Honda Certified Used Cars Interactive Tour

Honda Certified Used Cars take the guesswork—and the footwork—out of car shopping. Check out an interactive tour about benefits of buying Certified and be sure to check out the Honda Certified Used Car website: http://automobiles.honda.com/certified-used/ to view current offers and vehicles available at your local dealership.

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2012 Honda CR-Z Sport Hybrid Coupe Recognized by USAA as a Best Value

USAA's 'Best Value' list focuses on cost, safety and reliability

USAA, a leading financial services provider to the U.S. military and their families, today named the 2012 Honda CR-Z Sport Hybrid Coupe to its second annual Best Value vehicles list, which identifies the top 2012 automobiles in 16 categories that give consumers the most bang for their buck. In addition, today USAA named the CR-Z to its "Top 10 for Teens List," which focuses on traits parents said they cared about most: reliability, safety and affordable insurance costs.

The Honda CR-Z rose to the top in the coupe category, recognized for offering best-in-class EPA fuel economy ratings, achieving the "Top Safety Pick" designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and offering reasonable maintenance and ownership costs.

Best Value automobiles offer the best financial value of all vehicles USAA evaluates as part of a broader rating system called USAA Preferred, which uses quantitative data to evaluate vehicles' cost, safety and reliability, among other key factors. There are nearly 80 cars, trucks and minivans that are currently designated as USAA Preferred vehicles, and the Best Value list represents the vehicles that rose to the top of each category.

"The CR-Z creates a whole new value category as the first true sport hybrid, offering great fuel economy, a low entry price, an available 6-speed manual transmission and a feisty change of character with the push of the Sport button," said Mike Accavitti, Vice President of National Marketing Operations for American Honda. "It's like having two cars for the price of one."

"The goal of the list is to help members identify vehicles that typically offer better safety ratings, lower insurance premium costs, higher fuel economy, better overall reliability and lower MSRP compared to other vehicles in the same category," said Steve Thompson, an assistant vice president at USAA. "The Honda CR-Z rose to the top as a vehicle that offers these key elements, making it a great buy for the value-minded consumer."

For more information about the USAA Best Value list, and the specific automobiles featured, visit www.usaa.com/bestvalue.

Read More: http://www.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?id=6658-en

Best Used Green Cars To Buy: 2006-2011 Honda Civic Hybrid

Now in its third generation, the Honda Civic Hybrid is one of the stalwarts of the compact hybrid class, having been around in one form or another since its introduction to the U.S. in 2002.
Here we're looking at the popular 2006-2011 model, as one of our Five Best Used Green Cars To Buy.

While not as overtly green, nor as economical as the 2004-2009 Toyota Prius we looked at yesterday, the Civic Hybrid is well worth considering if you're in the market for a used green car.

History

The first generation of Civic Hybrid was first launched in 2001 in the Japanese market, but only reached U.S. shores in Spring 2002, as a 2003 model. The second generation Hybrid was launched in 2005, as a 2006 model-year car.

Based on the regular Civic sedan, the Hybrid uses Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, which slots a compact electric motor between the engine and transmission. The system debuted in the original Insight, and is also fitted to cars like the Honda CR-Z and current generation Insight.

The 2006-2011 Civic Hybrid uses a 1.3-liter engine with the IMA system, paired with a continuously-variable transmission. Combined, they produce 110 horsepower, and 123 pounds-feet of torque.

Read More: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1075736_best-used-green-cars-to-buy-2006-2011-honda-civic-hybrid

Honda Recycles Rare Earths from Hybrid Cars

While hybrid cars and vehicles save on non-renewable fossil fuels, their powertrains are complex and utilize an enormous amount of precious resources, especially materials like rare earths. Well, Honda, which manufactures several hybrids including the Honda Civic Hybrid, Insight, and the CR-Z as well as the upcoming Acura ILX hybrid, aims to conserve such shrinking resources. Honda and Japan Metals & Chemicals recently announced they will be extracting rare earth materials from the batteries used in Honda’s hybrid vehicles.

According to Honda, the two companies have managed to successfully stabilize the extraction process used in pulling rare earths from the batteries. Rare earths pulled out in the process have a purity level equal to refined materials or newly mined, says the automaker. More than 80 percent of the rare earths found in hybrid vehicle’s batteries can be successfully extracted with the system.

Honda states it will utilize the rare earths extracted for a wide variety of purposes besides new batteries. Eventually, the automaker hopes to extract and process other rare earths from other car and vehicle parts in addition to the hybrid batteries.

Automotive.com’s take: We applaud Honda’ continued efforts in environmental issues. The automaker has, for example, virtually eliminated all plant wastes from its U.S. manufacturing plants; the Honda Civic GX has been awarded numerous green accolades, and the fuel cell-powered Honda FCX Clarity won the 2009 World Green Car. We also admire Honda taking action against China, which currently has a hold in the rare earth market worldwide and sending rare earths prices skyrocketing.

Read more: http://blogs.automotive.com/honda-recycles-rare-earths-from-hybrid-cars-90267.html#ixzz1sQU2caNW

IBM, Honda, and PG&E Enable Smarter Charging for Electric Vehicles

Pilot Project Allows Utilities to Communicate Charging Instructions Directly to EVs Based on Power Grid Conditions

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has teamed with American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on a new pilot project that will allow communication between electric vehicles (EVs) and the power grid. This project will demonstrate and test an electric vehicle's ability to receive and respond to charge instructions based on the grid condition and the vehicle's battery state. With visibility into charging patterns, energy providers will have the ability to more effectively manage charging during peak hours and create consumer-friendly programs to encourage electric vehicle adoption.

The energy requirements for electric vehicles will challenge the current power grid as plug-in vehicle counts continue to grow to an expected 2.9 million worldwide by 2017. This project has the potential to ease the infrastructure and consumer concerns associated with the mass adoption of EVs, by adding another layer of agility to the EV charging process. This level of intelligence will help make charging seamless for consumers, while ensuring the electricity source is reliable and the infrastructure is stable.
This demonstration combines grid and vehicle data to create an individualized charging plan for Honda's Fit EV battery electric vehicles (BEV), using IBM's cloud-based software platform. By utilizing the existing in-vehicle communications system in the Honda Fit EV, the electric vehicle can interact with utilities and the grid, creating a direct channel for sending and receiving usage information that could improve local grid management.

"This pilot project with IBM and Honda will help us demonstrate that third-party providers have the systems and capabilities to help meet some of the challenges that electric vehicles could place on the power grid as their adoption increases in the coming years," said Saul Zambrano, senior director for consumer products for PG&E. "With updated charging patterns for EVs, we have the ability if needed, to shift demand to non-peak times to ensure the reliability of the grid so that we can continue to deliver safe, reliable and affordable energy to our customers."

Once plugged into a charge post, the Honda Fit EV initiates a charge request via the vehicles telematics system, an integrated telecommunication application that is often used for navigation. This request is sent to IBM's Electric Vehicle Enablement Platform where vehicle data such as battery state and grid data received from PG&E, is combined to create an optimized charge schedule, which is then communicated back to the vehicle in seconds. Using this aggregated data, the vehicle has the intelligence to charge to the level that is needed while factoring any current grid constraints.
Using real time and simulated data, the system will test and demonstrate the ability to alter, as well as adapt charging patterns based on grid conditions. This smart charging capability will enable energy providers to manage the power used by EVs during peak times by instructing vehicles to delay or adjust charging if required.

"One of Honda's main objectives is to work to advance technologies that can address society's environmental and energy concerns through both alternative powertrain technologies, like our 2013 Honda Fit EV battery electric vehicle, and through groundbreaking research initiatives similar to the Smart Charge project that we are collaborating on with IBM and PG&E," said Steven Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda. "It is our hope that these technologies and infrastructure will pave the way for EVs of the future to be synched to local electric grids to intuitively and seamlessly manage charging experiences."

Additionally, the IBM EV platform can collate historical EV charging data and create a profile that can be used to forecast the location and duration of EV charge loads. For example, the program can determine how many EVs are plugged in one neighborhood and the time it will take for each to reach a full charge. This level of insight will allow utilities to optimize grid operations and help reduce the chance of outages - a possible concern as the number of EVs increase.

Read More: http://www.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?id=6631-en

Honda Chicago

2012 Honda Fit review from Green Car Reports

The 2012 Honda Fit might be the smallest of Honda's U.S. economy-car offerings, but it's one of the most versatile. Despite its subcompact size, the 2012 Honda Fit seems to defy the laws of physics inside, providing compact-car space and remarkable versatility.

The impressive interior space inside the Fit is thanks to Honda's clever design efforts. Looking like a scaled-down minivan from some angles, the Fti's gas tank resides under the front seats, ensuring the rear luggage space is an impressive 20.6 cubic feet, even without the rear seat folded.

There's more. Thanks to Honda's clever rear "Magic Seat" design -- which allows the rear seat bases to be folded up against the seat backs to transport bulky items behind the front seats, the Honda Fit can carry far more luggage than other cars in its class.

Opt to fold the rear seats down, and they fold flat with headrests in position to provide a perfectly low, flat load-bay area.

For smaller items, the Fit offers upper and lower glove compartments, storage compartments, trays, cubbies and cupholders that provide storage solutions for everyone from busy moms to those who spend a lot of time on the road.

Even with all these storage options, the 2012 Honda Fit feels airy and spacious, thanks to its no-nonsense two-tier instrument panel and steeply raked windshield--giving it a very different feel inside than competing cars like the 2012 Ford Fiesta.

Talking of competition, while the Honda Fit isn't capable of the 40-mpg highway rating that some other subcompacts achieve, we suspect more drivers buy the Honda Fit because they like its versatility and upright driving position.

Read More: http://www.greencarreports.com/overview/honda_fit_2012

Honda Set to Debut 2013 Crosstour Concept [New York Auto Show]

Honda will reveal the latest take on its humpbacked hatchback/wagon/crossover when it unveils the 2013 Crosstour concept at the New York auto show in April. According to Honda, the new Crosstour will give us further insight into the company’s new exterior styling direction, which also was previewed by the Accord coupe concept at January’s Detroit show.

Honda added a four-cylinder option for 2012 partially in response to the Toyota Venza’s V-6 and four-banger offerings—coincidentally, Toyota also will be showing off its new face lift for the Venza in New York—after launching the Crosstour exclusively with V-6 power in 2009.

We’re hopeful Honda will provide something that looks closer to the Accord wagon we’ve always wanted this thing to be; improved visibility out of the rear, for starters, would be nice. The addition of a backup camera for 2012, however, has pushed that request farther down our wish list. For now, we’d simply take something more attractive.

Read More: http://blog.caranddriver.com/honda-to-debut-2013-crosstour-concept-new-york-auto-show/