Honda Insight hybrid (2009) spy video by Car Magazine (UK)

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Super Cub Special Site Now Open

The Super Cub made Honda what it is today. In 2008, 50 years and 60 million units later, the Super Cub still continues to evolve.

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Lotus Helps Development of Honda Civic Hybrid Race Car

Bet you never thought you’d see a Honda Civic IMA Hybrid in the air like the one in featured in the picture above. Of course, this isn’t your ordinary hybrid but a race prepped version of the eco-friendly Civic created by Oaktec. The Lancashire based company has been developing the Honda Hybrid system for motorsport since 2004. Oaktec took part in several rallies around the UK winning the F1000 Class A Championship in 2006 with a Honda Insight. Now Oaktec has joined forces with Lotus to develop the performance of a Civic Hybrid for rallying and circuit racing.

Though no details on the car’s specifications have been revealed yet, Phil Barker, Chief Engineer of Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies at Lotus said that the British automaker will work with Oaktec to create a revised electrical specification for more power and a control system that will allow a more aggressive regenerative braking strategy.

Paul Andrews, Senior Partner of Oaktec said: “Maximizing racetrack performance from a hybrid drivetrain is a complex technical exercise but one that Lotus Engineering has the experience and expertise to help us deliver. We look forward to seeing our success on the rally tracks replicated in the race circuits. We will be breaking new ground with the project when Gavan Kershaw of Lotus Engineering and Jamie Corstorphine of Autocar magazine will race our Honda Civic Hybrid for the first time in the Dunlop Max Sport Cup at Rockingham circuit on 28th September.”

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Continental starts series production of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles

Continental, the international automotive supplier, is the world's first manufacturer to start series production of lithium-ion batteries to be used in hybrid drive cars. The Powertrain Division has invested over three million euros in building up manufacturing capacity at the Nuremberg site. "This underlines Continental's claim that, by developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art drive technologies, it can contribute to a significant reduction in fuel consumption by vehicles in future and, consequently, to a reduction in CO2 emissions as well", said Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, Chief Executive Officer of Continental AG and head of the Powertrain Division. The company held a joint celebration this Wednesday in Nuremberg together with customers, suppliers and political and media representatives to mark the start of series production.

A generation of high-storage-capacity batteries

Compared with the battery technology currently in use in hybrid vehicles (nickel-metal hydride), lithium-ion batteries, the latest generation energy storage units, offer significantly greater storage capacity. The battery which Continental has developed weighs around 25 kilograms and requires an installation volume of some 13 liters. This allows the electric motor to boost the combustion engine by up to 19kW, making considerable fuel savings during acceleration or when starting off. The battery is charged when the vehicle brakes or decelerates, freewheeling up to a red light, for example. This regenerative braking or recuperation is controlled by the power electronics. Like the integral automatic start-stop function which automatically switches off the engine when the vehicle comes to a standstill and switches it on again when starting off, recuperation is included as part of Continental's hybrid modular system which combines all our hybrid technology expertise in a single package. The lithium-ion battery produced in Nuremberg, including the hybrid technology, will be installed as standard in the new Mercedes S400 BlueHYBRID, available from the middle of 2009. Thanks to the innovative technology, this luxury class sedan with its six-cylinder gasoline engine will achieve a consumption rate of 7.9 liters of super gasoline per 100 kilometers, equating to CO2 emissions of 190 grams per kilometer.

Highly demanding safety and assembly engineering

Using lithium-ion technology in vehicles poses particular challenges. "The battery has to operate safely and reliably for the whole of the life cycle stipulated by the vehicle manufacturer, and that's at least ten years", stresses Jörg Grotendorst, head of the Hybrid Electric Vehicles Business Unit in Continental's Powertrain Division. This is achieved by an elaborate battery management system which monitors the battery so that it is always within the optimum working range. The electronics compare the battery's overall condition, temperature and energy reserves against its age; and safety circuits prevent the energy storage unit from becoming too hot. A Cell Supervision Circuit (CSC) monitors the individual cells and ensures their optimum interaction. So that cells are not permanently subjected to uneven loads, the CSC balances the charge levels of all the cells in the battery. This guarantees that the lithium-ion batteries will really last - with unimpaired functionality, power and safety - for the required ten years or 160,000 to 240,000 kilometers. Batteries produced since last year as part of the preproduction series have been artificially aged in the course of exhaustive text cycles in order to simulate their use in vehicles over many years.

It is not just the safety and test engineering which is demanding; assembly poses its own challenges. Since the current inside the battery is not conducted via cables but along copper bus bars, a special welding process has to be used to join the bus bars. Only by using resistance welding which uses 16,000 amps is it possible to join the copper bus bars so that the current can then flow unimpeded past the welding seams and avoid power losses. The lithium-ion batteries are fully enclosed in a laser-welded, stainless steel housing.

These new areas where lithium-ion batteries can be used also pose new disposal and recycling challenges. Continental is conscious of its responsibilities towards the environment and, together with its waste disposal partners, is developing innovative recycling ideas which will allow at least 50 percent of the content of lithium-ion cells to be recycled.

Production capacity of 15,000 units

Continental started preseries production of lithium-ion batteries last year in Berlin; then, in the space of twelve months, the series production equipment was planned and installed in the Nuremberg plant, at a total investment cost of around €3.3 million, creating 23 new jobs in the Production Department and related areas. 15,000 lithium-ion batteries can be produced annually in a production facility covering 300m²; and this capacity can be doubled at short notice.

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George Clooney on the set of the new Honda commercial for the upcoming Odyssey

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24th September: Honda Motor Co. Ltd. becomes 60 years old!!!

Honda’s founder – Soichiro Honda – would have been 102 years old on 17th November 2008. Born in 1906, the son of a blacksmith and a weaver, Soichiro was fascinated by machines and what made them work. One of his earliest memories was being enthralled by the first motor car he had ever seen. With a passion for engineering in his blood, Soichiro was soon working as an apprentice at a garage, working as a car mechanic before starting his own auto repair business in 1928.

Racing was an early passion. Soichiro built his first racing car with parts including a V8 aircraft engine, but he left racing in 1936 after a serious accident. After selling his first company, on 24th September 1948 Honda Motor Co was formed. The first Honda motorcycle – the A Type – was an early success, proving to Soichiro that motorcycles could be the answer to cheap transportation. Early machines were refined until the development of the legendary 1958 Super Cub.

A passion for racing was still in our founder’s blood and soon the Isle of Man TT races would provide the pedestal to advertise the quality of Honda’s motorcycles. In 1961, just two years after Honda’s debut on the Island, Mike Hailwood won the Ultra-Lightweight and Lightweight TTs. Other dreams have since been chased and realised: Formula 1 wins, a Formula 2 championship and countless motorcycle titles.

Since then, Honda has diversified into road cars, All-Terrain Vehicles, engines, generators, outboard motors, personal watercraft, water pumps, scooters, snowblowers, robots and now jet aircraft. Soichiro Honda died on August 5th 1991, but dreams never die. From the HondaJet down to the humblest lawnmower, all our products have been infused by the DNA of the dreams of our founder, Soichiro Honda.

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Honda not interested in plug-in hybrids for the near future

Honda Motor Co., first to lease hydrogen autos to U.S. drivers, said batteries haven't advanced enough to make rechargeable cars a good replacement for gasoline models and isn't following rivals who plan to sell plug-ins. ``For battery-powered vehicles to become more widespread, more popular in the market, we feel battery technology needs to advance further,'' said Masaaki Kato, president of Honda's research unit, in an interview at the Tokyo-based company's U.S. headquarters. Expectations for plug-ins are big and ``we don't know that that could be sustained right now,'' he said.

Honda is bucking an industry move toward lithium-ion batteries as record-high U.S. fuel prices this year and climate change concerns over carbon dioxide push carmakers to develop alternatives to gasoline power.

General Motors Corp. sparked interest in a new generation of electric cars with its Volt, a sedan due by 2010 that will travel 40 miles solely on lithium-ion batteries before needing a recharge. Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker, and No. 3 Nissan Motor Co. are also readying small electric cars powered only by batteries. A production version of GM's plug-in Volt is to be shown tomorrow in Detroit. `

`GM and Toyota are slugging it out for attention as technology leaders in this area,'' said Phil Gott, a powertrain analyst for market forecaster Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. ``Honda doesn't want to get in the middle of that. They've also been fast to market with many technologies, and don't have anything to prove right now.''

`Impossible to Imagine'

Vehicles using lithium-ion power wouldn't satisfy most consumers, since such batteries are costly and still hold less than half the energy of gasoline by weight, Kato said. ``We just don't see it providing the type of driving performance you get with a gasoline-powered vehicle,'' Kato said Sept. 12 in Torrance, California, speaking through a translator. For example, the Japanese government's advanced battery development program has a goal of boosting energy storage capacity by seven times and cutting cost to 2.5 percent of the current level, said Kato, who is also senior managing director for Japan's second-largest automaker. ``That gives you a pretty clear example of what type of gap we're facing relative to a gasoline vehicle,'' he said. ``At this point, I'd say it's impossible to imagine a date at which such a breakthrough could occur.''

Refining Fuel-Cell System

While Honda may offer a plug-in at some point, for now it will continue refining the fuel-cell system in its new hydrogen- powered FCX Clarity sedan, Kato said. Based on advances the company has made with the vehicle, including improving range to 280 miles, ``we believe it's easier than battery innovation,'' Kato said. Such a choice isn't unusual for Honda, said Michael Omotoso, powertrain analyst for market-research firm J.D. Power & Associates in Troy, Michigan. ``This fits in with their reputation for conservative product decisions,'' Omotoso said. ``They opted not to offer V-8 engines and stayed out of big trucks, and they're doing well this year because they focused more on small cars.'' Honda's American depositary receipts fell $1.07, or 3.3 percent, to $31.66 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

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U.S. Auto Makers Target Battery Gap With Japan

The lengthening lead Japan's auto makers hold in securing supplies of advanced batteries to power the next generation of automobiles has become a rallying point for the U.S. auto industry in seeking at least $25 billion in government loans.

Over the past decade, Japan's auto giants have been teaming up with its electronics companies, which have dominated global battery manufacturing for laptop computers, mobile phones and other products. Most Japanese battery makers -- even those allied with Japanese auto makers -- say they are willing to supply other car makers.

But securing an adequate supply of batteries over the next few years has become a growing concern for auto makers everywhere. The U.S. industry is leery of depending too heavily on foreign battery makers allied with Japanese auto makers, for fear those suppliers would give priority to filling the orders of their Japanese partners.

Over the past several months, a number of Japan's auto makers and its top battery makers have reached new agreements to work together on vehicle batteries. At least five battery factories are under construction in Japan, including a $115 million facility announced in May by Nissan Motor Co. and electronics giant NEC Corp.

The flurry of deals promises to put U.S. auto makers even further behind their Japanese rivals in manufacturing capacity and technological know-how on the battery front, analysts say.

On Friday, U.S. auto-industry leaders pressed American lawmakers for federal loans to develop homegrown technology for more fuel-efficient vehicles, such as hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.

General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner, appearing on Capitol Hill, called on Congress to support advanced-battery development in the U.S., which he said lags far behind the government-supported development efforts in Japan and South Korea.

The market for advanced automotive batteries is expected to grow to between $30 billion and $40 billion a year by 2020, compared with today's $900 million market for hybrid batteries, according to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

Detroit executives say that by helping to narrow the battery-development gap, a federal-loan package would further the goal of U.S. energy security in addition to aiding the country's auto industry. The executives argue that failure to develop a competitive battery industry domestically could create a new energy dependency for the U.S. by making it reliant on foreign-made batteries, even as it seeks to reduce its dependence on imported oil.

"Moving from imported oil to imported batteries" wouldn't address the nation's energy-security concerns, said Mark Fields, head of Ford Motor Co. operations in the Americas, speaking recently in Washington. "Bold and dramatic incentives are needed to accelerate the commercial development of high-energy power batteries right here in the U.S."

Higher oil prices have pushed consumers to hybrids at a much faster pace than almost anyone had imagined, accelerating car makers' need for access to good batteries. Even Toyota Motor Corp., which has the largest supply, encountered a shortage this year of the batteries used to power the electric motor in its popular Prius gasoline-electric hybrid. As a result, it was forced to put some customers on three-month-long waiting lists for the Prius.

For now, some U.S. auto makers are seeking supplies from Japanese battery makers. GM recently announced plans to buy lithium-ion batteries for 100,000 hybrids from Japan's Hitachi Ltd. Sanyo Electric Co. supplies batteries for Ford hybrids.

But Japanese companies continue to invest in their own facilities. Nissan and partner NEC announced in May that they will build a factory that has capacity to make 65,000 lithium-ion batteries a year by 2011, as the car maker aims to become the world's largest producer of electric vehicles.

In July, Toyota opened a battery-research center, which it plans to double in size in the next two years to include 100 scientists and support staff, to develop a supercharged battery more powerful than those now on the market. A slew of smaller companies are ramping up production of cathodes, electrodes and other essential battery-making materials.

Unlike the U.S., Japan has made energy savings a top priority for years. While Detroit has focused on highly profitable large trucks and sport-utility vehicles in recent years, Japanese auto makers have continued to concentrate on smaller, fuel-sipping vehicles, including hybrids

Toyota and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. formed a joint venture in 1996 called Panasonic EV Energy to produce batteries for Toyota hybrids. With two plants running and a third under construction, the venture aims to produce enough nickel-metal-hydride batteries to power one million hybrid vehicles a year soon after 2010, more than double its plans for this year.

In addition, the company plans to start making lithium-ion batteries, a more-powerful kind of battery that will be used in Toyota's plug-in hybrids scheduled for release late next year.

Panasonic EV Energy runs what is currently Japan's most-advanced battery-making facility. Rising above the rice fields and rows of greenhouses in the farming town of Kosai in central Japan, the factory operates around the clock.

Japan's GS Yuasa, a Kyoto battery maker that has teamed up with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp. to make lithium-ion batteries, has been honing its battery-making expertise for two decades, creating batteries for a wide range of uses, including satellites, submarines and power tools.

The company's production facility is a warren of sealed, air-tight rooms. Employees wear face masks, and the floors are lined with sticky mats to collect dust and other particles that could ruin a battery's performance. "Mass production of batteries is very difficult," says Ken Sawai, a manager at GS Yuasa. "There are many secrets."

And there is ample opportunity for developers of better batteries. "Whoever can make a safe, long-life and low-cost battery will be the winner," says Khalil Amine, a battery researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

Those trying to do that include start-ups like A123 Systems Inc., a small company founded by a group of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A123 is a contender for the battery design that will power GM's planned Chevrolet Volt.

Another battery player in the U.S. is Johnson Controls Inc., which last month was awarded an $8.2 million contract by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles. The company also will provide lithium-ion batteries for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class hybrid vehicle, scheduled to be on the market in early 2009.

But much more needs to be done, says Mary Ann Wright, vice president and general manager for Johnson Controls' hybrid-battery business. She has been lobbying Washington for a national effort to establish research labs and manufacturing technology to make the U.S. a battery-manufacturing leader.

It would be more of rebirth of an industry than one started from scratch. Key components needed in hybrid and electric vehicles -- including the battery, electric motor and specialized electronics -- were originally developed in the U.S., Ms. Wright says. Now nearly all of them come from Asia.

"It's our punishment for inventing this stuff and allowing manufacturing to go somewhere else," she says.

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Lithium car batteries: Don't hold your breath

ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY, Illinois (Reuters) - Vast improvements are needed to extend the life and lower the cost of lithium batteries before they can efficiently power vehicles, a U.S. government official who tracks high-power battery development said on Monday.

Lithium-ion batteries are widely predicted to replace nickel metal-hydride batteries currently used in most hybrid vehicles, such as Toyota Co's hot-selling Prius.

But among the challenges to overcome are extending the life of high-power lithium batteries and bringing down their relatively high cost, Tien Duong of the U.S. Department of Energy said on the sidelines of a lithium battery conference held at this government laboratory.

"Life means 10 years, plus. For hybrids we know (their batteries) last 10 years plus. For the PHEV (plug-in electric vehicle), we don't know," Duong said. He did not specify what the costs should be.

"One of the phenomenons that cuts short the life of the battery is power. You may have a lot of energy, but if you run out of power, that's no good," he said.

Soaring costs for gasoline and the effort to cut emissions to stall global climate change have added incentive to produce vehicles powered by electricity.

Duong said it will take time to develop a lithium battery that can meet the Department of Energy's goal: a plug-in electric vehicle with a 40-mile range by the year 2016.

Plug-in vehicles like General Motors Co's Volt -- a proposed electric vehicle equipped with a regular gasoline-powered engine to provide backup electricity to the battery -- are seen as promising because charging could occur overnight when power costs less.

"The beauty of the plug-in is charging overnight at lower rates," Argonne Labs' engineer-economist Danilo Santini told the conference. "And slower charging is cost-effective as well."
Attendees at the three-day conference at the government research laboratory outside Chicago included automakers, battery makers, investors and scientists.

Lithium batteries that deliver low power have been used for years to power laptop computers and similar devices, but prismatic lithium batteries that deliver more power in a smaller package, and hold a bigger charge safely without overheating, are seen as the next generation to power cars.

A presenter from Toyota, Noboru Kikuchi, implored the assembled scientists to scale the technological barriers and build a safe, commercially viable lithium battery.

In the meantime, he said, Toyota aims to increase sales of its hybrid line, which employs metal hydride batteries, to 1 million vehicles annually by 2020. There are 1.5 million hybrids on the road currently, since the Prius was launched in 1997.

"Toyota is making quite an effort to build a lithium-ion battery ... but simply giving up nickel metal hydride batteries seems like a bad idea," Kikuchi said.

South Korea has been aggressive, with three large manufacturers -- LG Chem, Samsung, and SK Energy -- aiming to produce a viable lithium battery for vehicles. The goal is to produce a lithium-powered plug-in vehicle by 2013, three years before the United States' target, Yung Myun Yoo of the Korea Automotive Technology Institute told the conference.

"That's fine," Duong said, when asked about South Korea's progress.

Asked whether the United States was falling behind in building electric or hybrid cars, Duong said: "We're losing the race in manufacturing, but not in R and D (research and development)."

He said there is a lot of discussion in Washington of funding a Department of Defense $1 billion battery project.

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