Hybrid vehicles have always offered more benefits to the zip-around-town Domino’s pizza delivery boy than the long-distance highway commuter. In fact, without regernative braking at work, a hybrid vehicle at highway speeds exhibits very few efficiency advantages over a frugal MINI Cooper.

Addressing one of the problems, Honda is now touting a “heat-harnessing hybrid”, claiming it can recapture energy that most conventional hybrids lose during high speed driving. Greatly simplified, the innovative approach uses exhaust heat to convert water to steam. The steam turns an electric generator that then charges the vehicle’s battery pack. It’s all based on an age-old principle called the “Rankine cycle.” Pre-boomers may recall it’s the same type of technology that was used in the Stanley Steamer a century ago.

Honda crammed all of the “heat-harnessing” plumbing into a Honda Stream prototype and captured three times as much energy as a regenerative braking system on the EPA highway cycle. While that may sound impressive, the technology still needs to come a long way and the price fall before we find steam generators in our cars.

[Source: AutoBlog]

In case you didn’t know, the Acura TSX sold in the U.S. is basically the same car as the European version of the Honda Accord. So when we see spy shots of the old country’s new Accord, we’re interested because we’re looking at the next TSX for us. This image was sent into us by Autoblog reader bojan with not much information, but it’s clear that we’re looking at the 2009 Honda Accord Tourer (wagon) for Europe. The car’s shape is based on the Accord Tourer Concept that was shown by the automaker at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September. Since there’s virtually no covering, we can make all those bits that Honda showed use in a series of teaser images it released late last month. It’s shaping up to be one extremely sharp wagon, which we’ll get to see in person next month at the Geneva Motor Show. Even though we’ll get the sedan version of this car over here in the States as the next Acura TSX, the tourer model will likely remain beyond our reach and not offered in the U.S.

[Source: AutoBlog]

The Nissan Altima narrowly beat out the Honda Accord for the coveted Consumer Reports Top-Ranked, Mid-priced Sedan, which is revealed in the February 2008 issue. The V6 Accord lost to the V6-powered Altima by a scant one-point, followed by the Toyota Camry and Volkswagen Passat.

Consumer Reports tested a number of family sedans for its February issue, ranging from the base four-cylinder models and up to the range-topping V6s. The selected vehicles, which also included the Ford Taurus, Dodge Avenger, Kia Amanti and Subaru Legacy, were broken down into three categories: “Affordable,” “Mid-priced” and “Large” family sedans.

The four-cylinder Altima took the top spot in the “Affordable” category, leading by six points over the Accord, with the Kia Optima EX and Passat 2.0T coming in third and fourth, respectively.

Consumer Reports is quick to point out that the Accord, which has won the publications Top Pick for five years, outperformed the majority of the players, but in the end, the Altima proved to be the best value overall.

[Source: AutoBlog]

It’s no secret around the F1 paddock that Super Aguri is in big financial trouble. The team, founded by former Japanese F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, made its debut at the start of the 2006 season after buying its place on the grid – unlike most new teams that were formed out of previous entries. Aguri runs on a shoe-string budget, fielding old cars and relying heavily on Honda’s patronage to pay the enormous bills of operating a Formula One team.

Emerging reports now suggest that Honda has decided to continue supporting the team for another season. Because Honda is believed to supply a big chunk of Aguri’s budget (as well as its engines and chassis) – effectively making it Honda’s “B-squad” – the Japanese auto giant has the power to decide Super Aguri’s fate. But public pressure on Honda in Japan to have its former pilot Takuma Sato driving in F1 has motivated the company to continue funding the second racing outfit. Honda would not commit beyond next season, however, and if Aguri continues to embarrass the Honda F1 Team with its transcendent performance, they may find themselves holding their hats again a year from now.

The news means that Aguri joins Force India as one of two teams with seats still available for the 2008 season. Sato is all but guaranteed his place, but Aguri could go any which way for its second driver. (Italian driver Luca Fillippi, a rising talent in motorsports, was connected with a drive for Aguri, but opted to sign for GP2 instead.) Ralf Schumacher and Tonio Liuzzi are both in search of new drives for next season, along with a slew of new hopefuls. Let the courtship begin.

[Source: AutoBlog]

Those of you rolling in a 2005–2008 Acura RL take note: Honda has issued a recall for your power steering hose and being the educated consumer that you are, you won’t have to wait by the mailbox to know about it.

The high temperatures created by the V6 under the RL’s hood are apparently causing some cracks to form in the power steering hose that could lead to fluid leaking onto the catalytic converter, resulting in a fire, which is bad. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration issued the recall, but no injuries or fires have been reported as of yet.

Approximately 43,200 Acura RLs are affected by the recall and since it’s likely that you’re more informed than your local Acura service department, we’d suggest you print out this post and tell the folks at your dealer that you’ve got a friend in the industry.

[Source: AutoBlog]

It’s aimed at Honda fans who are looking for something a little more sporty than the standard Accord, and is being lined up to tackle the likes of the BMW 3-Series head-on.

It’s a tough challenge, so to lend a hand, engineers have given the family saloon a little late-life nip and tuck. However, with a replacement due in less than a year, can the changes help the Honda win the fight? We were first behind the wheel to find out.

A walk around the GT reveals only subtle revisions have been made to the styling. Classy smoked chrome is used for the grille and door handles, while graphite-coloured alloys and a tiny bootlid spoiler complete the look. Also exclusive to the GT is the striking White Pearl paint finish. Overall, the Accord remains a handsome car, despite its advancing years.

Climb aboard and the same under­stated approach has been adopted inside. The most noticeable change is the addition of polished carbon fibre on the dashboard and the door pulls. Look a little harder and you’ll see new fabric is used to complement the half-leather seat trim. It doesn’t matter that these updates are far from radical – the cabin is a pleasant place in which to spend time. Get­ting comfortable at the wheel is easy, and there’s ample space in the rear. There’s also a generous amount of equipment – satellite navigation, Bluetooth and a CD multichanger come as standard – while all the cabin materials have a high-quality feel and are tightly screwed together.

Under the skin, the GT-spec mod­ifications comprise the addition of sports suspension. This slightly stiffer set-up gives the Accord great composure in corners, while still maintain­ing the car’s supple ride over bumpy surfaces. Only slightly numb steering detracts from the experience.

Elsewhere, it’s business as usual. This means Honda’s excellent 138bhp 2.2-litre i-CTDi diesel has been carried over unchanged. Punchy, refined and free-revving, it remains one of the best oil-burners in this sector. Com­bined with the standard slick shifting six-speed manual transmission, it also offers great fuel economy.

At £20,767, the Accord GT comfortably undercuts prestige rivals from BMW and Audi. And if you demand greater practicality, there’s always the stylish Tourer estate version. Better still, with an impressive 13th-place finish in the Top 100 of our Driver Power 2007 reliability and satisfaction survey, it’s clear there’s life in the old dog yet.

RIVAL: Audi A4 1.9 TDI S Line
The mid-size Audi will also be replaced by a new model next year. Still, it currently offers a handsome shape, top-notch quality and a premium badge. But it can’t match the Accord’s kit, while the TDI is unrefined and lacks the pace of the Honda unit.

Recently the Honda showed its New Civic in the Auto Tokyo Salon, and together with the production models, we appreciate this “Road you the Racing Concept”.

The car is good-looking with the Mugen Civic Dominator Concept that was shown in place the same alone that one year before. Exactly style, same color, same mission, etc. That Dominator had a version supercharged of Honda K20A, arriving about 300 horses.

It will be that this model would have the same motor? Nothing it was explained by the Honda….