Details on Nissan Leaf battery pack, including how recharging speed affects battery life

Interesting....Nissan broke ground on a new battery plant in Smyrna, Tennessee yesterday (figuratively, anyway, the actual bulldozing doesn't start for a few weeks). For now, we will call this the U.S. Leaf battery plant, but it's really part of Nissan's strategy to electrify more and more of its vehicles. As we mentioned yesterday, once it is up and running at the end of 2012, the plant will have the capacity to make 200,000 battery packs a year. The nearby vehicle assembly facility where the U.S.-built Leafs will come to life will have a maximum capacity to make 150,000 Leafs a year alongside other Nissan vehicles like the Altima and Pathfinder. The extra capacity, if used, could be sold to other automakers or go into non-Leaf Nissan products.In...

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Strand Craft 122 super yacht comes with supercar and in-boat garage to hold it

All I can say is wow....We know what you're thinking. What business does a yacht – albeit one as ridiculously lustworthy as the Strand Craft 122 promises to be – have gracing the pages of Autoblog? Somewhat surprisingly, the answer is a garage. And also a supercar. That's right, this ultra-yacht design study comes with an integrated garage in the stern that houses an 880-horsepower V12-powered supercar.Despite the fact that the designer has shared next to nothing about the supposed supercar (other than the fact that it can theoretically travel at speeds of over 230 miles per hour), we're going to go ahead and start referring to it as the World's Coolest Tender. Feel free to check out the high-res rendering of the machine in our image gallery...

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Euro-only next-gen Civic hatch spied

Honda may ditch the British-built Civic from the local range, but the factory's working on a replacement Our spy photographers at Carparazzi have busted the next-generation Honda Civic testing in the Italian Alps. The test mule shows the upcoming Civic shares many of the same futuristic styling cues as debuted on the current model, which was first launched back in 2005.With a lineage stretching back to 1972, the Honda Civic is unarguably the brand's most readily recognised nameplate, and with looks like these, that brand recognition is certain to continue making a bold statement for a few more years yet. Retaining similar dimensions to the existing model, the test mule appears to sport a wider track. The wheelbase remains unchanged.A new bumper...

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TOV: What's in store for model year 2011? Odyssey

Here's www.vtec.net with a little more information on the upcoming Odyssey....Odyssey 2010 marks the 6th year of the current Odyssey's model cycle, and a replacement will be in showrooms this fall. With the 2011 Odyssey, Honda has placed greater emphasis on styling and efficiency. The new model will feature V6-only power (with VCM cylinder cut technology) and a 6-speed automatic transmission - a combo that's said to be good for an EPA highway rating of 28mpg. On the feature front, according to Honda the new Odyssey will offer two different rear entertainment systems. One of them features a 16.2" widescreen LCD which is capable of simultaneously displaying two different sources side by side. This RES also features an HDMI input, supporting hi-def...

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Honda Aims to Buff Up Minivan's Image

Popular Odyssey Gets Sleek, 'Athletic' Design, More Space, Better Fuel EfficiencyHonda Motor Co. is hoping to jump-start sales of its Odyssey, the top-selling minivan in the U.S., with a sleeker design that it describes as "athletic," while adding space and better fuel efficiency.Later this year, the auto maker will launch a redesigned version of the Odyssey that is sculpted and shaped to tone down the traditional squarish look and soccer-mom image—factors that have caused many consumers to stop buying minivans and move to sport-utility vehicles for hauling kids and cargo.Honda, which has steadily increased its U.S. market share for more than a decade, needs a shot in the arm. Honda has an aging lineup with some of its best-selling models,...

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Honda turns to China to develop electric vehicles

Historically, Honda has been identified as a leader in environmentally friendly and high-efficiency vehicles, but recently the automaker has struggled to deliver class-leading products, and due to policy choices, risks falling further behind the competition.Toyota has established itself as a strong leader in the hybrid market, offering numerous hybrid vehicles, including the class-leading Prius gas-electric hybrid. Honda, by contrast, lagged behind Toyota and the rest of the market introducing hybrid vehicles, and those it has introduced have failed to make meaningful impacts either technologically, or in sales.Other automakers, such as Ford with its Escape and Fusion hybrids – both class-leading in fuel economy, and Nissan, with its upcoming...

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Honda to install brake override

This is an example of Honda being Honda, Proactive...Honda Motor Co. will install a brake override system on Honda and Acura brand vehicles starting in August and expects to have equipped all models with the safety system by the end of 2011.Congress is weighing mandatory brake override systems as a result of investigations into hundreds of reports of unintended acceleration of Toyota Motor Corp. as well as other vehicles.In vehicles equipped with brake override systems, pressure on the brake overrides other commands and reduces the power going to the engine. "We are committed to applying Brake Priority Logic on 100 percent of Honda and Acura passenger vehicles produced for the North American market by the end of calendar year 2011, with our...

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Doh! A1 rolls at public demo

What seemed like a good idea at the time....Red faces for Audi as publicity stunt goes wrong.The faces among Audi's crack driving team matched the colour of this rather worse for wear A1 this weekend.The car was being driven up and down a specially-constructed half pipe in the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels as part of the build up to the car's public launch.But instead of demonstrating the car’s skateboard-like handling and fun-to-drive character, one of Audi’s drivers got carried away and rolled the MINI-rivalling hatch onto its roof. The good news is, nobody was hurt, and the car barely damaged. (which is where Audi should have promptly went into a safety rant....)Driver and passenger were quickly freed after the car was pushed back...

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Toyota FT-86 debut to be made in 2013! Hybrid version planned!

It appears that the same thing that happened with the Lexus LFA Supercar will happen with the new Toyota FT-86. For those who don’t know, the Lexus LFA was first unveiled in a concept form back in 2005 at the Detroit Auto Show.The production version was launched last year at the Tokyo Motor Show. The new Toyota FT-86 will likely have the same faith and people will get tired of waiting it! According to the latest reports from Japan’s Best Car magazine, the Toyota FT-86 will make its debut in 2013. The reasons for the delay would be the changing of the design but also the fact that a 2011 release may be premature…What?!?!?!?! Anyway, there is also a good news: Toyota will take a closer look to Honda’s CR-Z hybrid sports coupe and may consider...

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Could Honda CR-Z Be The World's First Sexy Hybrid?

Honda’s new CR-Z hybrid coupe is schedule to hit dealerships in the UK and USA at about the same time this summer. But while the Honda CR-Z has so far remained under the radar in America, the small sporty hybrid is garnering a lot of positive press on the other side of the pond.We can’t imagine that Honda Motor Europe’s project in group filmmaking, Live Every Litre, is the reason for the extra attention. The marketing effort—hypothetically designed to promote the CR-Z as hip—yielded a set of YouTube road trip vignettes that induce equal parts confusion and boredom. Nonetheless, a trio of British auto reviewers recently reported a much better time from behind the wheel of the CR-Z.Quentin Willson of The Mirror was nearly ecstatic about the car....

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VIDEO: One Extremely Lucky Guy Avoids Oncoming Car

Wow, this guy moves like a cat!Source;http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2010/05/video-one-extremely-lucky-guy-avoids.h...

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Chrysler, Honda, Nissan and Toyota betting on the old minivan comeback

There are signs that the minivan will be making a comeback and carmakers are only too eager to prepare for this scenario. Later this year or early in 2011, Chrysler Group, Toyota Motor Sales USA., American Honda Motor Co. and Nissan North America will be introducing new-generation vans to the market.Edmunds has noticed a sudden increase in Web traffic for consumers researching minivans on its site. On any typical month, only 2 to 3% of consumers on the site check out minivans but in April, this number rose to nearly 5%. Ivan Drury, an Edmunds analyst, said that this represents a definite “peak in interest.” He assumes that the public has heard about the arrival of new minivans and they want to read about them. Used-vehicle barometer LeaseTrader...

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2011 Honda Odyssey Interior Sketch

Here's the 2011 Honda Odyssey Interior Sketch and below is the closest 'sneak peak' I could find of the Interior....

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2010 Honda Civic Hybrid

Yes, there will be a 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid and No, there won't be any changes.Source;Honda Can...

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Patent Search Reveals 2012 Honda Civic *update*

Or at least what it may have looked like.... This looks pretty much like the smaller Honda City sold in Malaysia, so I don't know how accurate this would have been anyway.*UPDATE*This was old news, and the orig. site agrees that this is the 2009 Honda City.Source;http://thecollegedriver.com/posts/752-Patent-Search-Reveals-2012-Honda-Ci...

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TOV: Rumor: Next generation (2012) Civic Si to have 2.4L? And other 9th gen Civic tidbits.

We received this tip a while back but were asked to sit on it for reasons I won't get into, but here's what we got:"Just heard through the grapevine that the next-gen civic will definitely be getting a version of the TSX K24. Probably for Si model. Will incorporate integrated exhaust manifold"The integrated exhaust manifold the source is speaking of is the same sort of cast-in exhaust manifold that is currently found on Honda's J-series V6 engine family. It should be noted that the source has indicated that this rumor still has legs, yet it currently sits right around a 5 on our CR scale at this point.In other 9th generation Civic news, American Honda Executive Vice President John Mendel recently confirmed something that we've been talking...

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Honda Delays Launch of HondaJet to Late 2012

Looks like I'll have to wait a little while longer for my jet, I wonder if I can get my $500 deposit back if I change my mind by 2012....It appears the next-gen Civic won't be the only Honda product pushing away from the gate a little later than anticipated. According to Honda's aircraft division, supplier issues have prompted the company to delay the launch of the HondaJet small private jet until the third quarter of 2012."Our first priority is to achieve certification and first delivery of the HondaJet," Hondajet spokesman Stephen Keeney told Aviation International News. "Regrettably we've experienced delays in some components."Although we first saw this instance of the HondaJet back in 2006, the company originally planned to launch the private...

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Survey: Honda perceived to be tops in customer, quality commitment

Among seven major auto brands, consumers consider Honda to be the most committed to customers and to product quality. Ford ranked second, followed by Nissan, Chevrolet, and Toyota, based on a new survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Hyundai and Chrysler trailed the others by a significant margin. To see how consumers' perception of a brand's commitment to customers and quality has changed in the wake of Toyota's high-profile safety and image challenges, the Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a telephone survey using a nationally representative sample. More than 1,700 interviews were completed among adults whose household owns at least one vehicle. Honda truly stands out by this measure, being perceived...

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Honda, Toyota plan to develop diesel engines

No, they are not developing this for our market in North America, but for India, however once the technology is developed, it can be used in other markets....MUMBAI: Japanese carmakers Honda and Toyota plan to develop diesel engines for their passenger cars even as rivals like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai spend more on building and marketing diesel cars to keep pace with demand.Honda, which has only petrol-powered vehicles in its portfolio in the country, is developing a small diesel engine for the Indian market, while Toyota will soon roll out a diesel version of Corolla Altis, making it its first diesel-driven passenger car in India.“We feel the need to develop a diesel engine,” said Jnaneswar Sen, vice president (marketing), Honda Siel. He...

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Honda ’Lacks Confidence’ in Electric-Car Demand

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co. remains skeptical about demand for electric cars 10 years after it stopped selling its EV Plus battery-powered model, the head of research at Japan’s second-largest carmaker said.“We lack confidence” in the electric-vehicle business, Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda’s research and development unit, said in an interview in Wako City, northwest of Tokyo. “It’s questionable whether consumers will accept the annoyances of limited driving range and having to spend time charging them.”The skepticism contrasts with an estimate by Nissan Motor Co.’s Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn that the vehicles will make up 10 percent of the global car market by 2020. While Honda plans to sell electric cars in the...

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Honda 2010 Digital FactBook

05/17/2010 - Torrance, CA -The 2010 Digital FactBook is an annual report which provides an overview of Honda's global operations as well as detailed historical and up-to-date information concerning Honda's sales, manufacturing and R&D operations in North America. This report includes a general chronology which highlights the significant milestones in Honda's corporate history.The 2010 Digital FactBook includes the following:-Corporate directory of key locations and contacts by region-Overview of worldwide operations, sales network and 2008 production-Overview of North America (N.A.) operations and subsidiaries-History of Honda/Acura vehicle introductions in the U.S., Honda/Acura vehicle and industry sales data for N.A.-List of N.A. manufacturing...

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Autonet.ca: Quick 2010 Honda Accord Review

Accord is simply desirableIt only takes a few minutes to realize what’s so refreshing about the 2010 Honda Accord sedan - it’s almost completely gimmick-free.There are no panoramic sunroofs, paddle shifters, cooled gloveboxes, push button ignitions or hip-sounding eco-friendly technologies to be found anywhere.Of course there’s certainly nothing wrong with those things - most of them anyways - but listening to the average consumer and even auto journalists over the years, it’s clear there are still plenty of people who want nothing more than to own a vehicle that’s uncomplicated.If cars had middle names, ‘simple’ or ‘uncomplicated’ would fit the four-door Accord perfectly.Now, there’s sure to be detractors who would replace the ‘refreshing’...

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CarShark Software Lets You Hack Into, Control And Kill Any Car

Whoa! Yikes!CarShark's a computer program that'll let someone hack into a car's onboard computer system to kill the brakes, disable the engine, blast music and otherwise wreak electronic havoc. It's both clever and absolutely frightening. Here's how it works.A team of researchers led by professors at the University of Washington and USCD hacked the Controller Area Network (CAN) system installed on all new cars built in the United States to show how potentially vulnerable the system is. The CAN is supposed to allow onboard vehicle systems to communicate so problems are easier to diagnose, but the hands of these hackers it's the open door to disabling a vehicle.The researchers connected to the car via a simple OBD-II computer port and using...

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Honda Mileage Marathon winner beats official mpg figure

The winner of Honda’s Mileage Marathon challenge for fleet drivers recorded an average of 63.6mpg in a Honda Insight, beating the official economy figure of 61.4 mpg (combined).The challenge involved six high mileage company car drivers swapping their existing cars for a Honda Insight for a month, to see if the hybrid could reduce their fuel costs.E-ON company car driver, Ray Hadlington, usually drives a Vauxhall Zafira Diesel. He improved his typical fuel economy by over 10mpg, which saved nearly £50 in fuel bills over the month.“Fuel prices are likely to rise again due to the weaker pound, and with the recent increase in duty, fleets will be looking at how they can reduce their fuel costs,” says Graham Avent, Manager – Corporate Sales at...

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Next-generation Honda Civic delayed until 2011

News, but not unexpected news, the current Civic is still extremely competitive....We’re in dire need of a redesigned Civic (gotta admit, we're coming due....); however, according to John Mendel, American Honda Motor Co.’s executive vice president, the redesigned Honda Civic won’t arrive until 2011 (as a 2012 model of course). The schedule is well past the typical five-year product line for the compact car.Mendel said that changing market conditions and tougher fuel-economy regulations have affected the development of the next-generation Honda Civic, which was originally scheduled to arrive this fall.Mendel now says that the redesigned Civic will be unveiled sometime next-year, although he declined to give a specific timeline.“In general, we...

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Business News: Consumer Reports Says Honda (NYSE:HMC) and Ford (NYSE: F) Top Brand Loyalty

A new survey from Consumer Reports shows that Honda (NYSE: HMC) is currently the top auto manufacturer in terms of customer loyalty, with 68% of current owners saying that they are likely to purchase another Honda as their next vehicle.Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) ranked second in the report, with 61% of its owners saying that their next vehicle would likely be a Ford. This is a notable increase from its numbers two months again when Ford was fourth on the list, and just 51% of its drivers said they were loyal to the brand.Consumer Reports surveyed 1,704 U.S. adults that currently own a Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Honda or Toyota vehicle.Toyota took a major hit in loyalty from their customers after several highly publicized news items came out questioning...

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Honda’s VTEC System Explained

VTEC stands for Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control and represents a variable valve control system developed by Japanese car manufacturer Honda for its gasoline engines. The system was the first of its kind and although most car makers worldwide started developing their own variable valve timing and lift control systems, the VTEC witnessed the biggest success becoming a trademark and an integral part of Honda’s consumer perceived identity.History of the VTEC SystemBecause of the growing demand in the early 80s for high powered sports bike engines Honda embarked on a mission to try and achieve an engine that would display both high power output and driveability over the entire revolution range. So following a feasibility study,...

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Second Opinion: 2010 Acura RDX Technology

Launched in 2006 as a 2007 model, the Acura RDX was the first vehicle to challenge BMW’s sporty X3 in the premium compact SUV market. A lot has happened since then. The segment is now congested with offerings from Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Audi, VW, Volvo, Cadillac, Infiniti and Mazda – and the term CUV (crossover utility vehicle) has come into favour.For 2010, the turbocharged four-cylinder RDX, with a base price of $39,990, gets a mid-cycle refresh to keep it in the game. My tester was the Technology model listed at $42,990.The biggest visual upgrade is the addition of Acura’s new corporate grinning metallic grille, giving the somewhat non-descript RDX a little more presence. New 18-inch 10-spoke aluminum-alloy wheels, updated HID headlights,...

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2011 Honda CR-Z: the car for today’s and yesterday’s tuners?

Regarding the Honda CR-Z sports hybrid coupe, the Japanese manufacturer’s main target are today’s and yesterday’s tuners. How is that?Well, according to John Mendel, executive vice president for automobile sales at American Honda Motor Co., the research shows that the “young people and guys my age, because it’s reminiscent of the CR-X, which was the ultimate tuner vehicle.” “We thought maybe the hybrid would turn the tuners off,” Mendel said. “Basically, they just say, ‘It’s 20 extra horsepower — what the hell.’ ” In order to reach younger buyers, the Japanese manufacturer is planning to use social media but sponsoring the concert tours of musical acts with a multigenerational appeal might work with both groups. For those who don’t know, the...

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Canadian Exclusive: Acura announces limited edition TL A-Spec

Apparently this car will only be available in Canada....Toronto, Ontario – The new Acura TL A-Spec limited edition package is now available in Canada, priced at $51,290. The package adds 19-inch wheels, an aero kit and other features.The 2010 TL A-Spec features Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) and includes all of the features of the TL SH-AWD Technology Package trim, with either a six-speed manual transmission or five-speed automatic transmission.Unique to the A-Spec are its 19-inch alloy wheels with summer performance tires, full aero kit package with front, side and rear skirts, midnight chrome grille and rear piece, and A-Spec badge and floor mats.Source;http://www.canadiandriver.com/2010/05/12/acura-announces-limited-edition-tl-...

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