$ 12 million worth of Honda's Left floating in the water

In the past few months in Thailand with some of the worst floods in its history back home, shops and factories feeling the full force of nature over an extended 4th period.Since October, Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co. Ltd. employs (HATC) in Ayutthaya, one of the most affected regions of the country, was closed based and how the Thai army is preparing with the national emergencies, Honda will scramble for cars from the Rojana Industrial Estate now move under 5.1 meters of water.

The delivery of vehicles to the Thai domestic market and the Asia-Oceania became serious, have not only due to the necessary closure of their factory, but also because the main road leading into and out of the Ayuttaya impassable, ie shipping is affected by finished products now extremely difficult.Honda 's Accord, Civic, Jazz, CR-V, City-and Brio are all produced here, especially for the Philippines, which has always been of the impact of Japanese tsunami. Unfortunately, they look set to suffer further setbacks in relation to the supply of Honda vehicles to suffer on the market.

"Honda has been working diligently to overcome this temporary disruption and to minimize the impact on Honda customers, dealers and employees," Honda Cars Philippines (HICP), said in a statement.

Other car manufacturers are in this region, so when it could no slackening in the rain, we see similar stories reported by rival automakers.

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Honda Insight with 1.5 liter IMA system debut soon?

Check out the Honda Insight section on Honda Japan website, and you are by the teaser image above, to indicate that an Insight with a larger 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine is IMA seems to be available soon welcomed . Previously sold most of Honda's hybrids including the Honda Insight here in Malaysia with the 1.3-liter system, while the 1.5-liter system for sporty Honda CR-Z reserved.

A larger, more powerful system in the Insight would certainly welcome for those who need a little more fun in their green driving, but do not want to go for the 3-door body of the CR-Z. With the hybrid tax exemption extended recently by the Malaysian government, perhaps Honda Malaysia, this 1.5-liter version of the Honda Insight to introduce? I'm sure there's a market!

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2011 Honda Accord (Euro-spec) Facelift Officially For Geneva Debut

Honda has announced plans to introduce the facelifted 2011 Accord (Euro-spec) at the Geneva Motor Show.


On the styling front, the updated model options a revised grille, changed bumpers and new lighting units. Speaking of the latter, Honda is especially proud to announce the Accord are going to be offered with active cornering headlights and High Beam Support that automatically switches to low beams when a CMOS camera senses oncoming traffic.


Inside, the cabin is generally unchanged however there is improved sound deadening, thicker rear windows, and new seat upholstery.


Under the hood, engine choices carryover with minor modifications for improved potency and reduced emissions. Likewise, the automated transmission has been optimized to become additional eco-friendly.


The 2011 Honda Accord is scheduled to start out arriving at European dealerships in April.


Source : honda.com

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Honda counts on new Civic to reignite sales

Honda showed off two concept versions of the upcoming Civic coupe and sedan that executives said were very close to the production version of the vehicles that will arrive in U.S. showrooms this spring as a 2012 model.


John Mendel, Honda U.S. chief sales executive, said he was counting on energized sales in 2011 from the ninth-generation of the Civic, which has been sold in the United States since 1972.


Mendel, speaking to reporters at the Detroit auto show, said the Civic would compete in a compact car market that is more crowded than before. New entrants include the new Ford Focus and the Chevrolet Cruze.





"From Honda's standpoint, it really kind of sharpens our spirit of competition," Mendel said. "For years we've been several laps ahead in a 500 mile race. Now, there's more and more competitors approaching the same lap as we are."


Honda trailed every major automaker in the U.S. market in 2010 with the exception of Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), which had a series of recalls that damaged Toyota's reputation for safety and quality.


Including its luxury Acura brand, Honda's U.S. sales rose 7 percent in 2010, against an industrywide gain of 11 percent. Sales of Honda-brand cars like the Civic, which account for over half of overall U.S. sales, were down 1.2 percent.


The Civic is Honda's second-best selling vehicle in the U.S. market behind the Accord, and accounts for just over 20 percent of its sales.


As automakers strive to meet more stringent U.S. fuel economy standards going into force in 2016, the compact and subcompact segments are "going to receive a lot more attention," said Mendel,


The No. 4 automaker by sales in the U.S. market, Honda's sales including its Acura luxury brand were 1.23 million vehicles in 2010. Honda's share of the U.S. market dropped to 10.6 percent from 11 percent in 2009.


Mendel declined to forecast Civic sales in 2011.


The Civic gasoline version will get about 40 miles per gallon, Honda representatives estimated. Its mileage has not yet been certified by U.S. officials.

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2011 Honda Accord SE Sedan Review

What Is It?

Car. If aliens landed tomorrow and asked for our finest example of mainstream transportation, you’d probably point them toward one of these babies. You might also tell them that the Accord has snatched Car and Driver’s 10Best trophy awhopping 24 times, although they might look at you funny (we publish no interstellar editions). The 2011 model year brings a mid-cycle refresh.

What’s New?

This SE model, for one thing. It’s the fifth and middle trim level for the Accord sedan, essentially an LX-P that adds heated leather seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, power lumbar on the driver’s seat, and SE (Special Edition) badging. It is available only with the 177-hp version of Honda’s 2.4-liter iVTEC four-cylinder engine, mated to either a five-speed manual or automatic, and it will cost less than $24,000 when it goes on sale later this month. So this is clearly Honda’s Hyundai Sonata fighter, albeit with 21 fewer ponies.

The second big change is an across-the-board fuel-economy bump for all Accord models—sedan, coupe, inline-four, V-6—with no diminution in power. The auto-equipped four-cylinder sedans are the coffee achievers here, jumping 2 mpg in the city (to 23), 3 mpg on the highway (34), and 2 mpg combined, for a best-in-class blended rating of 27 mpg. In pursuit of these increments, Honda tweaked the front grille and bumper for better aero, lowered oil-ring tension, refined spark timing, and even dumped in lower-viscosity engine oil. But the change with the greatest mpg payoff is a taller fifth gear in all Accords. Careful observers and slushbox defenders will note that auto-trans Accords get better fuel economy than manual-equipped ones. That’s because Honda rightly amps up the gearing on its manual models for performance.

How Does It Drive?

No different from before, which is to say planted, communicative, and with a deftness belying its rather ample dimensions. The top-gear alteration is barely noticeable, at least with the automatic we drove, but we do wish this SE model came with the 190-hp version of the inline-four. Inside, the profusion of gray radio and climate buttons gets a bit easier to decipher, as the most-used HVAC buttons move to the left side of the center stack. Still takes a while to get used to, though. The car itself, however, remains a first-rate ambassador in the segment.

Source

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