Paris Bright Lights Flash Green For Honda

Newcastle Herald

Saturday September 20, 2008

GR

"GREEN" will be the word de jour for Honda at this year's Paris Motor Show with the Japanese car maker presenting a full house of energy-friendly products.

At the production end is Honda's new (read: restyled) Civic Hybrid, which boasts a more aggressive look.

In semi-production and semi-use in California and Japan, is the FCX Clarity, Honda's first production fuel-cell car to show Europeans either what they will be getting one day or what they are missing out on.

Honda's Parisienne star though is the Insight Hybrid Concept, a hybrid coupe that will soon be returning to the company's model range as the first of three such vehicles that will appear in dealerships (most likely in Japan, Europe and the US) over the next four years.

Unlike the original and fairly unlovely Insight two-seat coupe this one is billed as a family car that also brings affordability to the hybrid market, which has historically featured significantly more expensive cars compared to conventional models.

One of the other two dedicated hybrids to come from Honda will be a small coupe spun off the CR-Z Hybrid Sports concept.

And the final future shock from Honda? Not a car, but a new automatic gearbox built especially for the new i-DTEC diesel engine to meet the demand of European buyers who have so far been denied any automatic option for the 2.2-litre diesel.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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