Every so often, we at EcoModder get asked if we’re ever going to get into the business of making production, bolt on ecomods. Even though it makes sense, we’re much more interested in sharing information and encouraging crowd-sourcing within the EcoModder community. A prime example of that can be seen with the MPGuino, a piece of open-source instrumentation that has been developed and supported by some great forum members.

Well, now it seems like ecomodding has trickled down as far as the aftermarket gas mileage nuts in Japan. These days, for as little as 171 bucks you can buy an undertray for your Honda Fit. Undertrays improve aerodynamics and therefore gas mileage, and are a common addition for many ecomodders. However, it’s rare to see a part with such polish coming out on the aftermarket.

As the original forum poster notes, it’s not a direct fit, but it definitely can fit and looks good when installed:

This of course brings up that age-old question: how much money will you spend to save on gas? Is it really worth $171 bucks for a little bump in fuel economy? Over the life of the car, it’s likely that you’ll come out ahead, which is why many manufacturers have been adding larger and more complete undertrays to their cars. However, you’ve got to consider that this is the aftermarket ecomodding, and the cool factor definitely kicks in. Don’t you want to be the first on the block with a professionally made undertray?

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These days, it seems like everyone and her sister has a blog, not there’s anything wrong with that (you’re still reading ours, right?). Interestingly, Honda has jumped on the bandwagon after their recent Insight Concept unveiling in order to keep us all up to date on the Insight.

You can check out the blog here to get some information for yourself. It hasn’t been up for very long, so obviously there isn’t a whole lot going on yet, but it is interesting to see an auto company being proactive about creating their own model-specific information source beyond the standard press release.

Many people who read EcoModder will certainly know other blogs such as Toyota’s Open Road Blog and the independent GM-Volt blog. Toyota’s blog does not focus on any one thing in particular, but seems more like a casual industry mouthpiece. The GM-Volt site, on the other hand, because it is not run by GM is full of speculation and, frankly, lots of fanboy gawking over ever last detail of Volt production.

I think the Honda Insight blog is an interesting idea, because it focuses more than Toyota (and sounds less like a talking head in doing so) but is still controlled by the company so it is unlikely to be overrun by internet rumors and tomfoolery like many of the independent blogs out there.

Does anyone know if any of the other automakers have taken a similar approach or is this a first?

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The long-awaited and much-anticipated Honda Insight concept car has finally debuted in Paris, and along with that we see a lot more nice pictures from Honda. Many people in the industry and the press (myself included) are billing this new Insight as a possible Prius-killer, and if anyone were able to bring a little competition to the hybrid table, it’s Honda.

The first Insight came out in the US in 1999, a year before the Prius, and still has the highest EPA rating of any gasoline car. However, the small, two-seater didn’t appeal to many people with families and the car never registered very high sales.

This time, things are different. Honda has dramatically improved its IMA hybrid system in terms of both performance and cost. That means that the current Insight, which is based on Honda’s FCX Clarity FCV, will seat 5 passengers and get Civic Hybrid-like mileage while costing a comparatively low $18,500 to start.

And that’s really the kicker with the new Insight. Not only is it an attractive, efficient car, but it will bring hybrids (significantly) below that $20,000 price point, meaning that a lot more people will be able to afford it. I won’t be buying one anytime soon (I don’t need a new car), but I’ll probably be first in line for a test drive. What about you?

Here are some more pictures for your viewing pleasure:

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For a few years now, hybrids have been all the rage in the consumer car market. The Prius has been elevated to the status of an icon and Honda is now trying to catch up with its revived Honda Insight. But what about motorcycles, where Honda has been the unquestioned world leader for years?

The added weight and complexity has previously kept the word “hybrid” from squeezing in front of the word “motorcycle,” but now Honda thinks they’ve found a way to build and market hybrid motorcycles. According to the Mainichi Shinbun, Honda will begin releasing the hybrid motorcycles in the 2010s, which will be followed up by electric motorcycles in 2011.

Honda will be adapting the hybrid system it uses on its current cars to work with motorcycles of engine displacement between 200 and 1000cc. It would probably be too cumbersome to use on smaller bikes, but Honda hopes to increase fuel efficiency by about 50% with the hybrid bikes.

Now, the real question for all you bikers out there is this: would you ride one?

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For months there has been chatter about Honda’s new 5-door hybrid, which has been hyped up as a Prius-killer. However, details have been scarce up until now, when Honda announced (and shared pictures!) of the Honda Insight Concept, which will be revealed on October 2nd at the Paris International Auto Show.

Much has been made of this car because of it’s low starting price (around $18,500) and higher people/hauling capacity when compared to the original Insight. The new Insight’s starting price will be lower than any other hybrid on the market, and was achieved by cutting the cost of Honda’s IMA system, which should lower hybrid prices across the board.

If you’ve been following the rumors, you’ll know that the new Insight Concept is based on the stylings of Honda’s fuel cell vehicle, the FCX Clarity, which is now on lease to a few lucky people out in California. This aerodynamics shape allows for a large interior while reducing fuel consumption tremendously, and doesn’t look half bad (I’m sure those wheels won’t come on the production model).

Expect to see the new Insight on Honda show-room floors in Spring of next year. Unlike the old Insight (and currently the Prius), we should expect the new Insight to be fairly available for purchase, as Honda intends to sell 200,000 units annually worldwide, with about half of those sales in the US. When more information is available to consumers, I will post again with pictures and links to the Honda site.

Read the full press release below:

TORRANCE, Calif. – Sep 04

Honda will reveal a concept version of its new small hybrid vehicle, to be named Insight, at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show, October 2, the company announced today. The new Insight Concept shares styling cues with the Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle and will provide an early look at the highly-anticipated five-passenger hybrid vehicle.

Going on sale in the U.S. next spring, the all-new purpose-built Insight will come to market at a price significantly below hybrids available today. From this unique position in the marketplace, the Insight will advance the affordability and accessibility of hybrid technology to a new generation of buyers.

“The original Honda Insight pioneered hybrid technology in the U.S. and remains a symbol of Honda’s commitment to innovative technology and fuel efficiency,” said Takeo Fukui, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. CEO. “This new Insight will break new ground as an affordable hybrid within the reach of customers who want great fuel economy and great value.”

The Insight Concept defines a new stage in the evolution of hybrid technology by utilizing a more cost-efficient version of Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist™ (IMA™) hybrid technology, resulting in a new level of affordability for hybrid customers worldwide. Evoking the innovative styling cues first seen in the FCX Clarity, the Insight Concept is designed with a low center of gravity and a generous five-passenger cabin, offering the kind of driving pleasure and roomy interior that customers have come to expect from Honda. While the Insight Concept’s aerodynamic design clearly identifies its fuel efficient purpose, its five-door access and folding rear seats speak to functionality that is designed to meet the needs of customers with an active lifestyle. The Insight Concept is a small, fuel efficient hybrid car that delivers big style and functionality with a healthy dose of fun.

Honda achieved a significant cost reduction in Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) components which should make Insight the most affordable hybrid vehicle to date. The production Insight will be offered as a five-door, five-passenger hatchback. Numerous technologies, including a function to assist customers in achieving more fuel efficient driving habits, will be applied to achieve a further improvement in real world fuel efficiency. With its affordable price, the new hybrid vehicle will represent the best value in its segment. Along with the Civic Hybrid, the new vehicle will be produced at an expanded hybrid vehicle production line at the Suzuka factory in Japan.

The Insight is expected to have annual global sales of 200,000 units per year – approximately 100,000 in North America. Following the launch of the new Insight, Honda also plans to introduce another unique sporty hybrid vehicle based on the CR-Z, first shown at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. All together, Honda’s global sales of hybrids should increase to approximately 500,000 units a year, or more than 10 percent of its total worldwide annual automobile sales.

The original Honda Insight was introduced in December 1999 as America’s first gas-electric hybrid car. The first vehicle to break the 70-mpg fuel economy barrier, Insight was designed from the ground up to demonstrate the ultimate potential for fuel-economy in a two-seater subcompact automobile.

A leader in the development of cleaner, more fuel-efficient mobility products, Honda introduced the first low-emission gasoline vehicles; America’s first gas-electric hybrid car and the world’s first EPA-certified hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the FCX. In 2007, Honda was named “greenest automaker” by the Union of Concerned Scientists for the fourth straight time.

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Sad, but true. After the buzz surrounding the announcement of a Honda Fit hybrid trim, there were rumors that it might make it to the United States along with the $18,500 base-price hybrid and the CR-Z hybrid coupe, but according to ABG, it’s not to be.

The good news, however, is that this decision isn’t due to some corporate silliness that advises us that “there is no demand.” In fact, it’s quite the opposite: too many people want the Fit, and Honda just can’t keep up the demand for a worldwide offering. Perhaps in the future, though.

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Okay, so maybe the car itself won’t be coming back from the dead, but it’s very possible the name is. ABG reports that even though the Insight will not be coming back to Honda showrooms, the name might be. The coming years will be big for both Honda and Toyota, with lots of new hybrids coming out. However, Honda’s offerings are particularly exciting for me, as I expect their sub $19k family sedan to be a “Prius-killer” if there ever was one.

Image: dave_7

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When someone on the EcoModder forums asks about buying a used hybrid, there is usually a flurry of excitement coupled with cautions about the age of the car and the price of a new battery pack. Ecomodders, usually being budget-minded folks, are very wary of the seemingly astronomical price of battery replacement.

In the early part of this decade, some of the biggest worries about hybrids were how could the batteries possibly last, when would they finally give out, and how much would it cost to have them replaced. These days, concerns about batteries have largely faded out of the minds of new car buyers. Honda and Toyota have both had hybrids on the market for about a decade now, and there are no ominous junkyards filled with dead hybrids.

To underline the reliability of modern battery-electric hybrids, Honda says that out of over 100,000 hybrids on the road currently, only 200 have needed out-of-warranty battery replacement. Toyota, on the other hand, has only needed to replace 0.003 percent of its hybrid batteries out of warranty on the second generation Prius. Granted, these cars still aren’t all that old, and the batteries will likely fail eventually, but it seems that they are living up to manufacturers’ promises that they will last the life of a car.

Necessity aside, Honda and Toyota have both announced drastic cuts to the cost of replacement batteries for their hybrids. It will now cost just under $2,000 to have new batteries installed in you Honda Insight, and just under $2,500 for your Accord hybrid. These are about $1,000 reductions in the cost. Toyota, on the other hand, has dropped prices from ~$5,500 to $3,000, but that doesn’t include the installation, so the real cost is likely a bit more.

So, buyers of used hybrids, never fear! It’s unlikely that your batteries will fail prematurely, and even if they do, replacements are getting cheaper.

Source: Newsweek

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You hear a lot of hype about hydrogen fuel cell cars from manufacturers like GM and BMW, but the fact of the matter is that the Honda FCX Clarity was the first hydrogen-powered car to become “official,” whatever that means anyway.

For $600 a month, if you live in either Torrance, Santa Monica, or Irvine, California, you will be able to lease Honda’s FCX Clarity. In starting this program this summer, Honda will become the first major manufacturer to lease their hydrogen fuel cell cars. GM is currently just giving its it people to use. Financially, these things all cost millions to build, so for Honda the lease money is really more of a symbolic thing than anything. But I’m sure there will be people knocking down the doors to cough up that money.

The lease will last for three years, meaning that Honda is planning on giving people a decent amount of time with the cars, but after which they’ll probably yank them up in order to pave the way for newer and better hydrogen technology. Let’s just hope that, unlike in the electric vehicle case, there is a better and newer model instead of every manufacturer cancelling their programs.

Also, Honda has said that in the near future they plan on building a hybrid based on the FCX body style, so those of you who liked the look but not the hydrogen or the 20 year wait may still have a shot!

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Canada’s ecoAUTO program was set up by the federal government to encourage the purchase of fuel efficient vehicles through financial incentives. The program was funded by levies on the most inefficient vehicles and provided rebates of $1000 to $2000 for the purchase of fuel sipping models (the $1000 rebate threshold was 6.0L/100KM, or 39 mpg US).

However, after just a year and a significant amount of complaint and pressure from auto manufacturers (who incidentally make bigger profit margins on less fuel efficient vehicles like SUVs) the government announced in today’s budget that it will allow the ecoAuto program to lapse.

Instead, the Canadian government is pledging $250 million over the next five years to assist the auto industry in developing green technology. In short, Canada is attempting to move its effort from one based on consumer demand to one based on government support of big business.

While government development of green technology certainly has its place, the auto industry is largely motivated by consumer demand. In the case of the ecoAUTO program, we already saw the Honda Fit, which initially missed the rebate cutoff by 0.1 L/100 km, tweaked to get better fuel economy to appeal to more consumers through the rebate. The Fit was just one of several vehicles modified for improved efficiency by manufacturers in response to the program.

Of course, the program was flawed, as many new programs (and cars) tend to be, but it is unclear that government subsidies will make a more profound difference in the auto market than an economically motivated move towards smaller cars.

• Join the discussion on this topic in the EcoModder forum.

Source: Globe and Mail