Bigger, more powerful CR-Z hybrid on the way

Just add 2 more seats and a bigger engine?

Whether it will be called the CR-Z hybrid sedan or the new hybrid Accord coupe, it seems a larger more powerful hybrid sports car is in Honda's future.

According to sources inside Honda, the new hybrid will offer 4 seats and a new engine, probably a new 2.5 liter four cylinder engine, but possibly a V-6 version as well. Moreover, Honda is likely to add a new feature that enables drivers to choose between performance and fuel efficiency.

Honda CR-Z: Honda's best selling hybrid

8000 already ordered

In just 17 days 8,000 Honda CR-Z hybrids have been ordered in Japan. Overall, Honda had hoped to sell 12,000 CR-Z hybrids this year in Japan.

While this sale's pace is probably not sustainable, it does demonstrate there is consumer interest in sporty hybrids, and that will probably mean a sooner than expected Toyota counter-punch in this market.

$25,000 for a Honda CR-Z hybrid?

On sale now in Japan

The Honda CR-Z hybrid is now on sale in Japan and will make its way to the US and Europe this summer or a little thereafter. Based on Japanese pricing, the CR-Z hybrid should retail for $25,340, while offering Honda fatter profit margins than both the Honda Insight hybrid and the Honda Fit.

$25,000 seems a bit steep for the CR-Z hybrid; however, Honda only intends to sell about 50,000 of them per year worldwide. Nonetheless, as I blogged in Is the Honda CR-Z being underestimated, I am looking forward to taking the manual 6-speed CR-Z option for a spin.

Sportier, faster CR-Z hybrid also in the works

Aiming for 200 hp

Early reviews of the upcoming Honda CR-Z hybrid have often included phrases like 'not quite as fast as expected'. Consequently, Honda is planning to bring a high performance version of the CR-Z hybrid to market as well.

According to reports, the new CR-Z hybrid will increase the 113-horsepower 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine closer to 150 hp and replace the 14-horsepower electric motor with a 50-horsepower motor to achieve a total of 200 hp.

Likewise, the the sportier CR-Z hybrid will offer a stiffer suspension and stronger brakes as well as a few body modifications.

Is the Honda CR-Z hybrid being underestimated?

The first 6-speed hybrid

Long before hybrids, I drove a manual '94 Nissan Sentra. As I hopped from apartment to apartment, and job to job, I experienced many diverse Los Angeles commutes. Traffic, however, was always a common factor.

During those commutes I often hypermiled to work, pacing and spacing myself to minimize braking and to maximize coasting in neutral. Ultimately, I didn't do this to save money on my gas bill - it was the 90's - but purely for entertainment, purely to break up the horrible monotony of extremely slow stop and go traffic. It was just a game.

This makes me wonder about Honda's upcoming CR-Z hybrid. Finish: Is the Honda CR-Z hybrid being underestimated.

Honda CR-Z: A smooth, but not fast, hybrid with great handling

1 second faster than the Prius to 60

Some Japanese reporters were able to take the upcoming Honda CR-Z hybrid for a spin, and Edmunds has translated the article into English.

Ultimately, the CR-Z wasn't slow, but not quite as fast as expected, although the reporters were impressed with how smoothly the CR-Z hybrid slips into cruising speed.

On the other, handling was superb and "worthy of the sporty-car label".

Honda CR-Z hybrid takes new shape

Can you see CRX?

Here's the latest look at the Honda CR-Z hybrid that will go on sale in the US in August.

Honda has previously announced that the new CR-Z hybrid will largely utilize the same hybrid powertrain as the Insight, but there will be a few changes. Most interesting is the three drive modes: normal, sport and economy. The new Sport mode will enhance throttle responsiveness, power steering and electric motor assist - enabling a more sporty experience in this hybrid package.

In terms of fuel economy, the manual models should achieve about 31 mpg city/37 mpg highway, while the CVT models will achieve about 36 mpg city/38 mpg highway.

2010: The big questions

The rubber finally hits the road

2010. Here we come.

While 2010 isn't going to be quite as significant for the hybrid market as I would have expected a few years ago, there are a few interesting stories developing:

1.) Will any hybrid, aside from the Prius, sell 50,000 units in one year?
2.) Can the Honda CR-Z hybrid reinvigorate Honda's hybrid sales?
3.) Will the Hyundai Sonata hybrid make it to America, and how will the Sonata hybrid compare to the Toyota Camry hybrid and the Ford Fusion hybrid in terms of price and fuel economy?
4.) What will be Toyota's next dedicated hybrid, and how many other hybrids will Toyota announce, debut, etc?
5.) Finally, after years of hype the Chevy Volt will go on sale. How many units will GM produce in 2010? Will there be any delays? Final pricing, options?

Toyota: How to take on the CR-Z hybrid

Bring back the MR2, as a hybrid?

Thanks to tax incentives, hybrid cars are hot in Japan. For the past several months, the 2010 Toyota Prius has been the best selling car in Japan, with the Honda Insight not far behind.

And, new survey data shows there is great Japanese interest now in hybrid sports cars, particularly the Honda CR-Z hybrid, which goes on sale in February in Japan.

For several years, Toyota has also been working on the concept of sporty hybrids, and the latest rumors suggest that Toyota might resurrect the MR2 for its new sports hybrid.

While the Prius Coupe also remains an option, something like the MR2 would give Toyota license to completely step away from any comparison to the Prius, particularly its relatively unique body styling. And what better way to overcome those boring Toyota perceptions than with an exciting, sleekly styled sporty hybrid with sprinter speed, yet fantastic fuel economy?

A look inside the Honda CR-Z

Inside the CR-Z

With Honda's CR-Z hybrid moving closer to reality, new leaked pictures of the car are becoming more common. Check out more here.

A few new details on the Honda CR-Z hybrid

The production version of the CR-Z hybrid?

A Japanese Honda CR-Z hybrid brochure has apparently leaked onto the Internet. According to the brochure, the CR-Z hybrid will go from 0 - 62 in about 9.7 seconds.

Additionally, MotorTrend speculates that the CR-Z hybrid will be slightly less fuel efficient than the Honda Insight due to "a little more displacement".

Honda CR-Z will offer "unique value"

The CR-Z at the LA Auto Show

When the Honda CR-Z hybrid goes on sale in the Fall of 2010, it will "break new ground as a sporty, hybrid coupe with unique value."

So, what does "unique value" mean? Can a two-seat sporty hybrid become Honda's top selling hybrid vehicle?

Production-ready CR-Z hybrid

Time for a sporty hybrid?

As the Toyota Auto Show draws near, Honda has dropped some new details on its almost production-ready 2010 CR-Z hybrid.

Honda's sporty new hybrid will be powered by a 1.5-liter i-VTEC + IMA hybrid powertrain, coupled with a 6-speed manual shifter that should provide a lot more power and response than any of Honda's current hybrid vehicles.

Likewise, the CR-Z will offer a shorter wheel base than the Insight hybrid, as well as a much sportier suspension that should enable this hybrid to feel, well, less like a hybrid and more like a sports car.

The Honda CR-Z hybrid: You can have your cake and eat it to?

Hybrid technology coming to all Honda vehicles

Still a best seller in Japan

Thanks to strong sales of the Honda Insight and other fuel efficient vehicles, such as the Fit, Honda has been able to stay in the black while other automakers have suffered during this economic crisis. Nonetheless, Honda envisions huge changes in the automotive landscape.

"Even without the economic shock, cars have to change dramatically with the rise in environmental consciousness," Honda President Takanobu Ito told the Japanese Times.

Thus, Honda expects to make "huge resource investments" into clean technologies, such as hybrid cars.

Next year, Honda will launch the Honda CRZ hybrid and a Fit hybrid as well and Ito claims, "I have no doubt that (some form of) a hybrid system will eventually be installed in all cars."

2 door, sporty Toyota Prius on the way

Toyota must challenge the CR-Z hybrid

Sometimes when you sit atop the world, it's quite easy to become complacent. Well, when it comes to Toyota's hybrid kingdom, there certainly has been no complacency.

Not long ago there were rumors that the 2010 Third Generation Toyota Prius was going to cost more than the eventual sticker price. However, Toyota didn't want pricing to be too high, as it might provide a competitive advantage for Honda's Insight hybrid. Thus, Toyota reacted with new pricing and a new base model.

Likewise, now that Honda is preparing to roll out the hot looking CR-Z sports hybrid, AutoWeek is reporting that Toyota is developing a 2-door sporty hybrid, based upon the third generation Prius, to compete with Honda's next hybrid.

Also, according to the reports, the new design of the 2-door Prius will be developed by an Italian design studio. That could mean a vehicle that not only breaks out of the Prius design mold, but the design box of Toyota altogether. Than alone could be exciting.

Honda CR-Z hybrid hits Japan in February

And in the US when?

Two new Honda hybrid cars are coming, well, at least to Japan according to AutoWeek.

Honda has confirmed that it will begin selling the Honda CR-Z hybrid in Japan in February. Additionally, before the end of 2010 Honda will also launch the Honda Fit hybrid in Japan. Unfortunately, however, Honda did not offer any updates on when these vehicles would make it to the US.

Regardless, it seems the CR-Z hybrid should be in the States by mid 2010. Unfortunately, it seems the Fit hybrid won't be in the states until late 2010 or even early 2011.

Honda CRZ hybrid coming early next year

Can a sporty hybrid sell?

Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo has confirmed that the Honda CR-Z hybrid will go on sale early next year and that the new hybrid will cost more than $20,000. Sometime thereafter, according to Kondo, the Honda Fit hybrid will follow.

Finally, in the next year or so, Honda believes it will be selling 500,000 hybrid vehicles per year.

20 percent hybrid by 2020?

Ford better get ready to increase its hybrid production

In just a few years, shoppers of Honda hybrid cars will face a tough decision.

Should they buy the cheapest and smallest Honda hybrid, the Fit or the larger Honda Insight? Or, for those not interested in hatchbacks and desiring a little more passenger space, the Civic hybrid might be better . Then again, maybe some Honda hybrid consumers won't care about size, but instead prefer something sporty like the CR-Z sports hybrid.

So, why is Honda going hybrid crazy? Well, perhaps they've seen JP Morgan's latest hybrid prediction. By 2020, according to JP, hybrid sales in the US will reach 19.4 percent of the new car market.

Shoot. If gas prices pull another 2008 in the next few years, I'd say that JP is underestimating the hybrid market. In fact, the way that Honda is ramping up its hybrid efforts, I wouldn't be surprised if Honda was hybrid-only by 2020.

Now, US automakers, that's a whole other story.

Toyota developing sporty hybrid to challenge CR-Z

Honda's upcoming CR-Z hybrid

Not only is Toyota going to develop a compact hybrid - smaller than the current Prius - that will be cheaper than the Honda Insight, but the hybrid king will also develop a sporty hybrid, based off the MR2, to challenge the Honda CR-Z hybrid according to recent reports.

Love seeing this emerging hybrid battle heat up between Honda and Toyota, but I'd sure love to see a US automaker join the war.

Honda CR-Z hybrid will become reality

Coming in 2009?

Honda has announced that its lightweight hybrid sports car, the CR-Z, is going into production.

The concept CR-Z hybrid is coupled with Honda's current hybrid technology, and is now set to launch when Honda begins selling its new family hybrid - a hybrid only vehicle - in 2009.

While Honda has stated that the new hybrid coupe concept utilizes the same hybrid powertrain found in the Civic hybrid, it isn't clear whether Honda's hybrid powertrain will be updated for the launch of these new hybrid cars. My hunch, however, is that an upgrade is forthcoming.

Since Honda wants to start selling at least a quarter million hybrid vehicles by 2009, a few changes to Honda's hybrid technology seem necessary.

Honda CR-Z Hybrid on display in Tokyo

No change in hybrid technology?

"The CR-Z is a next-generation lightweight sports car equipped with Honda’s original gas-electric hybrid system which achieves both clean performance and a high level of torque," notes a Honda website.

Keywords in that sentence, "lightweight" and "original".

Certainly, decreasing the weight of a vehicle can have a significant impact on fuel economy, however, it is a bit disappointing to hear that this next generation hybrid might use Honda's "original gas-electric hybrid system".

Once again, it seems Honda is still very cautious regarding hybrid cars.

Click her for more on the CR-Z from Honda.