Last year, Honda shelved plans or a new-generation Acura NSX. However, it is now reported that plans for a front-engined replacement for the supercar could be revived courtesy of a change in the rules of Japan’s Super GT racing series.

According to a report by PistonHeads, Super GT regulations banning mid-engined layouts could give the front-engined NSX a second chance, but only for the race car version. Lucky for Honda, development of the V10 powered supercar and its race version were already well underway when plans were shelved. Both projects were scheduled to launch simultaneously in early 2010.

Don’t get your hopes up just yet. Sources say that the GT race version of the car may not spawn a road car. Honda is crossing its fingers that Super GT allows them to run the car without having to produce a road-going version.

- By: Kap Shah

Source: PistonHeads

Honda today announced the pricing details on its new 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour crossover model that will arrive in dealerships on November 20. Retail pricing starts at $26,670 ($30,380 when you include a destination and handling charge of $710).

The 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour is available in two trim-levels including EX and EX-L. The Accord Crosstour EX offers: dual-zone automatic air conditioning with second row ventilation, 360-Watt AM/FM 6-disc audio system with seven speakers, easy fold-down 60-40 split rear seat back, 17-inch aluminum wheels, hidden removable utility box, cruise control, moonroof, auto up/down driver and front passenger side windows, rear privacy glass, steering wheel-integrated audio controls, compass and outside temperature indicator, projector beam headlights with auto-off, fog lights, chrome door handles, body-colored power side mirrors with defrost, and more. The EX-L gets all that and adds leather-seating with heated front seats, leather steering wheel, leather gear shift knob, auto day/night dimming rearview mirror, 18-inch aluminum wheels, auto on/off headlights, memory driver-side seats, memory side mirrors with reverse tilting capability, cargo privacy cover, HomeLink transmitter, cargo privacy cover, Kevlar cone speakers, aluminum dome-type front tweeter speakers and a USB audio interface. Buyers can also opt for Honda’s Satellite Navigation System (with a backup camera) and Real Time 4WD.

All 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour models are equipped with a 3.5L i-VTEC V6 making at total of 271-hp and 254 lb-ft of torque. Estimated EPA-rated fuel-economy for the 2WD model comes in at 18/27 mpg (city/highway and 17/25 for the 4WD model.

Click through for complete pricing details.

2010 Honda Accord Crosstour:

- By: Omar Rana

In an extremely short press release, Honda confirmed today that the Acura TSX sport wagon will be offered in United States in fall of 2010 as a 2011 model year.

“The TSX sport wagon will be based on the popular TSX sports sedan, which features balanced performance, advanced technology and bold styling,” Honda said in a statement. “Additional information on the 2011 TSX sport wagon will be announced at a later date.”

The model will basically be the Honda Accord Tourer, which is currently sold in Europe.

We’ll have more details closer to launch.

- By: Omar Rana

After Honda’s hybrid Accord returned disappointing sales, Honda discontinued the sedan at the end of the 2007 model year. According to Automotive News, Honda will now be making a return to the large hybrid vehicle segment and unlike Honda’s current hybrid system, used in the Civic Hybrid and the Insight, the new hybrid system will use two electric-motors instead of one.

“That is one major initiative we are working on,” COO of automobile operations at Honda Tsuneo Tanai, told Automotive News. “The motor will have higher output. There will be dual motors, with a larger battery that enables the car to be driven in all-electric mode.”

Tanai did not say which Honda models will get the new hybrid system or when we can expect to see them in dealerships. A report by Japan’s Nikkei business daily says that Honda plans to add a hybrid minivan in 2011.

At the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Honda unveiled the Skydeck Concept, a 6-seater hybrid MPV that shows how the company’s IMA technology can be placed in a range of different vehicles. Honda’s compact CR-Z sport hybrid will hit U.S. shores next spring. A hybrid Honda Fit will follow in 2012.

Honda Skydeck Concept:

- By: Kap Shah

Honda’s new CEO Takanobu Ito said that the Japanese automaker is reviewing its entire lineup and is looking to build less costly and more fuel-efficient vehicles. That will mean making some major changes to some next-generations vehicles that are already well along in the development process.

One such vehicle undergoing changes is the next-generation Honda Civic.

“We are taking more time to rethink the new Civic and all our models,” Ito told Automotive News. “We had to revisit our development work and planning to comply with the change in the environment.”

Top-level executives have told Civic designers and engineers to make the cars smaller, lighter and more fuel-efficient than originally planned. Originally the next-generation Civic had been planned to be larger than the current model; however, it will now have a smaller exterior.

Overall, Honda will create a sense of roominess on the inside without increasing the size of the Civic.

- By: Kap Shah

Honda’s new Skydeck Concept, which is being shown at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, hints at the Japanese automaker’s successor to the Honda FR-V in Europe. Production of the FR-V ended in August and at the time Honda said that it had no replacement planned.

The Honda Skydeck Concept is a 6-seater hybrid MPV with Lambo style scissor doors. Honda says that the Skydeck Concept shows how the company can fit its IMA technology in a range of different vehicles.

We wouldn’t mind having the next Honda Odyssey look a little like this. As much as we would love to have scissor doors on a minivan, we doubt they will make it into production.

Tokyo 2009: Honda Skydeck Concept:

- By: Kap Shah

Could tuning packages for hybrid vehicles create a whole new market for third-party and in-houe tuning firms? Apparently so – Mugen said that it could very well build a bespoke tuned version of the upcoming Honda CR-Z hybrid sports car.

Hiroki Toyoda, the firm’s European vice president, told AutoCar that “the hybrid powertrain would create a new set of tuning opportunities, with the electric motor acting as a kind of turbo at low speeds, to compensate for a lack of torque inherent in naturally-aspirated petrol engines.”

Honda has confirmed that it has no plans to add gasoline version of the CR-Z, keeping its new sports car a fuel-efficient option for hatchback lovers.

The Honda CR-Z will go on sale in the United States in the second half of 2010.

Click here for more news on the Honda CR-Z.

2009 Honda CR-Z Concept:

- By: Omar Rana

Source: AutoCar

Honda Motor Co., new CEO Takanobu Ito said that he would consider launching an environmentally friendly sports car when it has enough cash available, reports Automotive News.

“I would like to make a sports car,” Ito told reporters on the sidelines of the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. “Once we have that technology and once we have cash on hand, I would like to see Honda have a sports car that symbolizes our technology.”

Don’t expect anything like the Lexus LFA supercar to come from Honda, Ito said. “It would be environmentally friendly and have great performance,” he said.

The 2011 Lexus LFA is powered by a 552-hp 4.8L V10 engine and will see a limited production run of just 500 units at a price of $375,000 a piece.

Hit hard be the economic downturn, Honda ditched plans to build a successor to the legendary NSX supercar last year.

- By: Kap Shah

Honda has taken the wraps off its new CR-Z Concept at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show. The Japanese automaker confirmed that the CR-Z will be introduced to the North American market in the second half of 2010 as a sporty, 2-seat hybrid model.

“The Honda CR-Z will expand our lineup of hybrid vehicles and reinforce the fun-to-drive values associated with the Honda brand,” said Erik Berkman, vice president of Automobile Corporate Planning and Logistics for American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Beyond great styling and features, CR-Z will bring new levels of engagement and fun to customers interested a small car or a hybrid vehicle.”

Power will come from a 1.5L 4-cylinder engine mated to Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist hybrid technology. The engine will be mated to either a 6-speed manual or a optional CVT automatic. Honda said it has no gasoline variants of the CR-Z planned as of right now.

Honda confirmed that the production version of the Honda CR-Z will make its world debut at the January 2010 Detroit Auto Show.

2009 Honda CR-Z Concept:

- By: Omar Rana

Police arrested a man who allegedly kidnapped a dealer during a test-drive of a Honda and drove the car more than 1,000 miles from Massachusetts to Wisconsin. Officials said that a Wisconsin State Patrol trooper pulled over the 32-year-old man on Friday for speeding, reckless driving and operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

The man will be sent back to Massachusetts to face charges of kidnapping.

The adventure began Thursday afternoon when the man and the Honda dealer went on a test-drive and the man refused to turn back around. The salesman escaped the vehicle when it slowed down at a toll near Massachusetts.

- By: Kap Shah

Source: CBS News (via Jalopnik)

While many major automakers are jumping on the electric-vehicle bandwagon, Honda is one automaker that refuses to do so… until now.

“Fuel-cell cars will become necessary,” said Takashi Moriya, head of Honda’s group developing the technology. “We’re positioning it as the ultimate zero-emission car.”

It seems like Honda has changed its mind as sales of the Insight Hybrid disappoint and as hydrogen fueling station development moves forward at a steady pace. According to new CEO Takanobu Ito, Honda is considering launching electric-cars in the United States, Europe and Japan - a sign that the Japanese automaker is changing its strategy for the next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles.

Honda said that the slow progress in setting up hydrogen fueling stations could limit the sales of fuel-cell vehicles and that it may need electric-cars to meet tough California regulations.

Firm on the company’s original beliefs, Ito recently said at a press event that hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles would in the end be the key car technology, but that electric cars would be a core offering for it in the future.

- By: Kap Shah

Source: Reuters

Honda’s top U.S. executive said that the Japanese automaker may have to update its models faster because the competition is getting too tough in the mid-size sedan segment. John Mendel said that Honda will do its best to stay ahead of the pack with new models in new market segments and will updates its vehicles more frequently.

“We don’t have the gap that we had years ago,” Mendel said on at the launch of the new 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour. “There’s nobody out there building junk any more.”

The Honda Accord mid-size sedan is the company’s top-selling model and is facing some serious competition from Toyota, Nissan, FoMoCo and General Motors. All of its competitors offer 4-cylinder mid-size sedans that have passed the Accord in highway fuel-economy and have received positive reviews from the media.

Mendel said that Honda may have to offer a facelift for its models every two-years and a total redesign every five-years.

The Honda Accord is scheduled for a redesign by 2013; however, Mendel says that a redesigned model with better fuel-economy and more equipment could come quicker.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Drive

As the yen rises significantly against the dollar, Honda Motor Co. may move production of the popular Fit small car to the United States. Honda’s President Takanobu Ito called the shift a “highly likely possibility.” Ito told Automotive News that “considering the foreign exchange, such a structural reform might be called for.”

All Honda Fit models are imported from Japan and the yen’s 8 percent increase in the value against the dollar since August has made profit margins smaller. Not to mention, sales of the Honda Fit were down 12 percent to 55,475 for the first nine months of 2009.

About 80 percent of Honda vehicles sold in the United States are made locally; the rest are imported. Ito said that he wants to keep that ratio but wants to import more hybrid vehicles.

“If we could shift this 20 percent to other, higher-value-added technologies, that would be good,” Ito said.

Ito did not say where the Fit would be built in the United States.

- By: Stephen Calogera

As reported earlier this morning, Ford’s U.S. hybrid sales were up 73 percent during the first nine months of 2009, as compared to the same period last year. Through September, Ford said it sold 26,016 hybrid vehicles with the new Ford Fusion Hybrid leading the pack.

According to Automotive News, Ford and Honda are fighting for the No.2 spot among hybrid vehicle sellers in the United States. Honda currently holds the No.2 spot, led by the Honda Insight and the Civic hybrid, selling a total of 29,958 hybrid cars in the first nine months of this year, a gain of 8 percent from 2008.

Toyota Motor Corp. leads all automakers in U.S. hybrid sales by a huge margin, selling more hybrid vehicles than all of its competitors combined. However, Toyota’s U.S. hybrid sales were down 28 percent during the first nine months of 2009, with a total of 144,351 hybrid vehicles sold.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid:

- By: Stephen Calogera

Honda is set to release a documentary on its website October 19 starring Tony Hawk, the screenwriters of Transformers, and a number of others. Titled Racing Against Time, the documentary also features a Honda employee who helped develop the Honda FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle.

Honda’s sixth documentary, entitled Living with Robots, is still in production and i set to launch in January 2010.

Click through to check out a preview to the documentary after the jump.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Green Car Journal announced today that it has picked five finalists for the 2010 Green Car of the Year. The winner will be announced during a press conference at the 2009 LA Auto Show on Dec. 3.

2010 Green Car of the Year Finalists:

• Audi A3 TDI
• Honda Insight
• Mercury Milan Hybrid (no idea why it’s not the Ford Fusion Hybrid)
• Toyota Prius
• Volkswagen Golf TDI

Let us know who you think should win by casting your vote in the poll below. Have something to say? Hit the jump to have your voice heard in the comments section.

Press Release:

Five Finalists Announced for the 2010 Green Car of the Year®

Winner to be Announced During an LA Auto Show Press Conference on Dec. 3

LOS ANGELES – Oct. 7, 2009 – Green Car Journal announced today its five finalists for the 2010 Green Car of the Year®, including the Audi A3 TDI, Honda Insight, Mercury Milan Hybrid, Toyota Prius and Volkswagen Golf TDI. For the fifth consecutive year, this prestigious award will be announced during a press conference at the Los Angeles Auto Show press days, Dec. 3.

The Green Car of the Year® award is a program that honors environmental leadership in the automobile field and recognizes vehicles that are readily available to consumers during the award year. Green Car Journal editors perform an exhaustive review of vehicle models to identify the five finalists. The winner is ultimately decided by jurors such as Jay Leno, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Carroll Shelby, Matt Petersen of Global Green USA and the Sierra Club’s Carl Pope, along with Green Car Journal editors.

“We’re seeing the trend for ‘green’ cars emerging at all levels, from entry-level cars to luxury models, and even performance cars and SUVs/crossovers,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com. “Plus, an array of technologies and fuels as well as strategies like lightweighting and reducing rolling resistance are being applied to the challenge. Greater choice provides buyers a personal stake in lessening environmental impact, and that’s important.”

This year’s finalists reflect this diversity. For the first time an Audi makes the final five with its sporty A3 TDI clean diesel. Volkswagen’s new Golf TDI shows an expanding focus on clean diesel technology in the VW lineup. The Insight is a completely new hybrid sedan for Honda and the 2010 Toyota Prius is a totally redesigned, third-generation version of this popular hybrid model. The Milan Hybrid is Mercury’s application of its advanced-hybrid technology in an upscale mid-size sedan.

About Green Car of the Year®

The GCOY award is an important part of Green Car Journal’s mission to showcase environmental progress in the auto industry. Since 1992, Green Car Journal has focused on the intersection of automobiles, energy, and environment, first with an industry newsletter and then with an award-winning auto enthusiast magazine. Today, the magazine is considered the premier source of information on high fuel efficiency, low emission, advanced technology, and alternative fuel vehicles. Subscription information, along with a downloadable sample issue, can be found at GCJUSA.com. Green Car of the Year® is a registered trademark of Green Car Journal and RJ Cogan Specialty Publications Group, Inc.

About the Los Angeles Auto Show

The 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show will be held on Dec. 2-3 for press and Dec. 4-13 for the public. Media registration is now open. This year, the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles (OICA), the world automobile trade association, has officially named the Los Angeles Auto Show as one of its sanctioned international exhibitions. For more information, please visit LAautoshow.com.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Not a fan of going hybrid but love the looks new Honda CR-Z? Well, we have some bad news for you. Honda has ruled out any chance of offering the CR-Z with anything other than a hybrid powertrain. That means all your dreams of getting a turbocharged 4-cylinder hot-hatch out of the new CR-Z are shattered.

“This will definitely only be a hybrid,” a source said. “The whole direction of Honda is hybrids and this car is designed all around a hybrid powertrain. The car isn’t boring; it is responsive and fun.”

Just before September came to an end, Honda released the first official images of the 2009 Honda CR-Z Concept, which will debut at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show later this month.

No official details have been released as of yet, but reports say that power will come from a 1.5L 4-cylinder engine mated to Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist hybrid technology. Power will be driven to the wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox and an optional CVT automatic.

2009 Honda CR-Z Concept:

- By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar

Honda today released interior images of the all-new and all-controversial 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour.

“The interior design is intended to enhance the feeling of width and space in the passenger cabin while creating a premium and accommodating atmosphere, says Honda. “The inset sculpting of the instrument panel along with a wide center console increases the sense of roominess.”

The 5-passenger interior features an innovative rear-storage area which creates an 8-inch deep under-floor Hidden Removable Utility Box with a reversible lid. Levers near the interior fender provide access from the tailgate opening, allowing for one-touch conversion of the seats into the floor for additional cargo space.

Power comes from a 3.5L V6 making 268-hp with a maximum torque of 248 lb-ft. The engine will be mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission. No 4-cylinder option will be offered for the 2010 Accord Crosstour.

Sales of the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour will begin in November. Pricing details will be announced closer to launch.

Click here fore more 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour news.

Click through for the high-res image gallery.

2010 Honda Accord Crosstour:

- By: Omar Rana