China and even in Japan.Honda's sales in Japan, a stagnant market, declined 12 per cent to 620,000 vehicles in the last year.Four new models will be introduced in Japan in the next 12 months to woo buyers and sales are expected to grow here, Fukui says.Honda did not give an overall global sales forecast for 2008. But Fukui projected North American sales to rise 3 per cent to 1.59 million, adding to an expected 3 per cent growth in 2007 to 1.55 million vehicles.Throughout 2007, demand for the new Accord was robust in the US, while in Japan the Fit (called Jazz in Australia) subcompact was a hit, the company says.Even in Europe, where Japanese carmakers have been relative latecomers, Honda was posting good results with a projected 23 per cent rise in 2007 to a record 380,000 vehicles. The company forecasts sales will rise another 11 per cent in 2008 to some 420,000 units.With production expansions in Brazil and Argentina, Honda's sales are booming in South America, expected to jump 30 per cent to 118,000 in 2007. In And sales in China are projected to climb 29 per cent next year to 420,000 vehicles, Honda says.