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Filed under: Budget, Plants/Manufacturing, Hatchback, Honda
It's been six months since extensive flooding put a strangle hold on manufacturing in
Thailand. Now,
Reuters reports that
Honda has finally resumed production at its Ayutthaya plant. All told, the disaster is said to have cost the company the production of around 260,000 vehicles worldwide for the fiscal year that ended last month.
While a rash of parts suppliers and other manufacturers were forced to shut down during the flooding, Honda was arguably hit the worst. According to
Reuters,
Toyota and
Nissan were able to adjust production to include suppliers from other countries, but Honda was stuck with a fully flooded facility.
The
Ayutthaya plant builds the Honda Fit for the Asian and Australian markets. After the flood waters receded in October, Honda vowed not to use any parts or sell any vehicles damaged by the disaster. As a result, hundreds of otherwise new vehicles were sent to scrap. Hit the jump to see video of the cars awaiting their destruction.
Continue reading Flood-stricken Thai Honda plant comes back online after six months [w/video]
Flood-stricken Thai Honda plant comes back online after six months [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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March 27th, 2012
Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Sedan, Hatchback, Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota
Consumer Reports has just wrapped up an evaluation of subcompact sedans, and the
Kia Rio EX has rolled out ahead of the class. The four-door beat out its corporate clone, the
Hyundai Accent and the
Chevrolet Sonic to take the top spot. Evaluators pointed to the sharp handling and well-optioned interior in the Rio as reasons for the vehicle's win. The newly redesigned
Nissan Versa and unloved
Toyota Yaris filled out the top five sedans. And what of the baby hatchbacks?
CR once again credited the
Honda Fit as leader of the pack, followed closely by the Versa Hatchback and Rio Hatchback.
The organization found fault with the base Chevrolet Sonic's fuel economy, and found the turbocharged LTZ model to be too expensive. Evaluators also felt the Sonic Turbo "didn't live up to its sporty aspirations."
We'll politely agree to disagree on that one.
All of the vehicles in the evaluation are either too new or scored too low in
CR evaluations to earn a coveted Recommended rating.
Hit the jump for a look at the full press release and debate amongst yourselves in Comments.
Continue reading Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent and Chevy Sonic top Consumer Reports subcompact shootout
Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent and Chevy Sonic top Consumer Reports subcompact shootout originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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March 23rd, 2012
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Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Hatchback, Honda, Australia, Off-Road, Racing
Honda took a Mugen-powered Jazz (better known as the the
Fit here in the U.S.), sent it to Italy to be engineered for rallying by JAS of Milan, then flew it to Australia to be prepared for Oz's 2012 rally series. Honda's been competing in the series with Civic Type R racers for the last two years, but this year, it decided to press the Fit into service for G2 class spec.
Up front is a 245-horsepower Mugen powerplant with 142 pound-feet of torque. Honda says this "may well be the fastest Jazz in the world," and it will start challenging the six rounds of this year's championship in March with driver Eli Evans and co-driver Glen Weston. You can read about it in the press release and watch it kick up dirt in the video
after the jump.
Continue reading Mugen-powered Honda Jazz rally car looks Fit for the purpose
Mugen-powered Honda Jazz rally car looks Fit for the purpose originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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February 22nd, 2012
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Torrance, CA is going to the front of the line.
Honda has delivered its first
Fit EV to the city government Friday as part of an EV demonstration program that will include an unspecified number of the little electric vehicles in tests before the consumer launch in limited markets (read: California and Oregon) happens this summer. Torrance will also get a Honda plug-in hybrid in the future.
From the sound of Honda's language, it appears that Torrance - as well as Google Inc. and Stanford University, the other test partners - will only get one Fit EV. Honda's press release (available after the jump) says:
Each program participant will provide Honda with real-world feedback on the Fit EV. Individually, each participant will use the Fit EV to further initiatives such as research into human behavior and various usages like personal, fleet and car-sharing.
However many Fits are tested, what's more important is how real-world drivers will be able to make use of this car when it becomes available. With an expected lease price of $399 and a range of 123 miles in the city (76 miles city/highway combined) from a 20-kWh lithium-ion battery, the Fit does offer up some good numbers. Throw in a three-hour recharge time (from a 240V, Level 2 charger) and you've got a potential winner. In limited markets, anyway. Get more details on the Fit EV
here.
Continue reading Honda delivers first Fit EV to Torrance, CA
Honda delivers first Fit EV to Torrance, CA originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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January 24th, 2012
Filed under: Car Buying, Honda
Looking for the best value in a new car? Better make it Japanese, according to
Consumer Reports. The go-to buyer's guide has just finished compiling its list of the best values in the new-car market, and an overwhelming proportion of them hail from the Land of the Rising Sun.
CR took some 200 different vehicles into account, catalogued them into eleven categories and picked the best values based on the outcome of their own road tests, their reliability ratings and overall ownership costs (including depreciation) over a five-year term. The resulting 48 best values included 34 picks from Japanese automakers, six European, five American and three South Korean.
At the very top of the list sits the
Honda Fit, which not only ranked as the best value in its category, but the best value overall.
Consumer Reports concludes that, even discounting the Fit from your shopping list, the small car category still represents the best value no matter which model you choose. Case in point: The
Chevrolet Cruze, which was ranked as the worst value in the small car category, still ranked above average overall. Follow the jump for the full press release.
Continue reading Honda Fit tops Japanese-dominated Consumer Reports best new car values
Honda Fit tops Japanese-dominated Consumer Reports best new car values originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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January 3rd, 2012
Filed under: Budget, China, Japan, Plants/Manufacturing, Hatchback, Honda, Canada
The very first production car from
China has made it to North America, though it's not what you might think. In an effort to move more of its production out of
Japan,
Honda has begun manufacturing
Fit models in the People's Republic and importing them to
Canada. There's no indication that the vehicles will make their way to the U.S. in the future, however. While there are plenty of automakers who operate plants in China, only a fraction of the vehicles built there are made for export. Last year, only three percent were sent outside of the country's borders.
Honda and other Japanese manufacturers have begun investigating production facilities outside of the U.S. to combat the rising Yen, and Honda says that the company will begin producing Fit models in Mexico for U.S. customers soon. According to
The New York Times, Honda may be reticent to test the American waters with a Chinese-built vehicle for fear of risking the company's reputation for quality and reliability. That's despite the fact that the company says Chinese-built Fit models are held to the same production quality standards as any Honda vehicle built elsewhere in the world.
First Chinese car imported to North America built by... Honda? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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December 22nd, 2011
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