2017 Honda Accord Hybrid Finally Ready For Prime Time

Honda really started the whole hybrid thing even before Toyota brought the Prius to market, but the leader soon became the follower. Its first hybrid, the original Insight, was too weird for most people to take seriously. The first Civic Hybrid suffered from myriad technical issues that left buyers wishing they had chosen something else to drive. The CR-Z hybrid sports car had such anemic performance that no one wanted it.

Time and again, Honda sought to bring hybrid cars to market, but sales never exceeded a trickle. The cars just weren’t very good. “[There] was a period where Honda went into a lull,” Ed Kim, vice president of industry analysis at AutoPacific, says. “They lost the spirit of innovation they were known for.”

Now Honda says it is ready to try again with the 2017 Accord Hybrid. “This Accord Hybrid is at the forefront for our vision for Honda’s advanced environmental lineup of vehicles,” Jeff Conrad, general manager of the Honda brand, told journalists last week. “It’s the first step in our plan to create a true volume sales pillar for electrified vehicles of all kinds: hybrids, plug-ins, battery electrics and fuel cells.”

The 2017 Accord Hybrid will lead the way into Honda’s future, which will soon include multiple versions of the all new Clarity. That car, due in showrooms next year, will offer a hydrogen fuel cell version as well as plug-in hybrid and all electric models. Honda has more plug-in hybrids planned for the near future as well.

One of the Accord Hybrid’s main competitors will be the new Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, a car that borrows heavily from the technology developed for the Chevy Volt. In fact, it has almost everything the Volt has except a place to plug it in. The Malibu Hybrid manages an impressive 47 mpg city/46 mpg highway. The Accord Hybrid upstages those numbers with some pretty extraordinary numbers of its own: 50 mpg city/47 highway.

Despite historically low gasoline prices, Jeff Conrad says, “The market is mature” for alternative-powertrain vehicles. Honda is targeting 30,000 sales a year. The previous version of the Accord Hybrid attracted only 25,030 customers during 2014 and 2015. That car was built in Marysville, Ohio. The new car will be built at Honda’s Sayama plant in Japan.

Source: Automotive News  Photo credit: Honda

Meineke And Echo Collaborate To Offer Hybrid Conversions

Meineke service centers, with the help of Echo Automotive Inc., will soon give people the option to convert their conventional internal combustion engine-powered vehicles into hybrids, with an estimated payback time of under two years.

Echo Automotive specializes in converting conventional ICE-powered fleet vehicles into fuel-efficient hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV). This week they announced that they had signed an agreement with Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc to have them offer installation services for Echo’s retrofit hybrid drive system.

“We are extremely pleased to have Meineke onboard as a strategic partner,” commented Jason Plotke, Echo Automotive Chairman and President. “Our relationship with Meineke greatly assists us in scaling our business through the support of this highly recognized and respected national service provider and is a tangible advantage we are delighted to offer our customers.”

Meineke said that their 900 car care centrs in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia and the Caribbean have serviced about 50 million vehicles since 1972. Hybrid vehicle conversions have been done in peoples’ back yards and at small garages for many years, but with a huge corporation like Meineke on board, hybrid conversions could become more commonplace.

Echo Automotive’s patent-pending hybrid system EchoDrive system attaches to the back of the transmission of rear-drive vehicles, not unlike the XL Hybrid system. But Echo claims that their system has a Return On Investment of 24 months or less, making it appealing for fleet owners looking to save on fuel costs. That said, we have heard very little about Echo until now, though this large-scale partnership seems to indicate they are quite serious about this business plan. Will Meineke become a green car conversion hub, or is this just another bright idea unfounded with today’s economic reality?

Source: Hybrid Cars

The 2010 Ford Fusion $3400 Tax Credit

Are you in the market for a new hybrid car? According to the sales figures, you are in the minority! Nevertheless, the Ford Fusion is a great product offering from Ford that is a hybrid-electric vehicle offering outstanding city mileages. The Fusion will average about 41 mpg in city driving which is a significant improvement over most sedans, which usually come in at less than 25 mpg.

Get to your dealer before March 31, 2009 in order to qualify for the full rebate. I would be interested in this vehicle except for one thing, there is no plug. I want the option of all electric operation and the ability to use my electricity for recharging.

From Green Car Congress:

Buyers of a new 2010 Fusion Hybrid or Mercury Milan Hybrid this year will qualify for a $3,400 tax credit.

The credit amount is based on a vehicle’s potential fuel efficiency. The Fusion Hybrid carries a 41 mpg rating in the city and 36 mpg on the highway.

Fusion Hybrid travels up to 47 mph in pure electric mode, faster than all other hybrids currently on the road. In addition, the system’s Intake Variable Cam Timing (i-VCT) allows the hybrid to more seamlessly transition from gas to electric mode and vice-versa, delivering a near imperceptible hybrid driving experience to the customer.

The 2009 Escape and Mariner Hybrid FWD models qualify for a $3,000 tax credit; 4WD models $1,950. Owners of previous model-year Escape and Mariner hybrid models may also qualify for varying credit amounts from $1,950 to $3,000. The credit is only available to the original purchaser of a new, qualifying vehicle.

Ford Hybrid Tax Credit Amounts
Vehicle	1 Jan 09 to 3 Mar 09	1 Apr 09 to 30 Sep 09	1 Oct 09 to 31 Mar 10	1 April 10 and later
2010 Fusion and Milan Hybrids	$3,400	$1,700	$850	$0
2009 Escape and Mariner FWD Hybrids	$3,000	$1,500	$750	$0
2009 Escape and Mariner 4WD Hybrids	$1,950	$975	$487.50	$0

Customers who purchase a Ford or Mercury brand hybrid by March 31, 2009 will remain eligible for the full tax credit amounts. Beginning April 1, 2009 customers who purchase a hybrid will only be able to claim a partial tax credit.

Since Ford Motor Company reached the 60,000 vehicle threshold in the 4^th quarter of 2008, the tax credit amounts are reduced by 50% beginning in the second quarter of 2009 and by an additional 25% beginning in the fourth quarter of 2009.