2015 Honda HR-V Arriving With Six-Speed Manual

Last week at the Paris Auto Show, it was confirmed that the 2015 Honda HR-V compact crossover would come with a 1.5 liter Earth Dreams and, get this, a six-speed manual transmission. I know, right? But don’t get too excited just yet…

So far Honda has only confirmed that the Fit-based HR-V is coming to America, and it will get the new small-displacement motor found in its hatchback predecessor. According toCar & Dirver, Honda also says the HR-V will be available with either a CVT transmission or six-speed manual in Europe, though which of those transmissions make it across the Atlantic is something else entirely. For what it’s worth the 2015 Honda Fit is also available with a six-speed manual, through many Americans have a natural aversion to shifting for themselves. The HR-V will also get a four-cylinder 1.6 liter diesel engine paired with a manual transmission, but that engine almost certainly won’t be available in the U.S.

Honda is also keeping mum on actual power figures, though in the 2015 Honda Fit the 1.5 liter engine is rated at 130 horsepower. Honda may up the output for the heavier crossover, though the HR-V will share many similar features with the Fit, including the flat-fold seats and sportier interior. It’s a handsome car as well, better looking in my opinion than comparable crossovers and deserving of a turbo engine (eventually) to back up the athletic stance.

Look for the 2015 Honda HR-V to go on sale in Europe and the U.S. in the first half of next year, and keep your fingers crossed we get that six-speed manual option as well.

Source: Honda

Honda to install public CNG fueling station near Marysville Auto Plant

As part of its effort to reduce its global CO₂ emissions and minimize the environmental impact of its operations, Honda of America Mfg. (HAM) will install a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station on its Marysville Auto Plant property in Marysville, Ohio. The CNG station, which will be designed, constructed and operated by Trillium CNG, will be the first public CNG station located on a Honda property in North America.

The fully automated station will feature three Class 8 dispensers for over-the-road carriers and a separate dispenser for passenger and light-duty vehicles.

Trillium CNG will be operating 52 public access CNG stations nationally by mid-summer throughout the US.

The CNG station, which will be located on Honda property at the interchange of Route 33 and Route 739, is intended to provide service to those that have already adopted the use of CNG as a fuel, as well as to encourage suppliers and logistical partners to adopt and expand its use.

Over the past 13 years, Honda plants in North America have reduced waste sent to landfills by 91.9%; and in the most recent full fiscal year, ended March 31, 2013 (FY2013) CO₂ emissions from the production of Honda and Acura vehicles in North America were down 16.2%. In purchasing, improvements to the efficiency of the company’s supply-chain logistics allowed Honda and its suppliers to avoid more than 4.3 million miles of truck travel in FY2013.