Honda taps research expert as CEO | detnews.com | The Detroit News
TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. named Takanobu Ito, head of core automaking operations, as its new chief executive Monday, in an effort to provide fresh leadership to battle a global crisis in the auto industry. Ito, a 55-year-old research and development expert with U.S. experience, replaces Takeo Fukui, 64, as chief executive officer and president. Fukui will remain on the board as adviser, Japan's No. 2 automaker said in a statement Both Fukui and Ito said the change at the helm is a message of its...

In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Honda Civic Si sedan
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Honda Civic Si sedan.We've avoided glossy-eyed retrospectives of 2007, but if you were in the market for a practical, affordable and entertaining ride in the last year, there were a handful of vehicles to be had for under $25 large. The Mazdaspeed3, R56 MINI Cooper S and VW GTI have set the fun-to-drive quotient relatively high, but one vehicle that's been left out of the Autoblog Garage is the Honda Civic Si. While the coupe has garnered its fair share of...

Video: Honda’s LIVE TV commercial
Honda yesterday aired its live TV commercial yesterday in the UK in real-time with no special effects. The commercial demonstrates the ‘Difficult is Worth Doing’ philosophy of Honda’s marketing campaign for its new European Accord.The live ad took place in Spain with a team of 19 skydivers who successfully spelled the letters H-O-N-D-A within in the live three minute limit that Honda paid for.The campaign will continue this Sunday when the main commercial called ‘Jump’ makes its debut...

Honda Dog Website
Honda decided to attract a new circle of customers and created a website for dog lovers. It is a Japanese website which gives all the information a person needs if he or she wants to have a pet in the vehicle. You can reach Honda Dog website at www.honda.co.jp/dog/. Here a dog owner can find information about the most dog-friendly hotels, the dimensions of cargo space for the pet’s crate and even the best fabric for carrying dogs, which is easy to clean from hair. The website creators also gave the...

Honda kicking Toyota’s (and everyone’s) butt in the crossover segment
Honda is kicking Toyota’s butt. Okay maybe not financially or sales wise, but its CR-V is doing some serious damage in the compact crossover market. In February, Honda sold up to 15,695 CR-Vs even though the company’s overall sales declined 10 percent. That is up 11.4 percent from a year ago. That helped CR-V sales hit an increase of 14 percent in the first two months of 2008 as compared to 2007.Selling almost 220,000 in 2007, the CR-V is the best-selling SUV in U.S., a spot long-held by...

Honda warns drivers of crime hotspots via satnav
Starting this week, Japanese drivers using Honda’s on-board navigation system will receive new alerts advising them when they drive near crime-ridden areas. The system uses information gained from local police to rate districts by risk level and advise drivers about places where cars have recently been stolen, broken into or even damaged. The system is just another technology available providing drivers with extra information through their navigation systems, reports the Associated Press. Microsoft...

A new social compact: Honda Civic best all-around choice in '09 lineup | detnews.com | The Detroit News
There's no doubting the variety that comes with compact cars. Some, such as the Volvo C30 and Audi A3, are more luxurious, while others, like the Mini Cooper, have cult-like followings. All of them, however, share a few common attributes. In auto parlance, they are known as C-Segment vehicles, something that falls between the B and D segments. The EPA defines them as vehicles with interior volumes measuring between 100 and 109.9 cubic feet, but most people wouldn't know a cubic foot from a...

Honda Says V10 Supercar Will Finally Come To Market In Late 2010
Honda’s new NSX is finished and will spearhead the European launch of the Acura brand when it goes into production in autumn 2010.That’s the word from Autocar’s sources inside Honda Japan, who have confirmed that the front-engined V10 supercar will be unveiled at next year’s Tokyo show and will be followed by a new range of rear-wheel-drive Acura sports saloons.We can also reveal that the controversial looks of the NSX concept model have been overhauled since its debut at the...

New Honda Plant in Japan
The Honda company announced they wanted to work more on mini-vehicles and decided to build a new plant in central Japan. They think the vehicles with the engine size 660 cubic centimeters are going to stay popular for the next years. For a long time little fuel-efficient cars have been popular in Japan. After the gas-prices went high, the demand on these vehicles grew worldwide. Since Honda already has a plant producing mini-vehicles, they plan to share the production with the new one. The old plant is...

Honda NSX to spearhead RWD model lineup
Click above for a gallery of the Acura Advanced Sports Car concept.By most accounts, Honda originally planned to show off the next generation NSX to the seething throngs at last year's Tokyo Motor Show. But due to the less-than-positive reception the Advanced Sports Car concept garnered at the Detroit show, Honda's designers headed back to the drawing board to redesign the front clip housing the 550 hp, 4.5-liter V10.Now, Autocar has gotten word from a Honda insider that the NSX is bound for the 2009...