Honda Gets Smart With Scooter Ad [Ad Watch]

A Miami ad student's created a print advertisement for Honda's 50cc Metropolitan scooter and we've got to say, it's pretty smart. The print ad, created by Branden Kramer of the Miami Ad School, compares a Smart ForTwo with the much smaller 50cc Metropolitan Scooter, calling it the 'smarter' choice. While we can all agree that the little Metro sips fuel more delicately than the larger ForTwo, we question if the comparison made between four wheels and two will resonate with potential customers. Honda, are you smarter than a 5th grader? [via AdsOfTheWorld]

 

Top Gear Reviews Honda FCX Clarity [Top Gear]

After Clarkson took the Tesla round the track, James May, Top Gear's Captain Slow, spent time with the Honda FCX Clarity, or, as he calls it, "The Most Important Car in 100 Years." In addition to the vanilla drive, Jay Leno makes a short cameo in this clip from last Sunday's episode of Top Gear. Watch as silent blandosity saves us from the evils of global warming while reserving the dino-juice for the fast cars.

 

Honda Posts First Half-Year Operating Loss In 11 Years [Industry News]

If anyone needed proof the Carpocalypse is affecting all the automakers, Honda, the mighty stalwart of profitability, has announced a half-year operating loss of $1.4 billion. It's their first in 11 years. That half year loss is made up for by a first half year profitability of $2.0 billion dollars, but if there's a stronger sign the market has fallen apart we've yet to see it. Honda CEO Takeo Fukui said "We see no sign of a recovery." Don't know about you folks but when Honda loses money and says things may not recover, we kinda take that as a bad sign. We expect Senators Bob Corker and Richard Shelby to berate Honda for being a failure of a company, incapable of building innovative products that Americans want to buy and lagging behind their foreign competitors. Obviously they're not worthy of anyone's sympathy. [Forbes]

 

2010 Honda Insight: Production Ready [2010 Honda Insight]

The 2010 Honda Insight has been revealed in production form today with only a few differences like normal tires and the front fascia losing some of the high-cost chrome the Insight was sporting in concept mode. Honda's new Prius-killer is expected to retail for around $18,500, massively undercutting the $22,000 Toyota Prius. Expect full details at January's Detroit Auto Show even if Honda won't be unveiling it at an actual press conference. The press release and a high-res picture follow the jump. Click here for a high-res picture of the 2010 Honda Insight. 12/03/2008 - TORRANCE, Calif. - The all-new 2009 Honda Insight hybrid will make its world debut in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The five-passenger, five-door Insight will go on sale in the spring of 2009. The Insight is expected to have annual global sales of 200,000 units per year - approximately 100,000 in North America - and will utilize a new interactive, driver-focused fuel economy enhancement technology named the Ecological Drive Assist System (Eco Assist™). A leader in the development of cleaner, more fuel-efficient mobility products, Honda introduced to market the first mass produced low-emission gasoline vehicles; America's first commercially produced 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.

 

Honda pulls the plug on the NSX supercar

Honda keeps dropping one shocking news after another. After announcing that it is pulling out of Formula One racing, Honda now says that the Nissan GT-R will no longer have a competitor. That's right the company has pulled the plug on the 600-hp 5.5L V10 NSX supercar due to an economic slowdown and declining sales. Besides having a running prototype and posting some competitive Nurburgring laps, Honda's CEO Takeo Fukui said that all development on the NSX will cease. Honda was expected to show a concept version of the NSX at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show next month. Now all Detroit funding will go towards showing the production Insight Hybrid, FC Sport, FCX Clarity and the CR-Z concept. 2010 Acura NSX Prototype at Nurburgring :

 

Banzai burned? Honda reportedly kills NSX

Amidst a troubled global economy, Honda is actively scaling back its operations, and its performance programs are sadly bearing the brunt. After canceling its participation in Formula One and the AMA motorbike road racing series, the Japanese automaker has reportedly announced that it is nixing development of the next-generation NSX supercar. The unfortunate news will undoubtedly come as a stunning disappointment for the loyal legions of Honda/Acura sportscar fans. The new NSX, which looked to be nearing the end of its development on the road to production, was slated to be the most powerful car ever made by Honda, driven by an anticipated 560-horsepower V10. According to Autocar, the goal-line audible came from none other than Takeo Fukui, Honda's CEO, who dropped the bombshell as part of an end-of-year speech to the troops. The news also means that Honda is suspending plans to finally bring the Acura nameplate to Japan, and it also calls into doubt the fate of the V10 engine itself, as well as any long-rumored V8 powertrains. Honda hasn't ruled out the possibility of picking up where it left off once business is back in order, but in the meantime the original NSX, which ceased production in 2005 after fifteen years on the market, will have to remain without an heir. Gallery: Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept   Gallery: Spy Shots: Acura NSX [Source: Autocar]

 

Japanese Honda Accord gets Mugen treatment

Last week, the new Honda Accord made its official debut in Japan and only a few days later, Honda specialist Mugen already presented the first details regarding the upcoming package for the car, both sedan and wagon versions. The Accord Mugen will a full new bodykit, with new front and rear spoilers, 'aero' bumpers, side sills and a huge rear wing, plus four alloy wheel designs available in 18 and 19 inches size. Performance upgrades include a new sport suspension kit, high-performance brake pads and rotors, plus a new sport exhaust system. No word wether the 2.4 liter engine or the 5-speed automatic transmission received any upgrades. Photo Gallery: New Honda Accord by Mugen