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Acura replaces chief Accavitti with designer Ikeda

Acura is shaking up its senior leadership, as Honda ushers the current chief of its luxury division out the door and replaces him with a new one. Exiting stage left is Mike Accavitti, who held the reins at the premium automaker as its senior vice president and general manager of the Acura division. Taking his place will be Jon Ikeda, one of the Japanese automaker's most senior designers. Accavitti (pictured above at left) had been promoted to the job from his previous position as senior vice president of auto operations after Honda separated the Acura brand into its own division. He had previously served as a senior executive at Chrysler, rising up the ranks to run the Dodge brand, and joined Honda in 2011 as its chief marketing officer. At this point it remains unclear why Accavitti is leaving and where he might land, but Honda says he's leaving the company altogether. To replace Accavitti, Honda has named Jon Ikeda (pictured above at right), a veteran designer with the company. A graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, Ikeda has worked for Honda on both sides of the Pacific since 1989. He previous headed up the design and product planning divisions at Honda's American R&D operations, and was instrumental in creating an independent design office for the Acura brand, separate from Honda's. This isn't the first time we've seen Accavitti replaced in his role as a senior executive by a design veteran. After only four months at CEO of the Dodge brand, he was replaced by Ralph Gilles, who retained his role as senior vice president of design for the entire Chrysler group in parallel. Gilles was ultimately replaced as head of Dodge as well, but was recently promoted to serve as head of design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Related Video: Acura Announces Leadership Changes TORRANCE, Calif. July 27, 2015 – Acura today announced that Jon Ikeda has been promoted to Vice President and General Manager of the Acura Division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. In this role, Ikeda will oversee all Acura brand activities including sales, marketing and parts and service. Ikeda was formerly Division Director of Auto Design at Honda R&D Americas, Inc. (HRA). He began his career at Honda in Japan in 1989, joining the advanced design studio in Tokyo, where he worked on the award-winning Honda FSX show car. After six years in Japan, he returned to Los Angeles in 1995, to continue his career at Honda R&D in Torrance, California.

Honda Clarity is your new fuel cell future vehicle [w/video]

We know it will go on sale in the US next spring. We know it will have an estimated range of over 300 miles. We know it will start sales in California, since that's where the hydrogen stations are. But perhaps the one key details about Honda's new fuel cell vehicle that we are learning today is the name. It will be the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell. That should ring a few H2 bells for hydrogen vehicle fans out there, since the fuel cell vehicle that Honda has been leasing since 2008 was called the FCX Clarity (and the hydrogen test vehicle before that was the FCX). Naming the new vehicle - known until now as the FCEV - the new Clarity draws a clear line through to Honda's hydrogen history. This is a completely different message than the one that Toyota is sending with the name for its upcoming hydrogen car, the Mirai. In Japanese, Mirai means future. It is also interesting to note that Honda is not going to target regular consumers with the Clarity during the first year, at least in Japan. Honda says that it will work "mainly" with local governments and business customers that have shown an interest in hydrogen technology and will begin sales to individual customers "later." The five-seat Clarity Fuel Cell will come in three colors: Premium Brilliant Garnet Metallic, White Orchid Pearl, and Crystal Black Pearl. Honda says that the price, in Japan, will be 7.6 million yen, including consumption tax. That equals $63,610 in the US, but we all know these prices cannot simply be converted like this to arrive at the US MSRP. Still, now we have a guideline. At this time, Honda does not plan to sell the vehicle, since, the Clarity will be "currently available exclusively for lease sales." We got to take a brief drive in the FCEV this past week, and you can read more about the technological advances in the new Clarity (the smaller fuel cell stack, the powertrain packaging, etc.) here. The fact that Honda consistently calls the new car the Clarity Fuel Cell (as opposed to simply the Clarity) gives us reason to think that the upcoming PHEV and all-electric models will not only share a chassis, but also perhaps a name. Clarity EV, anyone? Honda Exhibits World Premiere of CLARITY FUEL CELL, Planned Production Model of its All-new Fuel Cell Vehicle, at 44th Tokyo Motor Show 2015 -- Lease sales in Japan will begin in March 2016 -- TOKYO, Japan, October 28, 2015 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

New Honda Civic Natural Gas goes on sale end of November

For folks who prefer to put natural gas directly into their vehicle rather than converting it to electricity first, CNG vehicles offer a cleaner alternative to gasoline power while still using a traditional powertrain. If you're looking for a sedan that runs on CNG, your current options are pretty limited - especially in the US - and you'll almost certainly be taking a look at Honda. The 2015 Honda Civic Natural Gas goes on sale starting November 19 in 37 states. The new CNG-powered Civic sedan has a base MSRP of $26,740 (not including $790 destination fee). Opt for the Leather Navi trim, and you're still looking at a starting price below $30,000 (before destination), at $29,390. It comes equipped with a seven-inch touchscreen audio display, rearview camera and LaneWatch display as standard features. It's built at Honda's Greensburg, IN manufacturing facility. The 2015 Civic Natural Gas can only be had with the five-speed automatic transmission. Its fuel economy is rated at a gasoline gallon equivalent of 27 miles per gallon in the city/38 highway/31 combined. It's not quite as impressive as the Civic Hybrid's 44/47/45 rating, but you will be burning natural gas, which burns cleaner and can be sourced from North America, if you're into that sort of thing. Furthermore, the American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy called the Civic Natural Gas one of its top 10 greenest vehicles of 2014, and Kelley Blue Book as one of its 10 Best Green Cars. Learn more in Honda's press release below. 2015 Honda Civic Hybrid and Civic Natural Gas Provide Superior Environmental Performance With Sophistication and Value - Automotive and environmental experts recognize the Civic Hybrid and Civic Natural Gas as among the best green cars of 2014 - Available features include 7-inch touchscreen Display Audio, leather-trimmed seats, Honda LaneWatch™ and standard rearview camera - 2015 Civic Hybrid launches Nov. 5, and 2015 Civic Natural Gas goes on-sale in 37 states beginning Nov. 19 TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Joining the already released 2015 Civic Sedan, Civic Coupe and Civic Si, the 2015 Civic Hybrid and Civic Natural Gas vehicles provide consumers with additional choices for even greater fuel efficiency and environmental performance from an already fuel-efficient lineup. The 2015 Civic Hybrid launches at Honda dealers nationwide on November 5 with a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) starting at $24,7352.