VIDEO : Honda Malaysia's presentation at the KLIMS 2013

This is the video of Honda Malaysia's presentation at the KLIMS 2013 during their media presentation on Nov 14th 2013 which is the preview and media day of the event. The video starts a little bit after the beginning where the formalities are and covers all the displays at the Honda Malaysia booth plus the presentation for the launch of the new 5G Honda Odyssey for Malaysia.

First official video - Civic Type-R at the Nurburgring

 

Honda Reveal First Details of New Civic Type R

Official press release by Honda of Europe on the future new Civic Type-R

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At today’s Frankfurt Motor Show Press Conference, Manabu Nishimae, President, Honda Motor Europe revealed the first details of the hotly anticipated new Civic Type R. Powered by a direct injection turbocharged 2- litre engine, the new Civic Type R will deliver at least 280 PS.

Honda confirmed ambitions for the Civic Type R to become the fastest front wheel drive car around the infamous Nurburgring circuit in Germany. The car still faces a further 2 years of development before going on sale in 2015 however, on-track testing has already begun. “We have recently spent a week at the Nurburgring, carrying out extensive testing and we are on target, and have already set a time approaching the lap record”, said Manabu Nishimae.

A film demonstrating the impressive performance and handling of the Civic Type R development car on the Nurburgring with Gabriele Tarquini, Honda’s WTCC driver behind the wheel, was premiered during the Honda Press Conference.

Honda’s new Civic Tourer made its public debut at the show and during the Press Conference, it was confirmed that it would achieve impressively low CO₂ emissions from only 99g/km* (3,8 litres l/100km) when partnered with Honda’s 1.6 i-DTEC engine. The Civic Tourer builds on the strength of the Civic 5-Door, offering class leading boot space and practicality.

“For me, the strength of the car is the synergy of functionality, versatility, and dynamic design. As a European development team, we’re passionate and proud about what we’ve achieved”, said Adrian Killham, Large Project Leader for Civic Tourer.

(*Honda internal figures)

New 9Gen Accord launched in Malaysia

The new 9th generation Honda Accord finally makes it way to Malaysia, more or less completing the launching cycle of Honda's best selling model for Asia. Launched yesterday, September 4th 2013 by Honda Malaysia, as expected for Malaysia, the line-up comprises two variants of the 2.0l type and one variant of the 2.4l type. 

Honda to Release all-New Fit and Fit Hybrid in Japan

TOKYO, Japan, September 5, 2013 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced it will launch the all-new Fit and Fit Hybrid on September 6, 2013.^*1 The first-generation Fit revolutionized the concept of the compact car. Now in its third generation, the Fit once again sets the global compact automobile benchmark. While retaining the design concept of the original model, the all-new Fit features a completely redesigned powertrain and body and offers a whole new level of interior comfort, fuel economy, styling and driving performance.

New 3G Fit/Jazz specifications

With the launch of the new 3rd generation Fit/Jazz in Japan just around the corner, now is a good time to consolidate what is known and what is expected of the all important specifications of the car, based on what has been leaked and also info feeding in from insiders.

For the 3rd generation, the Fit/Jazz continues to come with three main engines - 1.3l, 1.5l and a hybrid IMA engine which is now offered in 1.5l form only. Below is a leaked photo from a dealer's training manual that has been published on the internet. A TOVer posted it on our TOV forums but did not disclose the source.

Documentary on new 3G Honda Fit/Jazz Hybrid

With the launch of the new 3rd generation Fit/Jazz just around the corner, previews of the car from japanese media are already available. For fans of the car, below is a TV program feature a preview of the new 3G Honda Fit/Jazz Hybrid.

Actual photos of new 3rd Gen Honda Fit/Jazz !

The India Auto Blog website once again scooped the rest of the world by putting up leaked photos of what is believed to be the upcoming new 3rd generation JDM Honda Fit (Jazz). The photos were clearly taken using a handphone off an internal Honda brochure or similar document as  watermarks with the statement  "prohibited to show outside the company" were printed over all the images. This lends credibility that it was an internal use only document probably a briefing document meant for Honda dealers.

'Scoop' info on new 3rd Generation Honda Fit/Jazz

Japan's Best Car magazine has published 'super scoop' info on the new 3rd generation Honda Fit/Jazz which is widely expected to debut this year around the Tokyo Motor Show time frame. 

According to one credible person with Honda 'connections', scoop info such as these but coming at so late a time are likely to be quite accurate.

New JDM Honda Accord Hybrid rumours

Magazines in Japan are currently going a bit crazy with rumours and supposed 'scoop info' on new models to be launched in Japan in the near future, including new Honda models. One of the Honda models in focus is the new Accord, in the form of a 'proper' Accord Hybrid rather than the full electric plug in. TOV/TOVA contributor DanielGr put up a scan of japanese magazine Holiday Auto's article with some details on the new Accord Hybrid (image on the left).

News of Brio-based MPV shared by Indian car blog

Mr Shrawan Raja, managing editor of http;//indianautosblog.com wrote to our Jeff Palmer to share some interesting news of a future Honda Brio-based MPV that will be launched for the Asian market. Mr Shrawan wrote ;

I'm writing to inform you that Honda is working on an MPV for the emerging market based on the Brio platform. As you may know, the Brio is a car smaller than the Jazz for Asian markets. A sedan on the same platform, dubbed Brio Amaze, has been launched in Thailand and India and is following suit to other such high-growth countries.

The third derivative on this platform, a small family MPV with three rows of seats is also on the anvil. Honda has confirmed that it will make this MPV in Indonesia next year and feasibility studies for this product is being carried out in places like India and Thailand. Its main competitors would be the Suzuki Ertiga and the Toyota Avanza.
 
The full article is at http://indianautosblog.com/2013/05/honda-brio-mpv-rendering-75986.

Our thanks to Mr Shrawan for sharing this information with us. 

New 4G CR-V First Drive Impressions

Our new 4G CR-V 'First Drive' impressions article from the Honda Malaysia media drive event is now up in TOVA. Please go to http://asia.vtec.net/Reviews/4GCRVFirst/index.html#.UZMjEkoYQs4 to read the article. Feel free to give us your feedback and thoughts here.

9G Accord for next quarter launch

Malaysian Honda fans who are waiting for the new 9Gen Honda Accord, it looks like you have to wait a little bit longer as it will not be launched this quarter. It will be a Honda however, and is highly unlikely to be carrying a different badge.

3G Fit/Jazz Hybrid info

Someone with 'connections' posted this in our TOV forums about the new 3rd generation Fit (Jazz) that is due to be launched this year, probably at the Tokyo Motor Show or just before. 

The new Fit hybrid will only come with the 1.5L engine(last Fit Hybrid came with 1.3L or 1.5L) and in Japan it will be cheaper than this gen 1.5L Fit hybrid, starting around 1.6 mil yen

Production will start at the new factory in Yorii this July 2013.

Electric motor will be in the 20kw class and the car can run on EV mode only.

It is likely this new 3G Fit/Jazz will feature Honda's much talked about 'Earth Dreams' powerplant (engine+transmission), maybe even the new i-DCD twin-clutch gearbox that Honda boasted about last year. Honda essentially claimed 30% improvement in fuel economy over the existing IMA system in those press releases so if delivered, the new 3G Fit/Jazz may well likely take the world's hybrid market by storm. The photo above is of the current outgoing (2G) Fit/Jazz.

A holiday in Japan...

Things have been quiet here on 'Honda Fan', and for a good reason. I was away for a trip to Japan and only returned late last week. My last trip to Japan was almost exactly 10 years ago, when I went for a part business, part leisure trip partially paid for by VTEC.NET and partially out of my own pocket. That was to cover the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show but I also took the opportunity to visit a friend in Tokyo.

This trip however is purely for pleasure and I elected to attend an organized tour by Apple Vacations, the premier tour agency for holidays in Japan and Korea. The trip was very well organized and extremely enjoyable, a trademark of Apple Vacation holiday tours. My wife and I were taken on an unforgettable tour which included cities like Fukuoka, Kobe, Yokohama, Nagasaki, Osaka, Kyoto and of course Tokyo. Many of the must-visit places were also located on the outskirts and countryside, e.g. the hot springs of Hakone and also the legendary Fujisan (Mount Fuji, the icon of Japan).

Coverage of CR-Z's MMC up at TOVA

For those who follows this blog closely and might not be aware, our coverage of the CR-Z's MMC is now up at TOVA. The link is http://asia.vtec.net/Reviews/1GCRZMMC/mmc.html#.UUfNXDd1NLE. This is our standard type of coverage for model launch now - product and technical coverage.

If you have a need to comment (some of the contents in our coverage nowadays can be contentious), feel free to do so in the comments section of this post. 

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Honda Malaysia launches new 4G CR-V

Honda Malaysia Press Release for the new 4G CR-V which will be launched tomorrow.

Honda Malaysia announced that the All-New Honda CR-V will be arriving on Malaysian shores in early March this year. The completely redesigned from front to back, 4^th Generation Comfortable Runabout Vehicle represents a high grade appearance with its bold and premium design, class-leading spaciousness, innovative features and functionality, improved fuel efficiency, and enhanced safety.

New CR-V to be launched in Malaysia this week

The next generation '4G' CR-V is coming to ASEAN. Finally. Delayed by the floods in Thailand, Honda has now recovered fully and is speeding up the introduction of models that have been affected. Therefore after this CR-V, expect the new 9G Accord to come very soon as well. As the 4G CR-V has already been launched in the U.S., Japan, and most other parts of the world for months already, more or less everything is known of the car. For ASEAN, the CR-V will come with only 1 powertrain option as usual, a 2.0-liter SOHC i-VTEC with a max power of 155 horsepower at 6,500 rpm, an increase of 5 horsepower as compared to its predecessor. Torque is rated at 190 Nm at 4,300 rpm. As with all newest Honda models, the new 4G CR-V is also equipped with an 'ECON' mode that adjusts the powertrain operations for optimum fuel economy. As normal, the CR-V comes with the standard 5AT transmission.The launch for Malaysia will happen in the middle of this week itself.