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Honda ending CR-Z, Insight sales in Europe

Death by diesel? That may be the epitaph of the Honda Insight and CR-Z in Europe, where the Japanese automaker will discontinue sales of the two hybrid models before to the 2015 model-year. A Honda spokesman confirmed the discontinuation to Automotive News, and information on those models has been taken off of Honda's official websites in Germany, Spain and Italy. The European embrace of all things diesel and fuel efficient as well as competition from Toyota are the primary culprits. The cancellation is not a surprise. Insight sales in Europe fell a whopping 62 percent last year while CR-Z sales there plunged 66 percent. Combined, both models sold less than 2,000 units in Europe last year, Automotive News says, citing JATO Dynamics. Honda is having trouble moving the Jazz Hybrid (also known as the Fit) in Europe as well. European sales declined about 40 percent last year to around 4,500 units. Those numbers compare rather unfavorably to a 43 percent surge in Toyota's hybrid sales in Europe to about 153,000 units. The Insight may face the same fate in the US. Last year, US Insight sales fell 18 percent to 4,802 units, a small, small challenge to the more than 234,000 Toyota Prius variants sold in the US in 2013. Honda has not made an official statement on the Insight's fate here, but the sales are speaking for themselves. Featured Gallery 2014 Honda CR-Z Hybrid View 14 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Green Honda Hybrid hybrid sales

Who can really claim first mass-produced fuel cell vehicle delivery in US?

Last month, Hyundai said that the initial deliveries of the Tucson Fuel Cell vehicles in California meant that, "For the first time, retail consumers can now put a mass-produced, federally-certified hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in their driveways." But try telling that to Jon Spallino. In 2005, Honda leased a hydrogen fuel cell FCX, a small hatchback, to the Spallino family (as far as we know, he parked it in his driveway). The company did the same thing again in 2008 with the FCX Clarity, a sleek new design based on the FCX Concept, and others signed for the H2 ride as well, including celebrities. No matter how you slice it, Honda has been in the fuel cell delivery market for almost a decade now. Just look at this. Or this. Or this. Oh, and other automakers (General Motors in Project Driveway in 2006 and Mercdes-Benz with the F-Cell in 2010, for example) have delivered fuel cell vehicles in the US as part of short-term test programs. But let's get back to Hyundai's claim. There's little question that the first delivery of a "fuel cell vehicle for the US market" has already taken place (and they were federally certified, too), which means that the debate revolves around the definition of mass-produced and whether "mass production" is about a number or about the process? Let's investigate below. First, lets review Honda's bona fides. We can start with the official version of Honda's fuel cell history, which is missing the pertinent detail that Honda build the Clarity on a dedicated assembly line and established a small network of three dealerships to lease the FCX Clarity in 2008. All of the FCX Clarity vehicles in customer hands in the US were leased through these dealerships. Sure, Honda started with hand-built stacks in its hydrogen vehicles, but went to automated control of some parts and components with series production. "It is good to see others doing today what we've been doing since 2008" – Steve Ellis, Honda Or, as Honda's Steve Elllis put it to AutoblogGreen regarding Hyundai's fuel cell deliveries: "This was exactly as prescribed by the creation of the California Fuel Cell Partnership. It's the very essence of 'co-op-itition.' We at Honda, as do many others, continue to push forward on many technologies, both the battery and the fuel cell. And society is the beneficiary." Then he added, "It is good to see others doing today what we've been doing since 2008." Now, how does Hyundai compare?

Weekly Recap: Car-pedestrian crashes remained elevated in 2014

The death of American Horror Story: Freak Show star Ben Woolf served as a reminder this week that car crashes involving pedestrians remain a problem, and a new study issued on Thursday reinforced that the situation isn't really getting better. The Governors Highway Safety Association found a slight decline, 2.8 percent, in the number of pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2014. Fatalities dropped from 2,141 to 2,125 compared with the same period in 2013, though the association says it's a statistical wash when factoring in undercounting. Deaths are still 15-percent higher than in 2009. "The number of deaths remains relatively high and is cause for concern," wrote Allan Williams, who compiled the report and is the former chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This is the first look at data from last year, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will issue its full-year results later. The GHSA found some progress on the roadways, as 24 states and the District of Columbia reported drops in pedestrian deaths. In some states, the problem isn't even a problem at all: Nebraska and Wyoming reported one fatality apiece, though large population centers in urban areas are where most accidents occur. "This is a clearly a good news, bad news scenario," Jonathan Adkins, GHSA executive director, said in a statement. "While we're encouraged that pedestrian fatalities haven't increased over the past two years, progress has been slow." Other News & Notes Cadillac previews CT6 during Oscars Cadillac previewed its upcoming flagship sedan, the CT6, in commercials that aired Sunday during the Oscars. As expected, the creased sedan carries on Cadillac's recent design language, and the car in the commercial looks like a larger version of the CTS and ATS sedans. The CT6 will be revealed this spring at the New York Auto Show and launch late this year. It will be assembled at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck factory on a rear-wheel-drive chassis, and the CT6 is the first car to use Cadillac's revised alpha-numeric naming scheme. The commercials also kicked off Cadillac's "Dare Greatly" campaign, which is the first with its new advertising agency, Publicis Worldwide. Honda unexpectedly changes CEOs Honda unexpectedly announced this week that it will change CEOs. Current chief Takanobu Ito will step down in June and be replaced by company veteran Takahiro Hachigo.