Honda Jazz News

Price cuts and extra equipment in both the baby Jazz and family-sized Accord have nearly tripled recent showroom results for the Japanese brands, which had been struggling for sales through the early months of 2011. "It's definitely working. We're definitely back on shopping lists," says Lindsay Smalley, senior director of Honda Australia, at the opening of the Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne. "Sales of the Jazz have really jumped. They've nearly tripled." Honda is also being helped by a return to normal production numbers in Japan as the company finally gets back to full capacity after the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in March. Smalley says Honda is well placed for buyers, with no waiting lists in Australia. It's a contrast to Toyota, which is still struggling with supplies of popular models including the Corolla and HiLux. Brand T usually sells more than 20,000 cars each June but its 2011 result was off by more than 8000 vehicles because of short supplies. At Honda, Smalley says the new value-added strategy is working and tapping into the latest customer demand for the right prices. He says the tripling of Accord VTi figures is directly linked to the recent strategy to improve specification and "adjust" pricing. The starting price of the VTi came down by more than $4000, from $32,490 to $28,199, in a move that also saw close to $2000 slashed from the price of the Accord Euro. At the bottom end, the Jazz is now prices from $14,990 - a $2000 cut - while the car has a five-star ANCAP crash rating, Bluetooth and USB connectivity. "We've tried a lot of things with product value but at the end of the day sticker price is a real driver for our customers," Smalley says.

Both vehicles are integral to the Honda Electric Mobility Network, the company's comprehensive approach to reducing CO2 emissions through innovative products, energy-management and energy-production

Honda's stand in Paris features the hybrid Jazz, the latest - and smallest in both size and price - to be added to their growing hybrid stable. Joining the Civic, Insight and CR-Z, the super-mini Jazz hybrid shares their sIMA (Integrated Motor Assist) system, with an electric motor mated to a 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine, Under the bonnet, a 98kW/123Nm 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine is joined by a 10kW/78Nm electric motor, with the drive going to the front wheels via a continuously-variable transmission (CVT). It has stop-start technology that temporarily cuts the engine when you halt, with variable cylinder management, which can shut down all the valves to reduce pumping losses when you're driving on the electric motor only. The fuel economy for the Jazz hybrid is estimated at about 3.3L/100km, with CO2 emissions coming in around 85g/km.  The Prius, by comparison, has an official economy figure of 3.9L/100km with emissions of 89g/km. But the big difference for hybrid buyers is likely to be the price. The Jazz goes on sale in Europe early next year and is expected to come in at just $2000 more than the standard Jazz and about $4000 less than the Insight. With a very rough calculation in our market, that would put it at about $21,000 if it came with the $18,000 base model Jazz spec, but with a ceiling of about $25,000 if it was closer to the $21,000 top spec petrol-only Jazz. "It has a good chance of coming here," Honda Australia spokesman Mark Higgins says.  "It's certainly a model we have under consideration and it would be a good addition to the expansion of our hybrid range, which starts with Insight this year and CR-Z next year. "It's too early to talk pricing at this stage, but it would be a small premium for hybrid but obviously there would be long-term savings with that car as well. "Affordable hybrid is what Honda is all about. And if the Jazz hybrid hits our shores it makes the technology available to even more people."

It also intends to have a battery-electric commuter car and a plug-in hybrid in the USA in 2012, although there is no news yet on Australian sales plans for the cars.  Honda is committed to lithium-ion batteries for its next-generation hybrids and is also keen to see a growing line-up of hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars, says chief executive Takanobu Ito. He outlines the company's plans during his annual mid-year address in Tokyo and says all of Honda's planning is now a reaction to ‘the global shift towards smaller vehicles and greener machines’.  But Ito does not rule out conventional petrol power for halo cars at the brand, giving a renewed commitment to the V6-powered Legend flagship and also hinting on a smaller replacement for the S2000 sports car. "As we are in the midst of a difficult business environment, nothing is more important than going back to Honda’s basic principle, that is, to see things from the customer’s view point, and continue offering products that please our customers," Ito says. He says Honda has set three targets for the next decade: advancing environmental technologies, strengthening the brand's manufacturing system and building a stronger presence in emerging nations.  For Australia, the approach is likely to mean more high-tech Hondas but also a continued value push with cars built in Thailand. Ito is committing Honda to widespread development work as the company recovers from the global financial crisis, through to a smaller diesel engine for Europe, new petrol engines and transmissions, as well as a plug-in hybrid system suitable for mid-to-large vehicles - perhaps even SUVs and pickups - to meet future emission standards in the USA. "In the long-term, fuel-cell electric vehicles will provide the ultimate mobility. And Honda will continue working on the technological advancement of the FCX Clarity as well as our hydrogen refueling systems," Ito says.

In its new-found freedom, the country is also discovering customising and, with it, performance enhancements.  In a two-pronged approach to China's exploding car sales, Perth-based Sprintex Superchargers has completed five trial Honda Jazz models that it hopes will lead to a lucrative business. The cars have been supplied to the China-based Honda joint-venture manufacturer of the Jazz and are intended as precursors to either OEM (original equipment manufacturer) or after-market kits.  Sprintex business development manager Jay Upton says the supercharger boosts performance of the 1.5-litre Jazz engine but - more importantly - will deliver reduced emissions for a similar performance of bigger engines. He says the Jazz superchargers will initially be for export mainly to China, however the system will be offered in US and in Australia. No price has been fixed but expect about $3500.  "Whilst we did not really expect the local market to be excited by a hotter version of a Honda Jazz, we have been a little surprised by the interest from our home market," he says.  "It's not the car that I would pick to hide a supercharger."  Mr Upton says China is an attractive sale proposition.  "The China market produces more than 70,000 Fits (Jazz) a year and our partners there are projecting annual sales of more than 1000 systems for the car in China alone," he says. "We are expecting China to become our largest market and small cars to be the majority of that market.  More than 70 per cent of cars produced in China are 1.5 litre or less, hence the market for performance aids for smaller engines. The move to superchargers also follows similar product development in forced-induction and downsizing engines. China's biggest car maker, Geely, has three small-bore engines in 1.3 and 1.5-litre guises that go on sale in China next year with Eaton superchargers. Nissan will have a new Micra in Europe with an optional 1.2-litre three-cylinder supercharged engine that claims 40 per cent more power and about 20 per cent lower emissions than its 1.4-litre normally-aspirated sister. Mr Upton says the Honda Jazz trial unit in Australia - the other mules are in Asia - is a current model 1.5-litre V-Tec VTi model.  "The car uses the smallest current Sprintex unit, the S5-150, to increase power by about 40 per cent to 100kW, up from the standard 72kW," he says. "These are our measured figures, on our dyno, not Honda's stated outcome."  The alloy-bodied supercharger is the same base unit that is available as an aftermarket product for the Harley-Davidson Evo models and the Ducati Hypermotard. "In fact, the 150 - the figure means 150 litres a second of air produced - suits engines from 800cc to about 1800cc," says Mr Upton.  "The biggest we make suits engines up to about 4.5 litres, such as the bigger 4WDs. We have kits for those and are making additional kits for the new 4-litre V6 Toyota engine that's fitted to the Prado and Hilux. "We have a strong business supplying aftermarket kits to 4WDs and we see the move towards the smaller engines, such as the Jazz, as being our future. We have no intention of making units for the 5-litre or 6-litre muscle-car engines. "Our focus is on designing superchargers to make small engines maximise performance while minimising emissions and fuel use."  Sprintex also has supercharger kits for the Mitsubishi Magna/380 which are sold through Mitsubishi's TMR division.

A Mustang is a wild brumby in the USA but also one of the all-time best muscle cars; the LandCruiser does just what the name says, even if the land is the worst of the Australian outback; and the Enzo is a tribute to the man who founded the world's best-know supercar company, Ferrari.But the name game can go badly wrong.  The Nissan Cedric was never going to be a hit in Australia with a name that creates a picture of an aging uncle Arthur in a cardigan, Taurus is tough in the USA but was always going to flop against the Falcon, and the Skoda Roomster has just been dumped after failing to find a home down under.Holden was careful to avoid the VD in its Commodore line, but why did it start with the VB and not the VA? And what about the Statesman, which went well as the WB but was never updated into the WC?  Just this week I was following a Citroen Jumpy delivery fan in Portugal, and wondering if the name was a reflection of the driver's behaviour or the way it runs on the road.The craziness goes on and on, like the Citroen Picasso people mover which is anything but an oil painting.  Today's showrooms also have cars whose names have more numbers and letters than a cryptic crossword, with just as much meaning. Who really knows the difference between an A7 and a C350?But head back in history and there are some absolute clangers.  Henry Ford named the 1950s Edsel after his son, but is now recorded as one of the biggest flops in blue-oval history.  Japan has given us everything from the Daihatsu Rocky and Rugger to the Honda Ascot and Acty Crawler and on through the Isuzu Big Horn to the Subaru Justy.Nissan created the Tiida name from nothing, even though it claims it has something to do with waves breaking on a beach, and Lexus is even a made-up brand name, in contrast to Mercedes which was named after an early Daimler customer's daughter.  Over in America, the AMC Gremlin was a flop, the Dodge Neon never went up in lights, Plymouth Reliant never lived up to its promise, and the Lincoln Town Car was so big it needed its own postcode.Even some of the names which have worked create more questions than answers about their creation.  The Kia Mentor is more likely to need one, the Honda Jazz is not much of a music machine and the Suzuki Cappucino was too frothy to sell in Australia.Some names also paint a picture because of their history.  Mention Celica and lots of people in Australia think hairdresser.  Ask about the Nissan GT-R and you'll hear about Godzilla.Camry is shorthand for fridge-on-wheels, Kingswood is classic sixties kitsch, and then there is the Goggomobil.  So, what's causing a Rukus today? The Toyota Rukus, for a start.We could also get the Nissan Cube, which is as boxy as its name, although Nissan Australia is also pushing for a return of the Pulsar badge which worked so well before the silly switch to Tiida.  Right now we have the Skoda Superb in Australian showrooms. If that's not a name which creates a serious expectation then we don't know our Falcodores.When Toyota was looking for a new name for a mid-sized car alongside the Camry it thought it had the ideal choice. It settled on Centaur - the mythical man-horse - because it sounded tough.  But no-one at Toyota Australia had taken into account a nasty incident in World War II during the battle for the Pacific.A hospital ship called the Centaur was sailing towards Brisbane when it was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine. The idea of a Toyota Centaur sunk even faster.  The Centaur badges were crushed, all the paperwork was changed and so was the advertising. The Centaur quickly became the Avalon for Australia.  How do we know? Carsguide made the call to Toyota to warn about the problem. Japanese cars have always led the way in the silly-names race.  How about the Mazda Bongy Brawny? No, not the name for an off-road tough SUV, it was the badge on the back of a city delivery van with a 1.3-litre engine.Everyone has heard the story about the Mitsubishi Starion, and whether the company's sales team actually meant to call the turbo coupe the Stallion.  And then there is the Pajero. It's called the Montero in Spain, because Pajero is the word for something usually done alone in private.

Mazda was the first to move, cutting prices by $930 to $2000 in October, and now Honda has joined the push with savings of $1500 to $3000.  Cars to take a cut include the go-fast Civic Type R, Accord Euro and Odyssey.The bad news for Honda buyers is that models built in Thailand - the CR-V, Accord, Civic and Jazz - hold the price line because of a free- trade agreement.  Even so, Honda has found space to trim the sticker of the Thai-built City four-door, which now has a starting price of $19,490.The new Honda pricelist comes into effect on today.

"That would be a great first step," according to Honda Australia senior director, Lindsay Smalley."In some states, like the ACT, they also have favourable tax rates on things like stamp duty."Smalley believes more can be done to encourage car buyers into new technology both at a state and federal level. His green message comes as Australia celebrates World Environment Day today.Smalley joined fashion designer, Akira Isogawa, yesterday to promote the event, handing over two Honda Civic hybrid sedans to car share company Flexicar in Melbourne's CBD."There is a natural marketplace resistance to new technology so the Honda hybrid Flexicar will help send a positive message to consumers," Smalley said.Flexicar founder and CEO, Monique Conheady, expects the hybrid Hondas to be popular among the company's 2000 members in Melbourne and Sydney."We've got the cars for a 12-month trial and then definitely we'll put more on," she said."Our customers are asking for hybrid cars."One car would be available at Flagstaff Gardens and the other in Surry Hills, Sydney."We're seeing a lot of referrals but I believe there is much more opportunity to market the concept," she said.The Honda hybrid will cost the same as the smaller Jazz to rent."It was important to send a message to consumers that they did not need to pay more for fuel-saving hybrids," she said.A Flexicar costs between $9 and $13 an hour or $69 to $89 for a whole day including insurance and petrol. Cars can be booked for just an hour or up to three days. The company operates 70 cars, mostly Honda Jazzes, in key inner city areas in Melbourne and Sydney.Flexicar started four years ago with just three cars and a handful of members. The scheme targets high density inner urban areas with good public transport close to drop off and pickup points for its cars."We're seeing a lot of single people become members, particularly those in the inner city areas who don't want to spend money on owning a car," she said."Also, many families use us as the 'second' car."They may already have a family car but occasionally need a second car for short trips."Similar car share schemes operate in the US and Europe and are extremely popular with 900 cities globally participating. Zipcar in the UK and United States, has more than 80,000 people signed up.Smalley also wants hybrids and alternative-powered green cars to get more priority parking spaces. Already some municipal councils and shopping centres are considering such moves. Westfield and Sydney's Darling Harbour exhibition centre already have priority parking for hybrids and Sydney and Melbourne airports have been trialing hybrid parking spots.

In extreme situations, owners have been warned their vehicles may catch fire.Mitsubishi was hit with the biggest safety recall for the three month period. It has written to owners of Pajeros built between 2000 and 2003 to warn them of a potential brake problem. As many as 13,400 vehicles may need to be checked.The company also recalled 4400 of its now-defunct 380 sedan, built between 2006 and 2007, which may have a faulty fuel tank retaining strap. In a severe collision the tank may be dislodged and spill fuel.Mitsubishi is also checking more than 8300 Colts built this year which may have a problem with door windows which may drop and unlock or open the door while the car is being driven.Honda has recalled 11,800 of its 2004-05 Jazz to check whether they have a faulty handbrake, while Mazda needs to look at 1770 of its B4000 utes built between 2005-2006 because the bonnet may open unexpectedly.Subaru has recalled 5380 of its Imprezas, built between 2001 and 2003 because of a faulty rear tailgate which may suddenly drop.Subaru Australia spokesman, Dave Rowley, said many of the recalls were to check for "minor or niggling" faults."We have had no incidents of anyone being injured in Australia and we found only six cars which had the faulty (tailgate strut) connection."Many recalls are done as a pre-emptive measure to avoid possible problems further down the track, " he said.Other potential faults include electrical short circuits, which in extreme circumstances, may start a cabin fire in Landrover Freelander diesels built since 2007. Landrover warns the fault may occur when the vehicle is parked and unattended.Other recalls were to check for short circuits in Fiat's Grande Punto; and a chance that the panoramic glass roof in a small number of Citroen's Picasso could be dislodged.Suzuki has warned of potential fire risk in its 3-door Suzuki Grand Vitara (2006-07) because of a possible cracked fuel pipe, while the 2005-08 Vitara diesel has a remote fire risk in a filter because of a problem with the intercooler outlet pipe insulator.Other problems include faulty rear seat belt D-loop attachments in the current Jaguar XF, and the potential for a loss of steering in Chrysler's 300C built last year because of a problem with rear axle hub nuts which could see the half shaft disengage from the wheel hub.Mercedes Benz wants to look at axles, springs and the park brake in its Sprinter or Vito vans.Jayco has recalled some of its motor homes to check and fix awning and exhaust pipe problems.Of the 1500 motorcycles recalled, safety issues to be fixed include a faulty fuel filler on Kawasaki models, a windshield which may come off Buell bikes if ridden at high speed and a rear view mirror which may fall off on certain Yamaha models.An ACCC spokeswoman said this year's figures were actually less than last year but the number has been steadily rising over the past 20 years.The ACCC says there have been 52 individual recalls this year compared to 171 last year.Full details of the recalls can be found at www.recalls.gov.au 

Within three years, production-line workers will build cars with names they can't pronounce.It's nothing new but when the Russians start pumping out Mitsubishis and Peugeots and Citroens, it is another step in the process that sees car makers move out of their backyard and onto foreign soil.The reasons are cheap.Picking a developing country with available employment, low yet aspiring standards of living and government incentives such as free land and tax breaks is the financial equivalent of a Stephanie Rice wall poster.And there's no reason to feel shy about deserting the homeland in search of reduced manufacturing costs even if Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking is scathing of the practice — though the Cayenne body is made in Slovakia — and says so in his new (only) book “Don't Follow The Crowd”.Look around.You probably know it because you're on the carsguide.com.au site, but most car owners haven't a clue where their metallic ego in the driveway was born.The Honda Accord and Jazz are from Thailand, the Volkswagen Caddy in Poland, the Suzuki APU (named after the 24-hour shop owner in The Simpsons?) van in Indonesia, the Chrysler Grand Cherokee in Austria — on the same line as the BMW X3, no less — the Volvo XC70 in Belgium and the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus hatch and BMW 3-Series four-cylinder models in South Africa.As these countries grow richer on their ability to make cars cheaper for the world, so their prices — of labour and taxes and energy — will rise.Are there any countries left that have even lower costs that car makers can exploit? While you sift through the Atlas (get a current one, some countries and borders have changed in the past decade) let me tell you about one that has it all.And only recently is word out that this could be the next big think in car manufacture.Unlike Russia or Thailand or Slovakia, this country has English as its predominant language.It has an able workforce and rising unemployment.Its needs are many because the country has high consumer goods consumption.Yet the workforce — perhaps through desperation — can be turned to receive a modest wage.There are tax breaks and land going on offer throughout the country, most close to the ocean or rivers for easy transportation of raw materials and finished product.The icing on the cake is that it has existing infrastructure to support car assembly.The country is the USA.Now the focus turns from outward looking to the manufacturing equivalent of navel gazing.Now European countries have seen a weakened USA become ripe for domestic manufacture.The US dollar is so weak that it makes importing European cars too expensive.Far better to look at camping on US soil, in the way a cuckoo camps in another nest to exploit its personal needs.While General Motors seeks manufacturing in China, Volkswagen is looking at the USA.Volkswagen is not alone, European suppliers are also sniffing out what the USA can offer.The tide has unexpectedly changed and perhaps the only hindrance will be a revival in the US economy.Preoccupied with the 'war with no end' in the Middle East, the US is poised to become the world's next big car factory.Who would have thought that possible?