Honda With Diesel

Hyundai worries Toyota and Honda in the US

Toyota executives in the United States are clearly concerned by the speed at which the Korean carmaker is moving when Yoshimi Inaba, COO of Toyota North America, said in a recent statement to the Bloomberg Network,

From the list of best selling cars in the United States this year, the Toyota Camry remains in the top spot with sales of 147, 469 units. The number two position is held by the Honda Accord with 137, 146 sales. Sonata on the other hand is in ninth position with year to date sales of 115, 014 units, but that’s just 32, 455 units behind Camry and only 22, 132 cars behind Accord’s number two spot.

I sincerely doubt that the Japanese could have predicted such rapid progress of both Hyundai and Kia, but they are certainly paying them some attention now and that can only mean more competition and subsequently better products all round for buyers.

Hyundai now clearly makes better cars than Toyota and Honda. The Sonata is best in class as is the Elantra and the newly released Accent. Hyundai’s reliability has been stellar in the cars I have owned. Hyundai now has clear technological superiority over nearly all of the Japanese brands and are moving rapidly to dominate the sectors in which they compete. Toyota and Honda don’t have a single direct injected engine on the market and Hyundai is putting the technology in their entire line. They will now be tweaking GDi to further maximize efficiency.

Hyundai is also moving rapidly to incorporate extensive use of ultra high strength and high strength steels in their vehicles by operating their own blast furnaces and steel mills.

Hyundai worked closely with LG Chem in developing Lithium polymer batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles. The technology is more advanced than NIMH and LG Chem is now the leader in the segment. When GM developed the Volt, they did not go to Japan for the batteries. They went to LG Chem.

Toyota is several years out from bringing direct injection and lithium polymer technology to the mass market. Hyundai is moving rapidly to bring out this technology now. They will do a much better job than what GM did with the Volt also.

Toyota’s Prius is about to get routed. I have the new 2012 Accent and getting a real world 50 mpg on the highway. If Hyundai puts a hybrid drivetrain into it, it would blow the Prius out of the water.

Honda Civic Adds a Diesel Engine for 2012 | PSCars

If you’ve been waiting for the Honda Civic to go diesel, you don’t have much longer to wait. The new Honda for 2012 is going to be available in with a diesel engine for those interested in an alternative fuel source.

With gas prices on the rise, it’s not surprising that a lot of drivers are looking for cheaper alternatives. While electric vehicles are an option, they aren’t for everyone. The hybrids still have quite a few kinks to work out, including longevity, but with diesel, you can pay less in fuel and still go a long ways. For this reason, fuel has been the more economical choice for a while now.

The main issue that drivers faced was the fact that they couldn’t get their favorite vehicles with a diesel engine. These days, it’s becoming much easier to find the vehicle you want with a diesel option and now that the Honda Civic is joining the ranks of more economical vehicles, we can expect to see a lot of sales directed to the brand. Dealerships are already priming their more money conscious clients with information about the newest version of the Civic.

Gas prices aren’t likely to drop much anytime soon with things heating up in the Middle East, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a lower priced ride. Look for the new Honda Civic when the 2012 models are released. It could be a much better option for buyers around the world.

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