The 1st Thread here: How about that HCH ll?

[tigerhonaker]

Great thats what comes to my mind when I think about the New HCH ll and all the many things that Honda has done to improve on the earlier models of the HCH l.

You know the more I think about it I don't think I have read or heard anyone really have anything negative to say about the car in general. This is not taking into account the Mags. that I think are obligated to find (Something) that is wrong or could be improved upon. Heck if they just came out and said, this is one great vehicle, where would all the controversy then be. Nothing further to talk about and we know that is not going to be the case right.

Honda the leader in FE with the "Insight" and then a follow up with the HCH l; HAH and now the HCH ll all strong leaders in the tech. dept. It is hard to believe but Honda is on their 4TH generation of the Hybrid with the HCH ll. WOW in a very short period of time. Look at the advancements that have been made by Honda, Electric A/C and now Electric Water-pump in the HCH ll. It just keeps getting better and better.

I would never in a million years thought that you could one day buy a Honda Civic with a Factory Navagation System in it and I most definitely would never have thought that you could have gotten all this along with 49MPG City and 50MPG Hwy. with a Civic Hybrid. GO-HONDA:

Never-The-End, Honda's Just Keep Going and Going and Going and Going

Terry

[tbaleno]

Unfortunatly, lots of the WOW features were already in the Prius II. My favorite thing about the civic and honda in general is that they don't try to change too quicly.

Look at all the hybrids. While the Insight was radical, the civic and accord used the same bodies from existing cars. The IMA itself wasn't realy radical either. It pretty much is just an add-on to a regular engine. This is not a drawback in my opinion. As far as technology goes I think simpler is better.

here's one way to pour a cup of water:
http://www.rube-goldberg.com/images/slomopro.gif

Here is another:
http://www.enfamil.com/images/pour29ozwater.jpg

Both get the job done. Which would you want to own and maintain.

I can't wait to see what honda comes up with next. I would love them to have a hybrid vehicle in every range of vehicle they sell. Ridgeline, pilot (do they still make those), and any other car or truck.

[tigerhonaker]

Originally Posted by tbaleno

Unfortunatly, lots of the WOW features were already in the Prius II. My favorite thing about the civic and honda in general is that they don't try to change too quicly.

Look at all the hybrids. While the Insight was radical, the civic and accord used the same bodies from existing cars. The IMA itself wasn't realy radical either. It pretty much is just an add-on to a regular engine. This is not a drawback in my opinion. As far as technology goes I think simpler is better.

here's one way to pour a cup of water:
http://www.rube-goldberg.com/images/slomopro.gif

Here is another:
http://www.enfamil.com/images/pour29ozwater.jpg

Both get the job done. Which would you want to own and maintain.

I can't wait to see what honda comes up with next. I would love them to have a hybrid vehicle in every range of vehicle they sell. Ridgeline, pilot (do they still make those), and any other car or truck.

Hi Tom; My selection is "B" because I am the simple type.

I like those examples: Very Cool:

Terry

[dshelman]

As an HCHII owner, I have to say that the Prius is a hell of a car technology-wise. But, what do you think spurred them to come out with that car? Honda. So, Toyota trumped Honda out the gate with the Prius' technology edge. This year, Honda has provided a good balance of technology, comfort, and mileage in the HCHII. I don't think they were necessarily attempting to 'beat' Toyota, but to 'compete' with them using Honda's strengths. I believe they were hugely successful, too.

Also, it will be interesting to see what cars stay on the road longer. In a few years, we should start seeing some interesting numbers regarding blown engines, depleted power packs, burnt out motors, failing regen systems, etc.

If Honda has stayed with their strengths, I suspect they'll be on the road longer due to a little less high-technology and somewhat simpler designs for their IMA over the HSD.

Scalability-wise, bot Honda and Toyota have proven their designs to be able to scale up to standard form-factor automobiles. Our friends at Toyota will soon have a Camry hybrid available, which is a response to the success of the Accord hybrid.

Competition.... ya gotta love it!


Don

[tbaleno]

I wouldn't get ahead of your self using sucess and Accord Hybrid in one sentance. However, The fact they showed that the IMA system could go into a sports type car was a good point to prove. Now if they would only offer it in a 4cyl for the accord that would be a great seller I think. maybe they didn't because it would get similar milage to the civic

[Civic Duty]

Originally Posted by tigerhonaker

It is hard to believe but Honda is on their 4TH generation of the Hybrid with the HCH ll. WOW in a very short period of time.

Hmm, I would argue that Honda is on their 2nd generation of IMA, at best. The HCH-I does not really represent a different hybrid system than the Insight, and the Accord is the same basic system latched onto a big engine. The advances in the HCH-II are more of a gradation than a relatively radical improvement of the type that was seen from Prius I to Prius II (referring to North American generations). Yes, this is Honda's 4th hybrid, but in terms of generations, it's more like v1.5, I think.

[tigerhonaker]

Originally Posted by Civic Duty

Hmm, I would argue that Honda is on their 2nd generation of IMA, at best. The HCH-I does not really represent a different hybrid system than the Insight, and the Accord is the same basic system latched onto a big engine. The advances in the HCH-II are more of a gradation than a relatively radical improvement of the type that was seen from Prius I to Prius II (referring to North American generations). Yes, this is Honda's 4th hybrid, but in terms of generations, it's more like v1.5, I think.

Hi Robby; The reason I Posted that statement was because I Read it in Autoweek and here is the Paragraph.

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid Civic Obedience: Hybrid clings to the ethical high road
By KEVIN A. WILSON

AutoWeek | Published 09/19/05, 12:00 am et
Advertisement
OAS_RICH('Middle1');


2006 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID

ON SALE: Oct. 5

BASE PRICE: $21,500 (est.)

POWERTRAIN: 1.3-liter, 110-hp, 123-lb-ft I4 with integrated motor assist; fwd, CVT

CURB WEIGHT: 2875 lbs

0 TO 60 miles per hour: 11.0 seconds (est.)

FUEL MILEAGE (EPA COMBINED): 50 mpg

The Hybrid may be the stodgy member of the Civic family, clinging to the more austere elements of the model’s heritage of innovative responses to environmental concerns and efficient operation. On the other hand, it’s loaded up with features like a luxurious EX model, even at the $21,500 price.

Hard as it might be to imagine, the 2006 Civic Hybrid sedan represents the fourth generation of Honda’s IMA (internal motor assist) hybrid system. There was the Insight, then the first Civic hybrid, then the Accord version, and now this one.


So; Robby I would be the 1st to agree with you that everything that is in a Magazine does not make it so. I made the statement based on the Autoweek Review if it is incorrect, I will apologize for them and regarding myself it was an Honest mistake. Sorry

Terry

[Double-Trinity]

Originally Posted by tbaleno

I wouldn't get ahead of your self using sucess and Accord Hybrid in one sentance. However, The fact they showed that the IMA system could go into a sports type car was a good point to prove. Now if they would only offer it in a 4cyl for the accord that would be a great seller I think. maybe they didn't because it would get similar milage to the civic

Agreed. A hybrid I4 Accord would be almost the same thing as the Civic Hybrid. As it is, the two cars are very, very similar. That is especially true given how the more recent Civics have a bit more "high end" trim and features. A hybridized I4 Accord would be very close to a Hybrid Civic, which might cannibalize sales.

I believe having the Accord be a "performance hybrid" is a good distinction, but a better approach to adding more torque would have been by keeping the I4 engine but mating it to a much more powerful IMA system. This would yield better mileage than the ICE civic with similar performance as the Accord V6. This seems to be the approach Toyota is taking with the Camry. Of course, this would have been much more expensive than simply using stock parts like Honda did, by using more or less the same IMA as the Civic, and the V6 engine from the Odyssey.