Honda Will Launch the All-New 2012 CR-V this Fall

For those of you following my blog on a regular basis, this won't be news....
Honda, like your local artisanal bakery, has a habit of throwing away perfectly good stuff on a regular schedule. Except that while La Crise Cardiaque Belle is tossing out that morning’s croissants, Honda disposes of vehicles that are still near the top of the class. To wit: the present CR-V, introduced in 2006, still was good enough to take third place out of eight in a Car and Driver comparo with several much newer vehicles last year. It also continues to rack up sales for Honda, outselling Toyota’s RAV4 by almost 40 percent in March. But the proverbial palm flower crystal is now glowing in the CR-V’s hand, meaning that its time has expired. A new CR-V, Honda says, will join us in late 2011 as a 2012 model.

As for the rest of the details on the H’s upcoming soft-roader—you’re kidding, right? No companies play their cards closer to the vest than does Honda. Still, we can take a stab at a few likely details of the 2012 CR-V. Figure on a slight improvement from the current model’s EPA fuel economy rating of 21 mpg city/28 highway in two-wheel-drive form. Honda typically doesn’t jack up horsepower from generation to generation, and the brand-new Civic just launched with a five-speed automatic—not a six, like many of its competitors now pack—so don’t expect the CR-V’s power rating to leap beyond its present 180, either.

It certainly makes sense for the brass at Honda to stick with what works, but with so many of the company’s competitors in the process or rolling out outstanding compact crossovers, we’re not enamored with Honda’s conservative philosophy. Then again, after 22,000 CR-Vs found homes in March, maybe American consumers are.

Source;
http://blog.caranddriver.com/honda-will-launch-the-all-new-2012-cr-v-this-fall/

2012, 2013 Honda Ridgeline and 2012 Honda Civic Update

2012 Honda Ridgeline
-Expect another Minor Model Change for this year but indeed there will be one.

2013 Honda Ridgeline
-This will be the Full Model Change over. I was told via reliable source that this vehicle is not disappearing, most of this depends on what is going on in the US, and that is favourable.

2012 Honda Civic
-The spyshots floating around (http://thehondaportal.blogspot.com/2010/10/2012-honda-civic-exposed.html) are apparently of the previous Civic that President Ito kiboshed, not the revised one.

Source;
Reliable Honda

RUMOUR ALERT: Honda Abandons the sale of Honda Civic and Insight hybrid

Hmmm....No doubt about it, Hybrid sales are slow, I just attributed it to low (are we really desensitized to $1/litre now?!?) gas prices, I don't think that Honda would go to such a drastic measure, but I've been wrong before....Not surprisingly one day or another. With sales exceeding 175 copies since the beginning of the year in Quebec, the hybrid Insight became a burden instead of a source of pride for Honda. Is it too much like the Toyota Prius, its rear seats bit inviting or I do not know what other avatar, but one thing is certain, Honda intends to significantly slow the commercialization of its hybrid cars in the Canadian market. This includes not only the Insight, recently renovated, but the Civic Hybrid.

At first, according to a dealer who prefers to remain anonymous, Honda had decided to remove completely the sale of the Insight and Civic Hybrid, leaving only the new model this year, the CR-Z coupe only hybrid. Such an approach had been an admission of failure on the part of Honda, so that both cars to disappear benefit from a stay that will allow consumers to order. That's what we told the director of public relations for Honda Canada for Quebec, Nadia Mereb. "Our dealers do not keep any of these models (Insight and Civic hybrid) in stock and the customer who wants to buy one should place an order and wait for the car be delivered to him," was echoed by Ms. Mereb.

It is a blow to all those who work to spread products less damaging to the environment and is also proof that Quebecers are shy to adopt greener solutions. Some say that the wrongs come from Honda which has not found the right recipe to woo customers with these two hybrid cars.

It is expected that this new raised much debate in the areas concerned.

Source;
http://monvolant.cyberpresse.ca/dossiers/dossier-auto-ecolo/201008/20/01-4308342-honda-delaisse-la-vente-des-civic-et-insight-hybrides.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B2_automobile_508450_accueil_POS1

Next Generation Honda Civic Rendering

Hmmm, not sure what to say about this one, looks an awful lot like that small car sold in Asia by Honda.... if what they're saying is true, the code name for the new Honda Civic project is "2 HC"....
2011-2012 Honda Civic (2 HC codename) Rendering and speculationThere are reports emerging concerning the next generation Civic (nine generation) that is set to be introduced in september 2011 as a 2012 model year car. Knowing the traditional way of doing things by Honda, the different markets in Japan, Europe, and America, will be getting their own variant of the famous Civic.

rumore to reduce width from arond 1750 mm to 1695 mm as the car that width below 1700 mm will get a special reduce tax benefit in japan. the Next generation Honda Civic (2 HC codename) will not get the big revolution in term of styling as the current model (Eighth generationor codename FD) is big revolution from Seventh generation

2012 Honda Civic hybrid to get a 1.5-liter gasoline-powered engine From Honda CR-Z
As you would expect, there will be a hybrid version of the 2012 Civic, and it’s again slated to get a 1.5-liter gasoline-powered engine mated to Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist technology. This powerplant will reportedly be shared with the upcoming CR-Z hybrid hatchback where it will be available with either an automatic CVT transmission or six-speed manual.

Source;
http://autoten.com/2010/03/08/2011-2012-honda-civic-2-hc-codename-rendering-and-speculation/

Photoshopped pic of a Acura TSX Wagon

As per previous post on this, found this 'shopped' pic on Autoblog, being that I deal with Honda's it pains me to see an 'A' on that front grill instead of a 'H', but beggers can't be choosers....
Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/10/report-acura-considering-tsx-wagon-for-the-u-s/

Acura “Closely” Considering TSX Wagon

Wagons have been in the news quite a bit lately—Cadillac is soon to launch a CTS wagon, Mercedes-Benz just unwrapped the eccentric E-class wagon. We’ve now heard that Acura may be on the verge of bringing out a wagon version of the TSX.

“We’re closely, closely looking at it,” said John Watts, senior manager of Acura product planning. Watts believes that the younger part of the target market for the TSX—specifically the Gen Y portion—might be open to such a variant. “Boomers, and [the older among] Gen X, who had wagons as kids don’t want one, but the new kids do,” he said. Count us in that group, too, Johnny.
It wouldn’t be hard to develop, either. A wagon version of the TSX already is sold abroad as the Honda Accord Touring. All Acura would have to do is rebadge the thing and get it approved by the feds . . . the automotive equivalent of flickin’ a (somewhat costly) switch. And with everyone looking for handy, stylish, and thrifty alternatives to gas-guzzling SUVs, we think the time is right for said switch to be flicked.

Source;
http://blog.caranddriver.com/acura-%e2%80%9cclosely%e2%80%9d-considering-tsx-wagon/

Acura Rumour: Acura TSX V6 To Add AWD?

Here's something interesting, personally I don't think that this will come to fruition - it would cannibalize the TL too much.
Although not confirmed yet by anyone at Acura, the possibility of an all-wheel drive version of the V6-powered TSX looks good. When asked if such a car was in the works at a press event, one Acura executive said they've definitely looked at such a setup, but nothing was set in stone.

So it's hardly a done deal, but Acura's doesn't go around '"looking at possibilities" without having some kind of solid game plan behind it. We expect to see an all-wheel drive version of the TSX V6 by next year.

Source;
http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/2009/08/acura-tsx-v6-to-add-awd.html

TOV: Honda 4 Door Coupe?!?

Within the last week or so, there have been rumors concerning a new "4-door coupe" that Honda is said to be working on. Auto Motor und Sport (a German publication) asserted that this vehicle would be a new top level version of the European Accord (also known as the Acura TSX in North America). Auto Motor und Sport claims that the 4-door coupe will feature short front and rear overhangs as well as a coupe-like high beltline. AMuS further contends that base versions of this vehicle will likely be front-wheel-drive and use largely carryover (2.4L ~200hp 4-cylinder) powertrains. They also suggest that a Type-S version featuring a 260hp turbocharged 2.3L 4-cylinder, DSG double clutch transmission, and SH-AWD will be in the offering as well.

Now comes another story, this time from a Japanese outlet. Daniel Garcia Rodgriguez just returned from a quick visit to Japan and while he was there he picked up the latest issue of Holiday Auto magazine and scanned in these images. If you're not familar with the magazine, Holiday Auto is one of Japan's "car scoop" magazines. I'm not real clear on their track record on past scoop stories, but apparently they too have heard of this supposed 4-door coupe, and they have a slightly different take on what it will be. Here is what Daniel was able to decipher from the Japanese text:

"Jeff, I got something for you in Japan. Sorry for not having time to work out the text, but from what I understood very quickly, there is not much real information. Here is what I think I got of what seems Honda's answer to the "4door coupe" incipient market according to Hollyday-Auto (June 2009 issue):

- expect it for 2010 (calendar year).

- should sit in between the TL and TSX in terms of size (see the figures on the table).

- should get similar powertrain-transmission combo as the ZDX.

- styling wise, think about a dropped-off ZDX. Cheers, Daniel

Commentary: With several outlets jumping in on this rumor, it seems that there could be something to it, but if this vehicle is going to be based on the existing FF platform, I'd have to assume that these drawings are probably not very accurate. It's a great look, but for it to be pulled off properly, the front overhang needs to be shorter than just about anything Honda currently sells. This would make a fantastic vehicle to build upon Honda's on-again/off-again FR platform, but don't get your hopes up. Scanning the text of the article, I noticed a few English letters that caught my eye, particularly 'FR' and 'V8' along with 'SH-AWD'. Daniel assured me that the text of the Holiday Auto article makes mention of those things as items that Honda was working on, and the article makes it clear that Honda decided not to use that platform for this vehicle and instead to make it happen with existing technology. Ah, here we go again...

Source;

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=832493

Look at all these Rumours, In front of me every day ....

At this point these are just rumours!


Here is a concept of the next gen Toyota Supra (V10 or V12 for 340k?!?)
They seem to think that the Next Gen Honda S2000 has been spared....

Nissan is apparently looking at bringing a 4 door GT-R to the market?!?

InsideLine's correspondent in Japan says that despite the global economic crisis that has caused the demise of the Acura NSX, there are plenty of good things on the way from Japan's top automakers.

Adding fuel to the rumormill fire, Peter Lyon reports that Nissan is hard at work developing two models based off the Nissan GT-R: the oft-rumored four-door Infiniti and a Porsche Cayenne-fighting SUV, a vehicle that has already been denied by Nissan. Naturally, he doesn't disclose his sources, nor does he go into detail about the automakers efforts, but both models are expected to be released sometime in 2011.

The rumored demise of the Lexus LF-A is also open to debate – yet again – and according to Lyon's logic, after Toyota made the decision to continue its Formula One campaign, the automaker "still wants to bring its first true supercar to market." The V10-powered luxo-coupe is supposedly 12 to 18 months off and pricing is expected to retail for close to $340,000.Two other vehicles on the chopping block that Lyon says have been spared are the Honda S2000 replacement, which could debut in late 2011 or early 2012, as well as Toyota's plans to bring back the Supra with V6 power in 2011. The all-new Subaru Legacy which debuted in Detroit is also slated to arrive in production form this May, with sales beginning sometime in the fall.

We are not entirely convinced that any of these projects are sure things, so until we get confirmation from the individual automakers, we'll remain comfortably numb to the news.

Source (via Inside Line).

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/16/rumormill-nissan-gt-r-based-sedan-and-suv-in-the-works-lf-a-on/