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Euro Honda Civic coming to U.S.

ever since the first shots of this came out, I have always thought it to be one ugly ass car. I don't see how anyone can like the back end of that car. front is alright, but damn...
 
Originally posted by: nakedfrog
How about they just bring the damn diesel over here already?
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Honda to build new plants in U.S., Canada
Automaker spending $665 million on growth; new hybrid car and diesel engine coming; site selection for U.S. plant in final stages

Dale Jewett | | Automotive News / May 16, 2006 - 11:14 pm / UPDATED: 5/17/2006 12:47 A.M.

DETROIT -- Honda Motor Co. will spend $665 million over the next two years to build a new auto assembly plant and expand engine and transmission production in the United States, and a new engine plant in Canada.

The new assembly plant will boost North American production capacity to 1.6 million units a year in 2008, Honda said. Currently, its annual North American production capacity stands at 1.4 million units.

The Japanese automaker also said it will introduce a new, dedicated hybrid car that will be cheaper than the current Civic Hybrid and have a sales target of 100,000 units a year in North America. Honda also plans to develop a new, four-cylinder diesel engine that will be sold in the U.S. and Canadian markets. The new diesel is based on a diesel engine Honda now sells in Europe.

Honda also has set a goal to boost the corporate average fuel economy rating of its fleet by 5 percent from 29.2 mpg rating in 2005 within the next four years.

The North America expansion plans are part of Honda?s bid to reach goals set out in its ?2010 Vision? long-term plan, which was launched in 1998. Information on Honda?s global expansion plans was announced Wednesday morning in Japan.

Where is new plant?s home?

Honda said the new U.S. auto plant will begin building vehicles in 2008. The auto factory, Honda?s sixth in North America, will have annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles and employ about 1,500 people.

Honda said it will spend $400 million to build the plant. But it did not say where the plant will be located or what it will produce. The automaker said its site search was in ?the final stages.? The plant?s location and product will be announced later.

There is no mystery about the site of the new engine plant in Canada. Honda said the plant will be built next to its vehicle assembly plant in Alliston, Ontario. The engine plant will cost about $140 million and is set to begin building four-cylinder engines in 2008. It will have 340 employees and a capacity of 200,000 engines a year.

To supply the new auto plant with engines, and provide parts to the new Canadian engine plant, Honda will spend $75 million to expand its engine plant in Anna, Ohio. The expansion, which adds 40 jobs, will enable the Anna plant to produce engine parts that are now imported from Japan.

Honda is also spending $80 million and hiring 40 new workers for its parts plant in Tallapoosa, Ga. The plant will add the ability to cast and machine transmission cases.

New, cheaper hybrid on the way

Honda?s plant in Suzuka, Japan, will build a new, dedicated hybrid powertrain vehicle, beginning in 2009. The hybrid will play a key part in Honda?s quest to boost its fleet fuel economy average by 5 percent by 2010.

The Suzuka plant will have the capacity to build 200,000 hybrids a year. Honda said 100,000 of them will be earmarked for North America.

The new hybrid will have a price ?significantly lower? than the Civic Hybrid, Honda said. The 2006 Civic Hybrid has a base price of $22,700, including shipping charges.

Honda officials said the new hybrid will be sold only under the Honda brand and not be shared with the Acura luxury brand.

Honda said it also plans to introduce a new version of its i-VTEC variable valve timing technology and a more advanced version of its VCM cylinder deactivation technology for six-cylinder engines to help meet its goal of increasing fleet fuel economy.
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Honda to add hybrid-only car - Insight to cease production in Sept 06
North America sales target is 100,000 a year, price will be less than Civic Hybrid

James B. Treece | | Automotive News / May 17, 2006 - 7:12 am

TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. will add a dedicated hybrid vehicle to its Honda-brand lineup in 2009.

The vehicle will be "suitable for family use" and will be priced below the current Civic Hybrid, says Honda CEO Takeo Fukui. The 2006 Civic Hybrid has a base price of $22,700, including shipping charges.

Fukui outlined plans for the new hybrid model as well as for the sale of diesel-powered cars in North America and Japan during a press conference on Wednesday.

He also said Honda plans new vehicle plants in the United States and Japan, a new engine plant in Canada, and a speed-up in its expansion in India.

Fukui said the new hybrid model will be built at Honda's Suzuka, Japan, plant. Honda aims for worldwide sales of about 200,000, including 100,000 in North America.

400,000 hybrids/year

Honda expects to reach those sales volumes "within about two years after sales start," Fukui says. Together with Honda's other hybrid-powered nameplates, the carmaker's hybrid sales then will total almost 300,000 worldwide, he says.

The new hybrid will be sold only as a Honda, says Koichi Kondo, Honda's senior managing director and COO for North American operations. There will not be an Acura version.

Even though half of the new hybrid's sales will be in North America, Honda did not consider building it there, Kondo says. "But we may have to in the future," he adds.

Honda also is developing a cleaner, next-generation version of its 4-cylinder diesel engine. That engine has been sold in Europe since 2004. The new engine will be on the market within the next three years.

Fukui says the engine will be sold in the United States and Japan as well as Europe.

The new diesel aims to meet stringent pending regulations in Europe and Canada that effectively require NOx emissions equivalent to those of a gasoline engine.

Dual diesels

Honda also is developing a clean V-6 diesel engine. That will be an all-new engine not based on the current 4-cylinder diesel.

The new diesels are not planned specifically for either the Honda or Acura brand, and could go in either brand's vehicles, Kondo says.

Fukui repeated his view that hybrid powertrains are most appropriate for small cars, and clean diesels for medium- and large-size cars.

The hybrid models and the diesel-powered cars are part of Honda's goal of reducing the carbon dioxide emissions of its fleet.

In 2000 on a global basis, Honda cars and trucks averaged 179.5 grams of CO2 exhaust emissions per kilometer traveled, or about 11.6 ounces per mile. Despite increased sales of larger-sized vehicles such as SUVs and minivans, Honda reduced its average CO2 emissions by 5 percent during the five-year period up to 2005.

Honda now targets a further reduction of 5 percent or more. It thus aims to achieve a total reduction of 10 percent by 2010 compared to the 2000 level.
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Honda also is developing a clean V-6 diesel engine. That will be an all-new engine not based on the current 4-cylinder diesel.
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well, no crap. while you can develop a V6 off a V8, and maybe an I4 off an I6, i'm pretty sure that trying to adapt an I4 into a V6 would cost more than building a V6 from the ground up.
 
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