Honda Hybrid Future - GreenHybrid

bwilson4web · #1 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 08:07 AM

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2007/12/h...mment-94948166

Quote:

. . .
Company president Takeo Fukui says Honda is investing heavily in hybrids and insists the race "has just begun." The technology's first phase was all about cultivating a green image, Fukui says, clearly taking a swipe at Toyota. The next phase will emphasize making the vehicles more affordable and fuel efficient, he says, and Honda has two cars in the pipeline that he promises will challenge Toyota's eco-supremacy.
"The real full-scale hybrid competition will start from now," Fukui says.
. . .

I had read other stories about Honda's commitment to expand their hybrid offerings but none had really attracted my attention. This one showed up because of a reference to "CNW Marketing" and sure enough, it seems to be associated with another error.

NOTE: Chuck Squatriglia, the author, corrected the article, a rare and precious thing. Personally, I'm going to treat Chuck with well deserved respect for doing the right thing!

Quote:

The author included a sentence "While it's tough to argue that hybrids aren't more ecologically friendly than their fossil-fuel counterparts, a study by Consumer Reports suggests they aren't any cheaper in the long run - and may even be more expensive - than conventional cars." The link is to a Consumer Affairs article that is labeled "Advertisement." I know for a fact that Consumer Reports later had to correct that article, something obviously missed by Consumer Affairs and the author. Consumer Reports had failed to calculate the tax advantages and corrected the article.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11637968/

Bob Wilson

leahbeatle · #2 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 06:39 PM

Very nice to see the retraction, I agree. Hooray for Chuck! Well, it's not fantastic that he got it wrong in the first place, but given the vast dispersion of that particular piece of misinformation, I'm sure that it's possible for well-meaning people to get that one wrong. I'd hope for better fact-checking from journalists, however- not that our journalistic standards are so wonderful in these days of FauxNews and the rest. But it was a very prompt correction, and that's commendable!

As for the substance of the story, I found the last, almost throwaway remark by Honda to be a bit depressing- no plans to work on plug-in hybrid technology, eh? Too bad. They'll probably be pre-empted by someone else, then.