Honda will introduce its smallest hybrid car and a new diesel engine in 2009 (but alas, no diesel hybrid). The company sees fuel-efficiency as key to growing sales in North America and is also investing in more production facilities here.
The new Honda hybrid will cost substantially less than the Civic Hybrid, and the diesel engine will meet the EPA's Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards. Honda says it will raise its 2005 CAFE mpg of 29.2 by 5 percent by 2010. Some of the efficiency will come from improvements in its four-cylinder i-VTEC engine and Variable Cylinder Management technology that will each reduce fuel consumption by more than 10 percent.
The current sales trends could foretell a day when Honda and Toyota employ more workers in the U.S. than GM, Ford or DaimlerChrysler.
Found via the Detroit Free Press.
