Selected Honda PR photos for the 2013 Tokyo Auto Salon

Overview of Honda Exhibit at TOKYO AUTO SALON 2013 with NAPAC

 

TOKYO, Japan, December 26, 2012 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced it will participate in TOKYO AUTO SALON 2013 with NAPAC^*1, which will be held from Friday, January 11 to Sunday, January 13, 2013, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Featuring production and exhibition models of automobiles, motorcycles presenting a variety of exciting approaches to customization, power products and racing vehicles will also be presented at the Honda exhibit.

A few photos from the Sepang 1000km endurance race

INTERVIEW WITH DRIVERS AND TEAM DIRECTOR AFTER THE RACE

Tengku Ezan Ley, driver of Car 26

It was a challenging race as it was really hot during the day and we had some issues with the brakes that slowed us down a bit. All in all, we did make a slight mistake towards the end which costed us a bit of time, had some body damage (to the rear end of the car) and we dropped from fourth (place) to finish at fifth place. However, we managed to maintain the pace throughout the race. We are quite happy with the results, especially as it was our first race.

HONDA MALAYSIA RACING TEAM (HMRT) LIVES THE CHALLENGING SPIRIT IN THE 2012 SEPANG 1000KM

After a brief period of inactivity due to some unforeseen circumstances, we are please to resume our regular updates. Following is the official press release from Honda Malaysia on their recently successful debut of the Honda Jazz in the local 1000km endurance race at the Sepang circuit earlier this month.

HMRT Jazz for the Sepang 1000km endurance

Honda Malaysia Racing Team, lead by Honda Malaysia's CEO Ueno-san and team director Akkbar will be racing their newly prepared Honda Jazz in the annual Sepang 1000km endurance race at the Sepang circuit tomorrow. The team has prepared a video and uploaded it into youtube which is embedded above. This is the car that I featured some 'scoop' info on in my TOVA facebook (www.facebook.com/TOVAsia - please do visit us and 'like' us). 

HMRT prepared two cars though it looks as if only one will be raced tomorrow. One Jazz, probably the one to be raced tomorrow will be powered by a Mugen special, up-sized to 1.6l to meet the regulations and featuring custom Mugen tuning for the Sepang 1000km challenge.

Photos of US early-MMC Civic INTERIOR

In the U.S., the 9Gen Civic had a stormy introduction. While it managed to achieve best seller in its class, its interior, especially in the base models, had been criticized by many quarters, with the enthusiasts and Honda fans/owners being some of the loudest. While some have tried to defend the Civic, often by using the fact that it is a best-seller, the fact that AHM will launch an MMC for the 9Gen Civic this month proves that even Honda feels that some of the criticisms are at the very least, warranted. 

Honda Malaysia to establish R&Development center

Honda Malaysia will set up an R&D center in Malaysia to do development for new models for the local market. This center will be the fourth in the Asia region after HRT in Thailand. The center will be located in Pegoh industrial area of Melaka together with the assembly plant there. 

'Why Proton ?'

This was the question I had for Honda Malaysia in an informal chit chat recently. The announcement of the Honda-Proton 'collaboration' recently had caused a lot of talk and debate in the Honda enthusiast circle. The main question was why of all partners, Honda chose Proton.

In the first place, I was told that what was announced, as far as Honda's side is concerned, is an agreement to do a feasibility study for joint developments in the future. As far as Honda is concerned, this was the only thing that was committed. So despite what may be read from the announcements, the feasibility study is what will happen but beyond that, nothing has been agreed upon. For all we know, what comes out of the study may well be an echo of that famous song let's call the whole thing off !

As for my guess that a 'Proton Brio' might well be in the works, the response was that Proton's Tanjung Malim plant is an interesting prospect for something in the future. Brio ? There was a smile and a look which suggests "well, what do you think ?"

Automotive Industry Timeline for Malaysia

Malaysian automotive stalwart Nick Gomez has published a "Malaysian Automotive Industry Timeline" on his facebook. This article looks at the evolution of the automobile industry in Malaysia, starting from 1926 when the Ford Motor company first set up office in Singapore to supply Malaysia as well. This quickly evolved into the vibrant automotive industry of both countries today. Nick's work can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/notes/nicholas-gomez/malaysian-automotive-industry-timeline/10151368147943714 and contains a wealth of information especially for those interested to know the past and current state of the automotive industry in Malaysia.

9Gen Civic MMC now available in US dealer's websites

The early MMC for the 9Gen Civic, known in the U.S. as the '2013 Civic' is almost on us. On some dealer's websites in the U.S., one can already 'build' (i.e. select options) the car one is interested in buying. And the '2013 Civic' is now already available for building. This also gives us an early 'sneak peek' at the new 2013 Civic, eventhough in CG form only. The photos below are captured by one TOV forumer from the 'Benson Honda' dealer website and offers us an almost complete look at the exterior of the MMC 2013 Civic. Of special mention are the new front grille and bumper design plus the new tail-lights.

TOV is back online

Just in case any readers are not aware, Temple of VTEC is now back up online. All our resources including the forum is now available. The cause of the outage was due to a hard-disk problem and which has now been replaced. We thank you for your kind patience and support.

Temporary outage of TOV

Regular readers will know by now that our main Temple of VTEC site has been down for the better part of the day. This is due to a hard-disk problem. The problem has been resolved and we are now going to restore the server. TOV will be back up again very soon. This outage did not affect Temple of VTEC Asia or TOVA. We thank our readers for your patience and support.

Civic finished WTCC debut season with a podium !

Today saw the final rounds of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), taking place on the Guia Circuit in downtown Macau. The mission for Honda Racing Team JAS was to bring the Civic WTCC's great performance from qualifying into race day. And despite the cloudy sky, the omens looked good from the early morning warm up session, with the Civic WTCC setting the second fastest time (2:31.844).

Happy Birthday Honda-san

 

Today (November 17th) is the birthdate of Soichiro Honda, the grand 'Old Man' of Honda. Honda fans around the world, join us in acknowledging the great man whose dreams were directly responsible for all the great Hondas in the past, and hopefully all the great Hondas to come in the future.

Apologies for the inactivity

I apologize for the lack of updates over the past week and a half due to some internal issues. I am happy to report that I am now back in action and will resume posting regular Honda news of special interest to Honda fans.

Spy Photos of the USDM MMC 9Gen Civic

Spy photos of the MMC 9Gen Civic, for the USDM, is already surfacing around the internet. At the moment, Motor Trend is carrying photos of the MMC Civic, to be launched at the end of this month. The links to the Motor Trend website is below.

http://wot.motortrend.com/spied-2013-honda-civic-revealed-with-accord-like-front-styling-285789.html

One TOV forumer took two Motor Trend photos and photoshop'ed it to 'remove' the tapes and reveal what he thinks is the actual MMC design. These photos are below. (Lots of TOV forumers are very talented with Photoshop).

Launch date of CR-Z MMC for ASEAN

With the recent launch of the MMC for the CR-Z, especially a more powerful 135-136ps engine, the most asked question now will have to be when it will make its debut here in Asia. My current understanding is that this MMC CR-Z will start showing up early next year, i.e. around the 1st quarter of 2013. Honda has already announced an 'around February' date for Indonesia and the rest of ASEAN date should be around that time as well.

Honda to collaborate with Proton in Malaysia

In a news that quite shocked long time Honda fans, Proton announced today that they have signed a partnership with Honda to jointly develop cars for the Malaysian market. Leaving aside the general sentiments, what I believe is happening is that both parties saw in each other the means to achieve their own objectives. 

Firstly, in his mid-year speech last month, Honda CEO Ito-san has announced that Honda plans to focus on the mini-car Brio for this region, developing multiple variants off it. The Brio sedan has already been sneaking out in the Honda Thailand website. Next to come is supposedly an SUV based on the Brio. However, having been eye-ing the Malaysian mini-car market for a long time now, Honda is well aware that policies from the relevant authorities are not conducive to any non-Malaysian manufacturers trying to enter into this lucrative market. The annual sales of mini-car in Malaysia is several hundred thousand and for foreign manufacturers like Honda, whose annual sales of 50,000 units is already considered an 'incredible achievement', the mini-car segment is attractive indeed, especially given Honda's recent heavy focus on just sales numbers. 

New Honda Brio sedan

Honda has put up a teaser page for a 'new sedan' in their HAT, Honda Automobile Thailand, website. This new sedan is recognizable as being based on the new mini-car 'Brio'. 

The only info so far for this new sedan is that it will be using a 1.2l engine, probably based on the LSeries. To watch the teaser video click the following link http://www.honda.co.th/new-sedan/. 

This follows the mid-year speech from Honda CEO Ito-san about the Brio's future here in Asia:

In Asia, in order to compete in and win in highly-competitive low-price markets and fulfill the diverse needs of customers, in addition to the all-new Fit Series, Honda will add sedan-type and utility-type models utilizing the platform of the BRIO, Honda's strategic model for Asia.

New Gen2 NSX to debut at the 2014 NAIAS ?

The U.K. publication has published yet another 'scoop', this time about the new Gen2 NSX that is scheduled to be launched in 3 years time. 

According to Auto-Express, during their attendance and coverage of the recent  Sao Paulo (Brazil) Motor Show, they were told that the new NSX will debut in a few months time in January 2013 at the Detroit Motor Show (also called the North American International Auto Show or NAIAS). According to their short article on their website at http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/honda/60901/honda-nsx-detroit:

USDM 'revised' 9Gen Civic out on Nov 29th !!!

TOV has learned that the 'revised' or shall we say 'early MMC' for the 9Gen Civic for the U.S. market is scheduled to be released on the 29th of  next month (November). Word is there will be no mechanical or specification changes to the car but there will be significant changes or what is described/hoped to be improvements to the exterior and interior. There is even speculation that some of the exterior change, e.g. the rear taillight assembly will become like that of our, ASEAN/Asian Civic (the USDM Civic does not have the taillight extensions into the trunk/boot cover). For a little bit more details, go to our TOV news and rumours article at http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1105544.

High-Res Photos of WTCC Civic

We offer you two high resolution photos of the new WTCC 1.6l Turbocharged Honda Civic. They are provided by Honda of Europe's media service. These photos are in their original sizes and only differs in the small TOVA watermark added.

Civic WTCC finishes its first race

Civic WTCC finishes Races 1 and 2 in 9th and 10th respectively

in its first appearance

Today, Rounds 19 and 20 of the WTCC took place under a clear sky at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan.

HONDA MALAYSIA UNVEILS THE CR-V “LIMITED”

HONDA MALAYSIA UNVEILS THE CR-V “LIMITED”

Petaling Jaya, 18 October 2012 – Honda Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. today unveiled the Honda CR-V “Limited” that sports an enhanced rugged exterior and a classy interior that aims to provide enhanced premium comfort to passengers. Having won numerous awards, the popular Honda CR-V retains its desired features of practicality, spaciousness, attractive design and fuel economy.

Visit us at Facebook

We have been on facebook for a couple of months now. Please visit us at https://www.facebook.com/TOVAsia. Support TOVA by liking our facebook page.

Excerpts from internal Honda townhall meeting

Someone provided some excerpts from an internal Honda 'townhall' meeting that he attended. The meeting was chaired by Iwamura-san. Items of interest includes a statement on the debut of the early MMC for the 9Gen Civic, launch of a new Acura RLX (Legend for rest of the world) next month at the Los Angeles Motor Show and finally the confirmation of a new variant of the Honda Fit/Jazz for a market which Honda 'never competed in before', to be launched soon. Read the excerpts after the jump.

Honda Jazz Hybrid reviews starting in TOVA

We have started to post our reviews on the Honda Jazz (Fit) IMA Hybrid at TOVA (http://asia.vtec.net). 

The first review in our series is the test drive. 

Next up would be the Genting Run, 0-60mph & 0-100kph acceleration test results, dyno run results and finally we will close by posting some of the videos we took during our review. 

Check back often and do tell us what you think.

Honda future sports car model plans

In our TOV/TOVA forums, one forumer talked about the current state of sporty models development by Honda. According to him, Honda stopped all Sports car designs and development in Dec 2008. It wasn't re-started until 2011 which is why we will not see any new sports cars until 2014 (in the form of the new Honda Beat). 

During those three 'dark' years (2008 - 2010) only unofficial side projects which Honda R&D engineers dabbled in on their own time was the mid-engine NSX and Beat.

New Civic Type-R to have 280hp and challenges the Renault Megane RS

The U.K. website 'autoblog.com' has published a 'scoop' derived from their conversation with the Honda U.K. M.D. Dave Hodgetts about the forthcoming new Civic Type-R. Autoblog.com quotes Hodgetts as saying amongst other thing:

"The new Civic Type R will be a total reflection of the fact it used to be an icon and will have really, really high performance,"

"There is an understanding at Honda that the last one wasn't up to the level expected. We really need an iconic halo car and the new one will be the genuine article."

Autoblog.com quotes Hodgetts as saying the new Civic Type R will hark back to the success of the Integra Type R models with high performance at its heart.

"Power output will be around 280bhp – it's a proper car,"

 and most interestingly,

"Honda want it to be the fastest front-wheel drive car around the Nurburgring so it will be up against the Megane RS. That's a challenge, but it will be a genuine sports product harking back to the good old days."

Looks to be interesting times three or even two years into the future as the new Civic Type-R starts testing in the Nurburgring and Honda fans can see if Honda will be able to back up this claim. 

the link to the autoblog.com 'scoop' is http://uk.autoblog.com/2012/10/02/exclusive-uk-built-civic-type-r-will-be-an-icon/

Tenaga Setia Resource, Honda's 4S dealer shifts to new premises

TENAGA SETIA RESOURCES SDN. BHD. INVESTS RM28.5 MILLION TO RELOCATE AND UPGRADE HONDA DEALERSHIP TO 4S CENTRE

Tenaga Setia has been a Honda 3S center for many years and was located along Jalan 222 Petaling Jaya. After investing RM28.5 million building a new premise, they shifted over last Friday (Sept 28th) and at the same time, also upgraded themselves into a 4S centre. The new premise is now located at section 51 which in actually just a short distance (less than 1km) from the original site. This new premise is a newly constructed building located on a prime piece of land which belongs to Tenaga Setia themselves.

Honda Malaysia sales breakdown of hybrid models

As one of the countries which have a very good selection of IMA hybrid models and a tax exemption for hybrids, sales of IMA hybrids here has been very good. The breakdown for year to date (YTD) sales of hybrids by Honda Malaysia, as at August and for the year 2012 are approximately as follows:

Official press release : Honda CR-Z MMC, Paris Motor Show

Honda has officially announced the debut of the CR-Z MMC in the Paris Motor Show will is being held over this weekend. Basically everything that our TOV/TOVA readers whom has 'contacts' told us before were accurate and to the dot. The function of the 'S+' button, which Honda calls the 'Plus Sport' button is really a KERS like function for overtaking just like our TOV/TOVA reader from Europe first told us. Also the power increase as told to us by another reader is almost on the dot - just out by 1ps.


The official press release follows.

Official Press Release : Honda EV-STER EV concept car

Also on display at the Paris Motor Show is the EV-STER EV convertible that Honda showed at the last Tokyo Motor Show. This time Honda provided a little bit of specification; battery max power 58kW or 79ps, top speed (160kph or 100mph), charging time, and even acceleration figure. However, before you get too excited or impressed by the time given, do note that it is for the 0-60kph and not mph. 60kph is approximately 37.5mph. To give you an idea, the 1.3l Honda Jazz/Fit Hybrid with the 100ps IMA engine takes around this time to hit 60kph as well and it's a mid-10 seconds car for the 0-60mph run. 

The official Honda press release follows.

Official launch : Euro Civic 1.6l turbo diesel

civic 1.6l i-dtec

1.6 i-DTEC on Civic achieves CO₂ emissions of just 94 g/km*

Shown for the first time at Paris Motor Show, Honda has introduced a new 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine in the Civic hatchback. The first engine in Europe to feature Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology series, it combines strong performance (120 PS) with CO₂ emissions of only 94 g/km*.

Official Launch : Euro Honda CR-V

Honda has officially launched the new 4th Gen CR-V for Europe. Powerplants options are a 2.0 i-VTEC (R20A), and two diesel engines - the existing 2.2l i-DTEC and a new 1.6l i-DTEC in a new FWD variant. The rear seats also fold down to create a flat floor now. The official Honda of Europe press release follows.

The new cr-v

Efficient, functional and confident

The new fourth generation CR-V makes its European debut at the Paris Motor Show 2012. Building on its success of its predecessors, the new CR-V has improved quality, practicality and refinement. For the first time in Europe, the compact SUV will be offered with a choice of both two- and four-wheel drive, while improvements to both the petrol and diesel engines have resulted in a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions. Comprehensively redesigned for the European market, the new CR-V will be built at Honda’s production facility in Swindon, UK from early September, 2012.

Official Honda Press Release for Paris Motor Show

Honda at the Paris Motor show

Honda reveals the new European CR-V at the Paris Motor Show 2012 with the announcement that the new CR-V will be offered with Honda’s new 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine. The new smaller diesel engine is the first in a series of engines to be introduced in Europe under the name of Earth Dreams Technology. The 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine will be available on the Civic later this year and the CR-V from September 2013 with production at Honda’s UK factory in Swindon.

Three interesting questions from the CEO speech on September 21st.

Honda has published a video of the presentation by Honda CEO Ito-san on September 21st on its worldwide site at world.honda.com. The link is at http://world.honda.com/news/2012/c120921CEO-Speech/video01/index.html. TOV and 'Honda Fan' contributor Daniel, after watching the entire 1hour video, heard a rather interesting question from the Q&A session after the speech that we have not seen reported elsewhere.

CR-Z MMC makes surprise appearance in Indonesia Motor Show

Eventhough Honda officially announced the debut of the CR-Z MMC for the Paris Motor Show on the 29th of this month, in a surprise move, the popular Malaysian car blog paultan.org reports from the Indonesia Motor Show of the display of an unit of the 'new' CR-Z MMC. Reports from paultan.org confirms the exterior changes to the CR-Z but the interior could not be checked out because the display car was locked. Official information from Honda Indonesia states a max power of 120ps for the MMC LEA engine and 20ps for the LiOn IMA electric motor with combined max power of 136ps for the 6MT version and 135ps for the CVT version. Max power point is at 6,600rpm and redline is 6,800rpm. These figures virtually confirms the scoop info that we saw last week. 

Meanwhile, official Honda publications like the Honda world site at world.honda.com is still announcing the 'world debut' of the CR-Z MMC at the Paris Motor Show.

Summary of CEO Speech on September 21, 2012

• In 2010, I set Honda's "Direction for the next 10 years" which is "to provide good products to our customers with speed, affordability and low CO₂ emissions." Since then, we have been devoting our full efforts in leveraging Honda's unique technologies, ideas and ingenuity to create attractive products that please our customers who purchased such products. In addition, as a manufacturer of personal mobility products, we have been proactively executing various initiatives which contribute to a significant reduction of CO₂ emissions.

Scoop photos on new CR-Z MMC : Power Comparison

TOVA reader Alan posted some photos to our TOVA Facebook (thanks Alan), the same photos being also posted on our TOV forums. It is likely these photos are taken off a japanese magazine due to the quality of the photos, as well as the layout of the last photo which seems to be more of a montage of photos. Nevertheless, these photos gives us very interesting info on the new CR-Z MMC to be launched on the 27th, just 10 days away from the date of this posting.

The first photo, which I look at in this post, is the power comparison. From this comparison, we can see that the MMC will nett power increases for the CR-Z as follows:

(A little bit) More info on the CR-Z MMC

We have received a little bit more information on the CR-Z MMC which will be launched at this coming Paris Motor Show on the 27th of this month.

Firstly, while the official Honda of Europe's press release has called it the '2013 CR-Z', we have been hearing the term 'CR-Z GT'. It would seem that there is a possibility the MMC CR-Z will be called the CR-Z GT in Europe.

Honda has already announced that the MMC CR-Z/CR-Z GT will feature increases in power of both the petrol engine and the IMA electric motor but yet still keeping the same fuel consumption and emissions. What we have heard from our source is that the actual increase in power is 12ps/hp. However we are not told if this is for the petrol engine alone or for the combined output. Even if this 12ps/hp is for the combined (engine+IMA motor) output, it still means the new MMC CR-Z/CR-Z GT will now have 136ps/hp max power, which will finally make it more than just acceptable. 

Note however that as with all 'scoop' and 'insider' info, there is no guarantee that this is correct or that this will not change when the actual final car is launched in Paris.

The photo above is from Honda of Europe's media site.

New Civic variant and Civic Type-R for Europe

For this coming Paris motorshow which will be held on the 27th of this month, Honda has officially announced the debut of the new diesel variant of the 9Gen Civic. This variant will get a 1.6l i-DTEC diesel engine rated for a max power of 120ps/hp. Honda also announced that the CO2 emission will be only 94 g/km and that the Civic i-DTEC will deliver a combined consumption of 78.5mpg (according to Euro standards).

Prior to this Honda press release, the European motoring press has been widely announcing that a new 9Gen Civic Type-R  will be debuted this motor show. This new Euro-CTR was announced to be getting the 1.6 turbo-charged RSeries engine which Honda is using in the WTCC (World Touring Car Championship) Civic which was just launched. However, it is clear that the motoring press are mistaken.

A suggestion from someone with contacts inside Honda is that the European motoring press has mistaken Honda's information, thinking that Honda is talking about the new Euro CTR whereas they had been talking about the WTCC Civic instead.

Nevertheless, the same person has informed TOV/TOVA that the Euro CTR is in fact real, and that Honda of Europe is still pushing to launch it in the time frame of the new few months. This new Euro CTR will come in the form of a 5-door hatch and will have a 2.0l K-Series engine with a 7,500rpm redline and a max power rating of 220ps/hp.

The British market is credited as the primary driver for the return of the Euro Civic Type-R and this car will be built in Honda's Swindon plant in England.

The photo above is the new Civic 1.6i-DTEC and is supplied by Honda of Europe.

Paris Motor Show

The Paris motor show will be held on the 27th of September (i.e., this month at the time of this post). The show promises the debut of a few cars of interest to Honda enthusiasts. Top of the list will be the CR-Z MMC, also called the '2013 CR-Z'. This MMC promises some minor, yet very important updates to the CR-Z which has been getting some very good, yet also some negative reception. The new 4Gen CR-V which has already been launched to great success in the U.S. will debut in this show as well. And finally, but not least, the new diesel Civic with a 1.6l i-DTEC engine will also debut in this show. The official press release from Honda of Europe follows.

We also have a little bit of extra details on the CR-Z MMC and the Civic which we will be publishing on different posts afterwards.

USDM 9G Accord reviews now appearing...

A week after its official launch, U.S. reviews of the USDM 9Gen Accord are now appearing on print and around the internet. Unlike the 9Gen Civic, reviews of this new Accord are generally very good to excellent, underlining the fact that Honda have made another great effort for this perennial best seller. 

0-60mph in the Honda CR-Z 6MT

I just put up my article on 0-60mph and 0-100kph testing on the Honda CR-Z 6MT. The article can be reached via http://asia.vtec.net. If you are a CR-Z 6MT owner who have done similar testing, would be interesting to hear from you and compare results. 

Please do read our disclaimer on standing start acceleration testing.

Honda CR-Z scores first result podium in Super GT

The Honda CR-Z has scored its first podium in the Super GT championship, with a P3 in this weekend's race at the Fuji circuit.

Racing under 'Team Mugen' as car number 16 in the GT300 class, the Honda CR-Z is now in position 15 in the team's ranking table and position 13 in the driver's ranking table. 

Note that the CR-Z only entered this year's season from round 4 onwards on July at the Sugo circuit. Currently the drivers are Hideki Mutoh and Daisuke Nakajima and the car is officially the Mugen CR-Z GT.

For those who are wondering, this CR-Z does not use the 1.5l LEA IMA hybrid engine. According to information on supergt.net, it is powered by a J35A 3.5l V6 engine delivering circa 300ps.

'New' Honda CR-Z coming this month !

For the JDM, Honda has officially announced the launch of a new CR-Z variant on the 27th of September (this month). The official 'announcement' is on the Honda domestic website http://www.honda.co.jp/CR-Z/new/. This announcement actually doesn't really say anything much, with only 3 teaser photos and the official date of launch. The three photos suggests that the 'new' or MMC CR-Z will get LED daylight running lights (DRLs), a new wheel design and a button on the dashboard labelled 'S+'. What does this 'S+' button do ? There is nothing else on the Honda.co.jp page.

However, one TOV reader/supporter reports that the main items of significance introduced in this facelift, or MMC, are a 'slightly more powerful' engine and special "push-the-button-to-the-boost" feature. This 'push button' seems like the 'S+' button above. The information suggests that this button offers a function like the F1-KERS, and gives the option to consume maximum of electrical power in short time. However, no other details are available at this time. 

It is not known if or when CR-Z's sold outside of Japan will get this facelift.

UPDATE :
There is a suggestion from another TOV forumer who has 'credentials', that this MMC will introduce the new '2nd generation' IMA powerplant for the CR-Z. This is the new 'Earth Dreams' or ED engine with uprated IMA motor and the Lithium Ion battery pack. The ED engine have just been debuted with the launch of the new 9Gen Accord in the U.S. and it would make sense that ED will now start making its way to the other models. 

It is also noted that on the same date (Sept 27th), the CR-Z MMC will also be launched in Europe. According to the European press, the same day will also see the launch of the new 9G Civic Type-R for Europe, which they are guessing will have the new ED 1.6l turbo-charged engine from the HPD (Honda Performance Division) racing Civic. 

Finally, do bear in mind that there have been rumours of a turbocharged CR-Z in the works, a rumour which I was able to confirm as real with one Honda insider I had contact with at one time. So there was also a suggestion that perhaps the European press have made a mistake or was misled, and the MMC CR-Z will see the introduction of the much talked about 'hot' CR-Z that the CR-Z LPL told me in person, that will be launched by Honda. I.e. this MMC will see a 1.6l turbocharged CR-Z which some rumours claims will have a max power of 180hp.

Sept 27th is but 3 weeks away from today. I will be trying to get more info so stay tuned and check back this post often, or go to TOVA facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TOVAsia for notifications of updates to this post.

New 9Gen Accord announced in the U.S.

AHM or American Honda Motors has announced the launch of the new 9th generation Accord for the USDM. This new 9Gen is significant in that it is the first Honda model to feature Honda's new 'Earth Dreams' or ED powerplant comprising a new generation of direct-injection engines and new transmissions including a CVT featuring Honda's Grades Logic Control (GLC).

The U.S. continues to get a three variant petrol engined line-up comprising two versions of the new ED 2.4l direct-injection 4-cylinder engine delivering 185 and 189hp, 5hp higher and 1hp lower than the equivalent variants on the outgoing 8th generation. However, fuel economy is significantly improved with the 2.4l ED engines delivering an EPA of up to 36mpg (highway). The USDM 3.5l V6 ED engine now delivers 278hp and delivers an EPA of up to 34mpg (highway). New 6 speed manual and 6 speed automatic transmissions complement the new CVT.

Other significant change involves the replacement of the double-wishbone front suspension with a MacPherson strut suspension though the rear suspension remains the independent multi-link. Like the new 9Gen Civic, the 9Gen Accord comes loaded with features in line with the demands of the new modern generation of car buyers, with features like blind spot mitigation camera (for the passenger side of the car), Bluetooth, USB connectivity, smart (keyless) entry and engine start/stop, and so forth.

The complete AHM press release is available on TOV at http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1091517.

For the ASEAN market, the 9Gen Accord is expected to hit our shores next year. Our version will be very similar to this USDM version though it is not known at this moment if our Accords will also receive the new generation Earth Dreams engines and transmissions.