CHICAGO – Honda Motor on Thursday announced that it is recalling 52,615 Acura TL sedans from model years 2007 and 2008 in the United States on concern of a problem with the power steering hose.

The Japanese automaker said the hose may deteriorate and leak over time. Leaking fluid could lead to a loss of power steering assistance or could cause smoke and fire.

However, no crashes, injuries or fires have been reported related to the issue, said Honda.

The company said owners will be notified of the recall by mail, beginning in mid-June.

Honda recalled 273,000 TLs in 2008 for a similar problem. (Xinhua)

Los Angeles (dpa) – The new Honda CR-V celebrates its debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show this month. During the show, the Japanese manufacturer is to release the first images of the new Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) that will arrive in European showrooms early next year.

The fourth generation of the CR-V will already be available to North American customers after the LA Motor Show which takes place November 18-27, the manufacturer said.

The new CR-V has headlights pulled far into the fenders.

The car features more pronounced side sills than the predecessor model.

The vertical light design in the rear of the current model is retained.

Honda has inserted more efficient engines into the new model, with the 2.4-litre four cylinder engine mated to a six-gear automatic transmission with an expected output of 148 hp.

TORRANCE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Honda Engineering North America, Inc.’s Powertrain Division in Anna, Ohio, and Honda Canada, Inc.’s new head office in Markham, Ontario, have each earned LEED “green-building” certification, bringing to eleven the number of LEED-certified Honda facilities in North America, the most LEED-certified buildings of any automaker. Honda Engineering North America’s Anna facility has earned LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, while Honda Canada’s head office has earned LEED-Gold certification from the Canada Green Building Council.

Honda Engineering North America’s Powertrain Division, in Anna, Ohio, provides manufacturing tooling design and engineering support for the production of engines at the adjacent Anna Engine Plant, the largest automobile engine plant in Honda’s global production network.

“Our environmental efforts extend well beyond the products we make and include the facilities that support Honda’s manufacturing, R&D, sales and service operations across North America,” said David Strelow, facilities manager for the Anna Engine Plant, who was involved in the construction of the new facility. “This is part and parcel of our commitment to being good neighbors in the communities where we do business and good stewards of the environment and our finite natural resources.”

During construction of the expanded facility, the company used locally sourced materials where possible and diverted more than 185 cubic yards of construction material from landfills, recycling or reusing more than 50 percent of total construction materials. The expanded facility is now equipped with cool-roof materials, more energy-efficient lighting controls and advanced indoor-air-quality management systems.

Water conservation measures in the facility include the use of low-flow toilets and bathroom fixtures, which have reduced the building’s water use by approximately 30 percent from earlier levels. Annual CO₂ emissions from the facility have been cut by approximately 470,000 pounds.

“In order to serve the needs of Honda manufacturing facilities, we needed additional engineering resources,” said Mark Starrett of Honda Engineering North America’s Powertrain Division. “While building out these new capabilities, we also identified an opportunity to further Honda’s environmental goals and to reduce our environmental footprint.”

Honda Canada’s new 138,000-square-foot head office, one of three buildings on the company’s 53-acre campus in Markham, Ontario, utilizes a north-south orientation along with an energy efficient underfloor air-distribution system and a heat-reflective white roof to reduce energy consumption. Innovative water management at the new facility has reduced potable water consumption by 44 percent, compared to the company’s previous facility. Also, landscape design provides for on-site storm water treatment through the use of bioswales and water collection. During construction of the campus, the company used locally sourced materials where possible, and diverted construction material from landfills, recycling or reusing 75 percent of total construction materials.

“Honda’s environmental vision is to help preserve the global environment for generations to come, and includes broad-based efforts to minimize our company’s environmental footprint” said Jerry Chenkin, executive vice president, Honda Canada. “Achieving LEED-Gold certification for our facility in Markham demonstrates our commitment to this vision.”

Honda has been steadily expanding its portfolio of LEED-certified green buildings in North America since 1999, when the company’s Gresham, Oregon, parts warehouse and service training facility became the first mixed-use industrial building in America to achieve LEED-Gold EB (Existing Building) certification.

In addition to the new Markham, Ontario, and Anna, Ohio, facilities, the company’s green building portfolio in North America includes:

• American Honda parts warehouse and training facility in Gresham, Oregon, now LEED-Platinum certified
• American Honda data center in Longmont, Colorado, the first LEED-Version 2.2. Silver-certified data center in the U.S.
• American Honda parts consolidation center in Troy, Ohio (LEED-Gold);
• American Honda Finance Corp.’s Mid-Atlantic Region facility in Wilmington, Delaware (LEED-Gold CI for Commercial Interiors)
• Honda R&D Americas, Inc.’s Acura Design Studio in Torrance, California; its Marine Engine Research Facility in Grant-Valkaria, Florida; and its central plant facility in Raymond, Ohio (all LEED-Gold)
• Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, LLC’s welcome center at its auto plant in Greensburg, Indiana (LEED)
• Honda Aircraft Company, Inc.’s world headquarters, R&D facility and the home of the HondaJet very light jet, in Greensboro, North Carolina (LEED-Gold)

Green building features at Honda facilities in the U.S. include such items as conservation easements; low-flow bathroom and kitchen fixtures; more energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning systems, lamps and lighting controls; Energy Star-rated appliances; cool roof materials; and wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Honda Engineering North America

Honda Engineering North America, Inc. (EGA) researches, designs and develops manufacturing equipment and tooling for use in Honda production plants. EGA maintains facilities near Honda plants in Marysville and Anna, Ohio; in Lincoln, Alabama; and in Alliston, Ontario, Canada.

Honda Canada

Honda Canada, Inc., was founded in 1969 and currently employs more than 15,000 people across the country. Honda Canada has produced more than 5 million cars and trucks since 1986. Honda’s two auto plants in Alliston, Ontario, produce the popular Civic Coupe, Sedan and Si models along with the Acura CSX, ZDX and MDX. An adjacent engine plant produces fuel-efficient 4-cylinder engines for Civic. Honda Canada has invested more than $2.6 billion in Canada and each year it sources nearly $1.1 billion in goods and services from Canadian suppliers. Honda Canada has sold more than 3.4 million Honda and Acura passenger cars and light-duty trucks in Canada.

U.S. Green Building Council

The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for the nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. With a community comprising 79 local affiliates, 16,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 155,000 LEED Professional Credential holders, the USGBC leads a diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students.

Honda Environmental Leadership

Honda is a leader in the development of leading-edge technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions, including vehicles powered by advanced gasoline engines and natural gas-powered engines, as well as gasoline-electric hybrid, battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell-electric vehicles. Honda’s comprehensive portfolio of advanced environmental products includes Honda CIGS thin-film solar cells, now being installed in select Honda facilities in the U.S. and Japan, and a solar-powered hydrogen refueling station on its campus in Torrance, CA, intended for refueling of fuel cell electric vehicles such as the FCX Clarity.

Honda has led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) rankings of overall vehicle environmental performance since 2000, and a Honda vehicle has topped the list of America’s greenest vehicles, from the America Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), for eleven consecutive years.

In 2006, Honda became the first automaker to announce voluntary CO₂ emissions reduction targets for its global fleet of automobile, powersports and power equipment products and its global network of manufacturing plants. Today, the company is striving for even greater reductions in CO₂ emissions that contribute to global climate change, while also working to minimize waste, water use and the total environmental footprint of its operations worldwide.

BEIJING (Xinhua) — Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co. and Guangqi Honda Automobile Co. will recall 255,766 vehicles to repair problems with power window switches, the country’s quality watchdog said Monday.

The recall involved 145,542 Fit compacts, 81,547 City sedans and 28,677 CR-V multi-purpose vehicles as of September 15, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on its website.

The autos were produced between August 2005 to December 2007, the statement said.

The two companies will offer free replacement of power window switches to eliminate risks, it said.

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LONDON, August 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

Honda will launch the new Civic at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Developed specifically for the European market, the Civic will be offered exclusively as a five-door hatchback and will compete in the C-segment. It will reach European showrooms in early 2012.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this story, please click here:

http://multivu.com/players/English/51356-honda-motor-europe/

In the build-up to the reveal of the new Civic, Honda is releasing a series of short form films detailing its development. The third of these films focuses on noise and refinement.

NEW HONDA CIVIC: class-leading refinement

One of the focuses of the development team for the new Civic was optimising the interior refinement. The engineers worked intensively to hone every detail of the design, build and aerodynamics. The results add to a car that is relaxing to drive on all roads and in all conditions.

The engineers have spent a lot of time testing the car in Europe, tuning the new Civic to suit the distinctive road conditions. The team used Honda’s anechoic chamber in its R&D Facility in Swindon, England, to fine-tune the cabin insulation. One of the results of this research was to modify the design and construction of the roof lining, and how it interacts with the bodywork.

The new Civic’s aerodynamic efficiency also plays a key role in maximising its refinement. Several members of the development team have Formula One experience, which they used to deliver a car that combines a low coefficient of drag with excellent high-speed stability. Hours of meticulous work in the Honda wind tunnel has improved performance, reduced fuel consumption and resulted in an exceptionally quiet interior.

“We did not improve the noise and refinement of the new Civic through just one technique,” says Kazuo Sunaoshi, Development Leader – Chassis. “It was the accumulation of lots of little details. My big challenge was to match the noise and vibration levels of our European competitors. I am proud to say that we have achieved our goals.”

Find out more by watching the new ‘noise and refinement’ film release. The film is hosted on an interactive media player where all the films will be shown and automatically updated. You can easily download films and images or even embed the whole player in your site http://multivu.com/players/English/51356-honda-motor-europe/

Honda has unveiled a new concept car over at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show. Named the Honda Everus, this is another concept vehicle that will make use of lithium ion batteries to run, providing another transport alternative for people seeking fuel-efficient and alternative sourced running vehicles.

Via

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It’s almost the end of the decade for the 2000′s and it’s time to look back and review what trucks were the most significant. PickupTrucks.com and AutoPacific has just announced a list of the Most Significant Trucks of the Decade. As expected the list were made up of trucks that were technologically cutting edged advanced and who pushed the envelope in terms of quality and design.

So here they are:

• 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab
• 2001 Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra Heavy Duty with 6.6-Liter Duramax Diesel
• 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche
• 2004 Nissan Titan
• 2005 Toyota Tacoma
• 2006 Honda Ridgeline
• 2007 Toyota Tundra
• 2009 Dodge Ram 1500
• 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

And the Most Significant of the Decade:

• 2009 Ford F-150

Why It’s Significant: Remains the gold standard against which other half-ton pickup trucks are compared.

Ford gave its F-150 half-ton pickup a major revision for 2009 and gave buyers an astonishing seven different models to choose from before they even considered engine choice or cab type. Two more models have been added for 2010! It’s not the most powerful truck but the F-150 features an excellent six-speed transmission and innovative features like Ford Work Solutions that make doing jobs with a truck easier. From contractor to urban cowboy, Ford has an F-150 to meet almost anyone’s needs.

“On balance, we thought the 2009 Ford F-150 was the most significant pickup of the last decade,” said Jim Hossack, vice president of consulting for AutoPacific. “It sells in high volume, owners like it and its body, chassis and powertrain are all first rate. Features abound, and there are more models, series and options than can be counted. It’s a good looking truck and suitable for the widest possible range of tasks and uses.”

Congratulations to the Ford F-150 team for creating a Pick-up Truck that ruled a decade.

Press Release

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Where have all the quality and safety in American cars gone to? It seems that overseas manufactured cars and automotive vehicles seems to be the one that’s taking a look at quality and safety more than it is over here. No wonder our automotive industry is down in the gutters. This is further proven after Car and Driver Magazine just listed down the 10 best cars of 2010: and it’s no surprise that only two of the top ten belong to American car manufacturers.

Following are the 2010 Car and Driver 10Best winners (in alphabetical order), followed by the number of times each model has made the list:

• 2010 Audi S4 (2)
• 2010 BMW 3-series / M3 (19)
• 2010 Cadillac CTS / CTS-V (2)
• 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid (1)
• 2010 Honda Accord (24)
• 2010 Honda Fit (3)
• 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata (11)
• 2010 Mazda 3 / Mazdaspeed 3 (3)
• 2010 Porsche Boxster / Cayman (3)
• 2010 Volkswagen GTI (7)

The list is not in a ranked order. A panel of 18 Car and Driver editors determined the winners by rating them on a scale of 1-100 with a focus on functional performance, driving satisfaction and value. Vehicles considered for the award must be available in the United States by January 2009 and priced below the cap of $80,000, or 2.5 times the average transaction price as of summer 2009. Winners from the previous year are re-nominated if they are still available under the price cap.

Hopefully this is a wake up call to American car manufacturers to do their best to produce quality cars that will attract not only local buyers but foreign ones as well.

Press Release

What if you could look into the future–let’s say 2030? What type of cars will we be driving? Will it be a flying car or still a land based vehicle? This is what the Southern California Automotive Design Studios thought when they created a contest.

“Automotive designers have always been fascinated with the next generation of drivers and this year’s Design Challenge has provided them with the opportunity to use their creative talents to revisit the concept of ‘the car’ with new eyes, using the hottest technologies to both explore and fulfill the needs of young people,” said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc.

The following have submitted their entries:

Volkswagen/Audi of America Design Center California: Audi eOra and eSpira

General Motors Advanced Design: Car Hero

Honda Research and Development, North America: Honda Helix

Mazda R & D of North America: Mazda Souga

Nissan Design America: V2G

Toyota’s Calty Design Research: Toyota LINK

I’m not sure but do these cars still run on gas? I hope they’ve taken into consideration not only the environmental effects but also the economical effects of being too dependent on gasoline and oil. The last thing we need are even more gas guzzling giant vehicles. Nevertheless, they look cool and I hope to see and ride them in my lifetime.

Entries will be judged by Tom Matano, Director of Industrial Design at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University; Imre Molner, Dean of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies; Stewart Reed, Chair, Transportation Design, Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design and Jason Hill, Principal of Eleven, LLC and Designer of the Aptera electric and plug-in hybrid/electric vehicle.

Press

High School seniors across the country have long since moved their graduation tassels from right to left. And before they start buying mini-fridges and extra-long bedsheets for their dorm rooms, prospective undergraduates need an affordable, safe and mpg-friendly ride that will leave Mom and Dad stress-free during trips to and from school.

AutoWeek editors pick their list of top cars in which to send a kid off to college. The list includes:

• 2009 Hyundai Elantra Sedan
• 2009 Honda Civic
• 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer
• 2009 Ford Escape
• 2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid
• 2010 Kia Soul
• 2009 Dodge Caliber SE
• 2009 Ford Focus
• 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt Sedan
• Used cars will do the trick

Press