Honda City Changes

Following a price drop recently in India of the 2011 Honda City, Honda could be planning a refresh to assist in reviving the sagging sales of the sub-compact sedan. Because the City Sedan is Honda's flagship model, Honda has already cut its price by 66 000 and go further for a refresh for 2012. Think along the lines of the Brio and the 2012 Civic for the exterior changes. They will include new taillamps with LEDs, a refreshed grille, new interior technological features such as Bluetooth and iPod and a revamped dashboard with a revised central dashboard, colors and a new audio system. 

The new City debuts late fall in India.  

Honda City to launch in Diesel form

If you were keeping an eye on the monthly sales figures of the Indian auto industry, you would have clearly noticed that since the start of this year, Japanese manufacturer, Honda Motors has failed to increase their sales figures, in fact their sales figures are on the decline.

There could be many reasons behind this decline, stiff competition, entry of new manufacturers, unavailability of an entry level car, etc. But the main reason that has pushed the sales figures of Honda Motors on the negative side is the unavailability of a diesel option.

According to Business Standard, Honda is preparing itself to launch a diesel engine powered Honda City in the Indian auto industry very soon. The report suggests Honda to develop a new diesel engine somewhere in the range of 1.4L-1.6L which will perfectly fit in Honda City.

Mr Jnaneshwar Sen, Marketing & Sales, Senior VP, Honda Motors India, stated, “We are developing a diesel engine in Japan to power City. It could take us more than two years. The rapid dieselisation of the market has happened only in the last one year, as the price difference between diesel and petrol has gone up from Rs 10 to Rs 21. We had to prioritise our efforts to be a big brand with big volumes, which will come from Brio. We believe we make the best engines and, therefore, there is no question of importing. Till then, we will continue to dominate the petrol segment.”

Review: 2011 Honda City

Sometimes it does take work to be at home in the city, but Honda's City makes it feel worthwhile. Find the review @ http://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/story/2011/03/19/no-sex-in-the-city-here/

EXTENDED: 2009-2010 Honda Fits Recall In-Depth

100 000 2009-2010 Honda Fits in the United States and 15 000 2009-2010 Honda Fits in Canada are being recalled after problems with engine components could cause the car to stall. The bulk of the recalled models are in Asia, Japan and China where 230 000, 168 000 and 160 000 Freeds/Fits/Citys have been recalled. Bangkok's recalled models sit at 90 000 Jazzes. In India, that number sits at 58 000 Honda City sedans. 11 100 Honda City sedans and Fit hatchbacks are affected in Australia. Singapore is one of the lesser affected regions with 2 000 City sedans and Fit models affected by the recall. In total, 700 000 models produced on the Fit platform (Freed/City/Fit) are affected worldwide. 

BREAKING NEWS: MASSIVE HONDA FIT/CITY/FREED RECALL

Honda has announced that the company is recalling around 700,000 vehicles globally for faulty lost motion springs in the valve train. The springs may fatigue and break over time, causing the engine to stall as a result. The recall covers certain 2009-2010 Fit, Freed and City models, and so far the company has received a total of 72 complaints of the issue in Japan and 29 complaints from elsewhere in the world.

No injuries or accidents have been reported as a result of the problem.

Honda Thailand Boosts Output

The Bangkok Post has reported that Honda Thailand will add an extra work shift at its Ayutthaya plant to boost 2011 output in line with a higher sales target projected this year. The automaker plans to raise local sales by almost 28% from 2010 to 145 000 units including a new economy compact car, the Brio that will debut in Thailand later this year. Honda predicts the overall Thailand market will grow but at a slower pace to 850 000 total units this year. Export volume will remain the same, at 60 000 units. Honda will be raising production from 120 000 units to 130 000 units while the plant has a capacity of 240 000 units.

The increase in production results from higher than expected sales from the City, Jazz, Civic and projected sales of the new Brio.

The Accord Sedan, CR-V and Freed are also sold in Thailand.

Honda builds new Argentine Plant

Honda's new Campana, Argentine plant will be producing an annual output capacity of 30 000 units of its Honda City model. Honda is aiming to export 60% of the vehicles that are produced out of this plant. Building of the plant was delayed in 2009 when the global economic meltdown hit the world. The factory involved a total investment of $250 million dollars. 

Honda City Review

A quality recommendable car made by Honda, @ http://www.bsmotoring.com/news/which-car-december-edition-2/2909/1

Honda Ballade Returns!

The Ballade nameplate was synonymous with Honda's presence in our market during the 1980s and '90s, the badge finding its way onto Honda Civic sedans that were assembled and marketed by Mercedes-Benz South Africa.

Honda of Japan used the Ballade name for its first Civic sedan, which came to South Africa in 1982, but while international markets adopted the Civic name after that, South Africa stuck with Ballade for its subsequent Civics.

These sedans then returned to their rightful Civic name when Honda entered our country under its own steam and as a full importer at the turn of the century, so the Ballade never actually disappeared - it just lost its name.

That said, the Civic has moved upmarket in recent years and it's now far cry from the affordable compact sedan that the Ballade used to be.

Now Honda South Africa is plugging that gap with an all-new compact sedan (called the City in international markets) that will be launched here during the first quarter of next year. As something of a spiritual successor to the earlier Ballades, what better name could there be?

Now totally devoid of Civic geneology, the Ballade shares its underpinnings and engines with the latest Honda Jazz.

Review - CarAdvice on the 2009 Honda City

( Quoted from CarAdvice )
" Inside the cabin, there’s a surprising amount of room. While the exterior of the car looks meagre, it’s inside where it excels. 506-litres worth of boot volume, along with leg-stretching rear seat passenger ability makes the City flexible for short city trips and long distance trips away – or so you would think. "

For more information, visit http://www.caradvice.com.au/38091/honda-city-vti-l-review-and-road-test/ .

Review - Gaadi.com on the 2009 Honda City

( Quoted from Gaadi.com )
" Our route plan included the best and worst of roads. But first we had to tank up the City to the brim at the petrol pump we usually fill up from. Aspi was there to give us a few pointers on how to get the best from the car without sacrificing on driving pleasure. The onus was definitely on saving fuel but that didn’t mean we were going to stick to the left most lane at a speed slow enough for trucks to overtake us. We left from the gas station at 11:30 am and being a Saturday , the traffic wasn’t too bad. However , the trick of keeping an eye on the real time fuel bar and the tachometer made sure that the display showed an average of 16kmpl in the city with the air-con on. Soon , we were on the multi-lane expressway , where I decided to stick to 90-95km/h with a cautious right foot on inclines. At these speeds , we could hardly hear the engine spinning. Sanjay made sure good music kept us in the mood while Ravi did the calculations and noted down important information like time , distance , fuel economy etc. "

Fore more information, visit http://www.gaadi.com/expert-reviews-262-Weekend_getaway_on_Honda_City .

News - Honda China's Sales

Good news for Honda's Chinese division as it posted sales up 14.9% in July at 50647 units compared to 44093 units last July 2008. Sales in the first seven months in 2009 have risen 12.4% at 304459 units compared to 270836 units in the first seven months of 2008. Honda claims their rise in sales was due in part to the new City subcompact sedan, a joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group. The CR-V also played a role in Honda's sales upswing, rising 55.1% in July compared to July 2008.

Honda City Facelift

It's been long awaited, the Honda City i-DSI facelift model has been finally launched. Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia will receive this new model. The Honda City i-DSI features slight changes for the exterior and interior, with the exterior receiving a new honeycomb grille, new side mirrors, body-coloured mud guards, new turn signals and a integrated glass antenna. There are new water repellent "Ultra Seats" for the interior. For colours there are Alabaster Silver Metallic, Bluish Silver, Nighthawk Black Pearl, Satellite Silver Metallic, and Sparkle Grey.