2014 Honda Civic Ex-l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

On sale in Japan, Honda won't bring $31k Odyssey Hybrid to US

Japanese minivan customers have been spoiled for choice when it comes to gas-electric versions of their favorite family haulers. Toyota, for example, started selling the Estima - the world's first hybrid minivan – in 2001, and it also offers the Aphard hybrids. Starting tomorrow, buyers will be able to buy the new Odyssey Hybrid minivan from Honda for a not-unreasonable price. US buyers? We're not so lucky. That's because the Japanese Odyssey and the version sold in the US don't share much except the name. That means that the only company bold enough to put a hybrid powertrain – and a plug-in version at that – into a US-bound minivan is FCA, which just introduced us to the Pacifica Hybrid. So, we'll have to just pine for what's available over in Japan. There, the new Odyssey Hybrid comes with an updated dual-motor Sport Hybrid i-MMD powertrain that uses a 2.0-liter and no transmission. It is offered in two versions (standard and 'Absolute') and a total of six trim levels. The hybrid Odyssey starts at the equivalent of $31,235 US and tops out at $34,725, which is a level that Honda says is, "affordably-priced." Related Video: Honda to Begin Sales of Refreshed Odyssey and Odyssey Absolute -- Hybrid model will be newly added to the Odyssey lineup TOKYO, Japan, February 4, 2016 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will begin sales of an affordably-priced hybrid version as well as the newly refreshed gasoline-powered version of the Honda Odyssey and Odyssey Absolute premium minivans on Friday, February 5, 2016 at dealerships across Japan. A new addition to the Odyssey lineup, the hybrid version realizes both excellent fuel economy and high-quality driving in the Odyssey and Odyssey Absolute which have been well-received for their spacious cabin, stately styling and exhilarating yet stable driving experience. The newly-added Odyssey Hybrid and Odyssey Hybrid Absolute are the first Honda premium minivan models equipped with the revolutionary Honda-developed powertrain Sport Hybrid i-MMD*1 and realize class-topping*2 fuel economy of 26.0 km/L (JC08 mode)*3. In the thorough pursuit of system efficiency, Honda developed a new motor that features an innovative winding method and structure. This newly-developed motor is approximately 23% smaller and lighter than the previous version and yet realizes high torque and high output.

Ariel to revive motorcycle business with debut at Goodwood

If you're a parent, the name Ariel might conjure up one of the Disney princesses, but auto enthusiasts know it as a hardcore, boutique British sports car maker. Before being revived to make the skeletal Atom, the business was also a British motorcycle company best known for its four-cylinder bikes. Now, the modern iteration is looking to the past with plans to unveil its own cycle at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed from June 26-29.
Given Ariel's cars, you might expect an absolutely minimalist motorcycle weighing practically nothing. However, according to its boss speaking to Visor Down, there's no point in trying to build another racer; that market is sewn up. Instead, it's developing a performance cruiser with a more tailored design approach. Buyers can select a variety of different components to adapt the cycle to their style. It shouldn't be lacking for too much speed though; power comes from the 1,237cc V4 engine from the Honda VFR1200F with around 170 horsepower on tap, and it also offers the VFR's six-speed, dual-clutch gearbox as an option.
Ariel admitted that bike on display at Goodwood would just be a test mule and didn't say when the production version would be ready. It seems this idea has been a long time coming, though - we reported in 2011 that the company was working on a bespoke motorcycle with multiple design options around a Honda engine. Pricing at the time was rumored to sit around 20,000 pounds.

Honda Concept B Hybrid production version coming to China in 2016

At the Beijing Motor Show this weekend, Honda took the wraps off of the Concept B Hybrid, a "new-value concept" that will apparently do its level best to get the Japanese automaker back into the entry-level gas-electric game. Powertrain details for the five-door concept hatch are noticeably absent, so we are assuming that what Honda wants with this concept is for us to focus on the looks. Honda says the car's exterior design is "advanced and cool-looking." We like the shape, but think a few changes will do wonders for the production model.
If the busy front end gets turned down a bit in production (it's especially glaring from the front), we can see this becoming a darn good replacement for the Insight at the lower end of the hybrid price spectrum. Sadly, for now, Honda is saying that the mass-production model that uses the Concept B as a foundation will be available "exclusively" on the Chinese market in two years.
Speaking at the Beijing show, Honda president and CEO Takanobu Ito continued to look for ways to green his company's line-up, and said Honda, "will strive to become number one in complying with Chinese CAFE regulations, which are the toughest in the world, and offer a new lifestyle for Chinese customers." Come 2016, that new lifestyle could look like the car you see in the gallery above. Think it's a good one?