June 18, 2008
It has been an open secret for quite some time: with skyrocketing gas prices, small, fuel efficient cars – new and used – are all the rage.
And as for hybrids, forget about it. As my colleage Bruce Miranda found out in his search for a Toyota Prius, the few used ones entering the market are snapped up right away and buying a new one means a wait of two to three months.
So credit local auto dealer Ernie Boch for having the foresight to see where gas prices were going and the moxie to buy up some $2 million’s worth of small Hondas from dealers around the nation, according to Automotive News.
“We could see it coming,” he told the authoritive industry trade paper of the run on small, fuel efficient cars.
As a result, sales at Boch’s Honda dealership in Norwood, Mass., which is the top-selling Honda store in the nation, are “brisk” while many other dealerships are staring at clogged lots and little foot traffic.
“Civics are going like crazy,” Boch is quoted as saying below a front-page photo of him leaning out the front window of a Civic with a big grin and a thumbs up.
- Peter C.T. Elsworth
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 12:14 PM | Permalink
June 16, 2008
TAKANEZAWA, Japan -- Honda's new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday and is headed to Southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring, according to the Associated Press.
The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water and none of the noxious fumes believed to induce global warming. It is also two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car, the company says.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:21 AM | Permalink
April 1, 2008
DETROIT -- Ford's U.S. sales dropped 14 percent, Toyota's fell 10 percent and Honda's slipped 3 percent in March as demand for trucks and sport utility vehicles plummeted amid high gas prices and a slowdown in home construction, according to the Associated Press.
Consumers' worries about the economy were expected to make March one of the worst months for automakers since 2005, when a wave of summer discounts led to a huge drop in fall sales. Automakers reported sales Tuesday.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 2:28 PM | Permalink
February 28, 2008
YONKERS, NY — Overall, the best cars sold in the U.S. are still made by Honda, according to the Automaker Report Cards published in Consumer Reports’ Annual Auto Issue on sale March 4. Honda also led the pack last year, the first time the country’s largest expert, independent, non-profit consumer product testing organization issued such information.
With an overall score of 78 out of 100 points, Honda was followed closely by Toyota (75) and Subaru (72). BMW, Mazda, Nissan, and Volkswagen tied at 71, after rounding. Only Honda and Subaru have earned the distinction of having all of the models tested make Consumer Reports’ Recommended list.
Honda is also the only automaker whose entire model lineup is currently recommended. Full details and rankings are available in the article “Who makes the best cars?” in the magazine and for online subscribers at www.ConsumerReports.org.
Honda earned the top score because it builds cars that are well-rounded, have excellent reliability and perform very well. But not all of Honda’s models lead their class. The new CR-V SUV can’t quite match the top-ranked Toyota RAV4. The Accord was edged out by the Nissan Altima, and the Honda Odyssey minivan scored slightly lower than the Toyota Sienna.
The overall score for each automaker is based on the average overall scores of its vehicles in Consumer Reports’ road tests and its average predicted-reliability score from Consumer Reports’ Annual Car Reliability Survey. Manufacturers received a report card only if five or more of its vehicles were tested.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 3:07 PM | Permalink
February 1, 2008
Automakers report their U.S. sales for January today amid a continuing economic slowdown. But new information about last year's showroom sales already reveals who has momentum in the struggling market, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Ford was the biggest loser in U.S. retail sales last year, dropping nearly a full percentage point of retail market share, according to the latest retail sales estimates provided exclusively to the Free Press by the Power Information Network.
In all, Ford's share dropped from 15.1% in 2006 to 14.2% last year, a decline that represents about half the production for an assembly factory.
Meanwhile, Toyota and Honda picked up most of Ford's decline in the U.S. market. And General Motors has stabilized its retail share, with about 22% of the U.S. market.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:18 AM | Permalink
January 10, 2008
Honda surpassed 1 million vehicles made in the United States for the first time in a year in 2007, the Japanese automaker announced this morning, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Honda made 1,015,462 vehicles in 2007 in the United States, up 4.2% from 2006. Total North American production rose 3.4% to 1,432,731 vehicles.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:00 AM | Permalink
December 14, 2007
Honda expects its U.S. sales to increase between 3% and 5% in 2008 despite a slight drop in the overall market, said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda auto operations, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Total light vehicle sales in 2008 likely will be around 15.7 million, Mendel said Thursday during a visit to metro Detroit. Total U.S. sales are expected to finish at 16.3 million this year.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:08 AM | Permalink
October 24, 2007
TOCHIGI, Japan — Honda will deliver fewer than 100 of its new fuel-cell cars next year, when it's scheduled for introduction in the United States, the automaker's top executive said yesterday at the company's research and development headquarters here, according to USA Today.
Though a small number, it is several times as many FCX hydrogen fuel-cell sedans as the automaker currently has on U.S. roads. Only two of those are in the hands of individuals and about 20 more are in fleet service by governments and other institutions.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:10 AM | Permalink
October 10, 2007
Check out this hybrid with attitude.
TOKYO — Cars don't have to sacrifice looks to be environmentally friendly — they can be muscular and stylish, too, according to USA Today citing an Associated Press story.
That's the message Honda hopes to send at this month's Tokyo auto show with its new gas-electric hybrid sports car CR-Z.
"This is something rivals can't offer," Tetsuji Morikawa, a Honda Motor engineer, said of the CR-Z, whose sales date is promised for the "near future."
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:44 AM | Permalink
October 3, 2007
Despite a difficult overall market, General Motors and Ford found a receptive audience for new and redesigned vehicles in September, giving hope that their evolving lineups could win back U.S. customers, according to the Detroit Free Press.
GM reported Tuesday U.S. sales in September of 334,974, up 0.3% from the same month last year. Sales of the redesigned Cadillac CTS were up 66.8% to 6,416.
Ford's U.S. sales, hurt by slumping truck figures, dropped 20.4% to 189,037. But a redesigned Escape was a bright spot with sales increasing 10.3% to 11,132.
GM and Ford were not the only automakers helped by new products. Sales for Honda Motor Co., which launched a redesigned Accord in September, were up 9.4% to 127,000.
Nissan was up 6.7% to 94,269 thanks largely to the Altima, redesigned in late 2006. A new coupe version was added this year.
Toyota's U.S. sales fell 4.4% in September to 213,043 vehicles, marking the third straight month of declines.
Chrysler LLC's sales were down 5.4% to 159,799. The Auburn Hills automaker emphasized that Jeep brand sales were down 10.6% to 37,460 in September because of a planned fleet reduction.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:17 AM | Permalink
October 2, 2007
Ford and Chrysler probably lost U.S. market share last month as consumers spurned their pickups and SUVs in favor of fuel-efficient cars made by Honda, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Sales at Ford may have plunged 15% from a year earlier while Chrysler's fell 5.9%, according to the average estimates of seven analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Honda sales probably rose 9% while General Motors' gained 1%, helped by discounts, analysts said.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:26 AM | Permalink
September 24, 2007
Get these tax credits while they last.
In August, Honda sold its 60,000th hybrid vehicle. That means the clock has started ticking on the phase-out, and eventual end, of credits for people who buy a Honda hybrid, according to the New York Times. Hybrid tax credits were part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The 2007 Accord Hybrid qualifies for a $1,300 credit and the Civic Hybrid for $2,100. (Some earlier models still qualify technically for the credit, but it’s only for the vehicle’s original owner; credits are not available for pre-owned cars.)
However, the Energy Policy Act sets a limit on the number of hybrids eligible. Once an automaker sells its 60,000th hybrid (all hybrid models combined), the tax credit begins to fade.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 4:39 PM | Permalink
Get these tax credits while they last.
In August, Honda sold its 60,000th hybrid vehicle. That means the clock has started ticking on the phase-out, and eventual end, of credits for people who buy a Honda hybrid, according to the New York Times. Hybrid tax credits were part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The 2007 Accord Hybrid qualifies for a $1,300 credit and the Civic Hybrid for $2,100. (Some earlier models still qualify technically for the credit, but it’s only for the vehicle’s original owner; credits are not available for pre-owned cars.)
However, the Energy Policy Act sets a limit on the number of hybrids eligible. Once an automaker sells its 60,000th hybrid (all hybrid models combined), the tax credit begins to fade.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 4:39 PM | Permalink
July 23, 2007
Carmakers Mazda and Honda and more than half of Toyota's shuttered assembly lines will restart at least some production over the next two days because a key parts supplier damaged by a major earthquake resumed operations Monday, according to the Associated Press.
Posted by at 12:50 PM | Permalink
July 16, 2007
Acura dealerships ranked highest in a study to be released today that evaluates how consumers are treated when shopping for a new car or truck, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Land Rover and Saturn took second and third place, respectively, in the 2007 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index auto industry study. The report evaluates shopping experiences at 1,592 dealerships, representing all brands, nationwide.
Posted by at 10:51 AM | Permalink
June 28, 2007
Four Honda models, more than any other single automaker, topped the rankings for their vehicle segments in an annual J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction survey of U.S. drivers, according to USA Today.
Honda Motor's newly redesigned CR-V small crossover sport-utility vehicle, Ridgeline truck and Odyssey minivan all topped their segments, and the subcompact Fit tied with Toyota Motors (TM) Yaris for a top spot.
Posted by at 2:11 PM | Permalink
June 25, 2007
A promising, if so far underwhelming, fuel-economy technology is gaining momentum as automakers, squeezed by social and political pressure, look under every rock to gain even a few tenths of a mile per gallon, according to USA Today.
The technology goes by various names but by any name does the same thing: shuts off fuel to some of an engine's cylinders when the vehicle needs only partial power.
Chrysler just said that a new line of V-6 engines will have cylinder deactivation, starting in 2010. Honda says it will have an enhanced version of what it calls Variable Cylinder Management on V-6 engines in the redesigned 2008 Accord coming this fall. And General Motors says it will use the feature on a 2008 Buick LaCrosse V-8 and '08 hybrid versions of full-size Chevrolet and GMC SUVs.
Posted by at 11:37 AM | Permalink
