2005 Honda S2000 Base Convertible 2-door 2.2l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Next-gen Honda Accord PHEV may have 39-mile EV range [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Disregard what The Asahi Shimbun said on this. The paper apparently conflated the upcoming Clarity-based PHEV and the non-plug Accord Hybrid and has since updated its article. We got an email from Honda clarifying the situation: The refreshed Accord Hybrid, slated to launch in the middle of this year, will not have a plug-in variant. Honda will bring a new, dedicated plug-in hybrid to market by 2018 that leverages the same platform that underpins the upcoming Clarity Fuel Cell. This new PHEV will feature more than triple the 13-mile electric range of the last generation Accord Plug-in Hybrid. We apologize for the error. Honda's next-generation Accord Plug-in Hybrid could triple the previous model's electric driving range when the new one debuts in the US in 2018. To achieve such a significant improvement, the company would equip the PHEV with a higher capacity battery of the same physical size and more efficient electric motors, according to the The Asahi Shimbun. The next Accord PHEV could drive the equivalent of 68 miles in EV mode, the newspaper claims. However, we believe this figure comes from the Japanese test on electric models, which produces higher figures than the US evaluation. Tripling the 2014 Accord Plug-in's EPA-estimated 13-mile range suggests a number closer to 39 miles when the new generation reaches this country. A figure around 39 miles would still make the 2018 Accord a contender among the current PHEV sedans. For example, the EPA rates the Hyundai Sonata Plug-in at a 27-mile range and estimates the Ford Fusion Energi at 20 miles. The latest Chevrolet Volt, which would likely be smaller than the Honda, wins out with 53 miles of driving distance, though. Honda plans a new pure EV and PHEV in its US lineup by 2018, and the plug-in shares a chassis with the upcoming FCEV fuel cell sedan. The next-gen Accord would give the company another flavor of PHEV to offer customers, too. American Honda Motor Executive Vice President John Mendel told Autoblog last year the company would update the standard Accord Hybrid in 2016 and introduce the next PHEV variant here in 2018. Related Video:

Honda installs 3-minute, fast-fuelling hydrogen fuel station in California

OK, but let's see how well Honda can control hydrogen refueling temperature in Houston or Buffalo. That's what some pessimists may be saying now that the Japanese automaker has installed a fast-fueling hydrogen station in the oh-so-temperate environs of Torrance, CA. That city is about 20 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles and a sliver of it actually touches the Pacific Ocean, so we're not talking about wild swings in air temperature here. Honda is calling its fast-refueling platform the MC Fill (we'd expect a lawsuit if it was McFill, even though that'd be clever) and says that filling up takes about 45 percent less time than the typical hydrogen-refueling station. That's because the system monitors the ambient temperature in order to speed up the process. There's more scientific stuff in there - for example, the fact that the MC name comes from the "two key values in a heat transfer equation- 'M' for mass and 'C' for specific heat" - but the long and the short of it is that a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle can fill up in less than three minutes. That's pretty impressive, despite the distinct lack of vehicles needing to charge that fast today. Honda unveiled its FCEV Concept vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show last November. The five-seat vehicle has a range of more than 300 miles, while its fuel-stack power density is about 60 percent higher than its previous version. The production version is due to arrive in the US in 2015. Check out Honda's press release below. Honda R&D Installs Advanced Fast-Fill Hydrogen Refueling Station -- New station on Honda R&D Americas' Torrance, California campus built in anticipation of Honda's next-generation fuel cell electric vehicle, due in 2015 -- Honda-developed hydrogen refueling protocol significantly reduces fill time TORRANCE, Calif., March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Preparing for the 2015 introduction of the next Honda fuel cell-electric vehicle (FCEV), Honda R&D Americas has installed a state-of-the-art hydrogen refueling station on its Torrance, California campus. This advanced station will serve as a platform for demonstrating and validating the enhanced hydrogen fueling protocol developed by Honda, named the MC Fill. With the aim of standardizing this new protocol, Honda will make the new research station available to other automakers to further validate the MC Fill protocol's performance and functionality.

Honda has more tricks in store for next Civic Type R

While we can only admire the current Honda Civic Type R from afar, the next version is slated to make its way to American showrooms. That's not expected to happen until 2017, but our friends over at CivicX.com got a sneak peek at the engine that will provide its motivation. And it looks to be shaping up to be a real firecracker. Honda's latest 2.0-liter inline-four is slated to take its advanced design even further. Not only will it combine a turbocharger with the company's signature VTEC variable valve timing system, but closer inspection of the pictured engine reveals that it will also feature an electric actuator on the wastegate as well as a bypass valve integrated into the compressor housing. Expect the new Type R to be even faster and more potent than the current version. That's saying a lot considering that the existing Type R already packs 306 horsepower and clocked the fastest time for a front-drive car at the Nurburgring – besting the Renaults and Seats that diced it for top honors until now. It'll surely be an expensive piece of kit, though, which brings us to another potential piece of good news. This engine is tipped to make it into the lower-level Civic Si as well, albeit in a somewhat detuned state. As it is, the outgoing Civic Si packs 205 horsepower, so there's plenty of room to improve before it starts threatening even the existing Type R, let alone the more potent model to come. All of which tells us that the Si will be no slouch either, and with those features will surely prove a favorite once again in the tuner crowd. Related Video: