Green Car Reports: 2015 Honda Fit Hybrid: Forbidden Fruit Drive Report

New & previous generations of Honda Fit, Honda Proving Grounds, Tochigi, Japan, Nov 2013

We've always liked the Honda Fit; the current 2013 model remains one of the better, more capacious, and most flexible subcompacts on the market even though it's now the oldest vehicle in its class.

That'll change with next spring's launch of the 2015 Honda Fit, at least one version of which will be rated at 36 mpg combined, the company says.

Not for us
But 10 days ago, in Japan, we drove a version of the Fit that's already on sale in Japan that will likely be forbidden fruit for North America: the Honda Fit Hybrid.

We only spent a total of about 10 minutes in the Fit Hybrid, which is hardly enough for comprehensive impressions.

But the hybrid Fit has been a huge sales success in Japan, where vehicle-tax rules heavily favor hybrids.
The new Fit Hybrid is the first car to use Honda's new and more powerful i-DCD single-motor hybrid system.

Electric-only launch
And as we found on our drive of prototype systems last year, the new system is powerful enough to launch the car on electricity and take it to 40 mph or so before the gas engine switches on.

Honda Fit Hybrid (Japanese domestic model), Honda Proving Grounds, Tochigi, Japan, Nov 2013

That stands in contrast to the many generations of Honda's previous Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) mild-hybrid system. The IMA system provided additional torque to complement engine output, but it couldn't move the car alone for more than a few seconds at a time--and not at all from a standstill.

The new i-DCD system--it stands for Dual Clutch Drive--uses an electric motor with a peak output of 22 kilowatts (30 horsepower), against the IMA system's 15 kW (20 hp). Honda engineers told us it could provide sustained torque of 96 lb-ft (130 Newton-meters) and roughly 1 second of peak torque at 118 lb-ft (160 Nm).

The motor is, again, sandwiched between the engine and transmission, but now that unit is a  seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT)--hence the "Dual Clutch" in the name i-DCD--rather than the continuously variable transmission (CVT) that Honda previously used in its IMA hybrids.

Recaptured energy is stored in a 0.6-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack under the load bay just behind the rear seat. Unlike that of the Honda current Insight and CR-Z, however, the new Fit has a full-depth load bay.

Quiet operation
The first thing we noticed in the Fit Hybrid was its small shift wand on the console, which is remarkably (and deliberately?) reminiscent of the similar control in a Toyota Prius hybrid. Like the Prius, the "parking" mode is a button marked "P" rather than a position for the lever.

The gasoline Fits, on the other hand, have more conventional chrome shift levers.

On a Honda test course that includes stops and starts, a long, straight acceleration section, some sharp bends, and a coast-down section, the Fit Hybrid spent perhaps 20 percent of its time in electric-only mode.

We drove Japanese-market right-hand-drive production cars, some of which we later saw coming off the production line at Honda's Yorii assembly plant, part of the larger Saitama factory complex.

The new Fit is quieter inside than the old one, and while we heard some whining from the motor on deceleration when it acted as a generator, the engine switched off and on almost imperceptibly. Honda's done a very good job with noise suppression and vibration damping there.

DCT judder
The most noticeable reminder of the car's hybrid nature, in fact, was occasional mild juddering as the motor engaged and disengaged with the DCT just before or after it up- or downshifted.

It was no worse than motor engagement or disengagement in the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid--in fact probably better--

But it does point out that the DCT has discrete gear steps, rather than the infinite range of the CVT, without a torque converter to buffer the changes as in a conventional automatic.

In fact, for its larger and more luxurious (non-hybrid) cars, Honda will use an eight-speed DCT with a torque converter added on for precisely that reason.

On the smaller, less expensive Fit Hybrid, however, the electric motor is used to buffer the changes--but the drivetrain operation remains perceptible under certain circumstances.

30 percent gas-mileage gains?
We weren't able to ascertain anything useful about the fuel efficiency of the Honda Fit Hybrid from our short drive.

Honda has said its gas-mileage may be as much as 30 percent higher than that of the previous IMA hybrids, which might bring the Fit Hybrid close to the 50-mpg ratings of three different Toyota Prius models.
But we may never find out what ratings the Fit Hybrid would receive in U.S. test cycles.

Honda executives reiterated that they have no current plans to bring the car to the U.S. market.

Among other reasons, said Yusuke Hasegawa, general manager and senior chief engineer in Honda R&D's technology development group, the cost differential in Japan between the gasoline and hybrid Fits is roughly $3,000.

Japanese incentives on registration and road taxes, along with much more expensive gasoline, make that a reasonable premium for consumers to pay.

But in the U.S., gas prices run only $3 to $4 a gallon, no government incentives remain for consumers to purchase hybrids, and the Fit currently carries a base price of $15,425 before delivery. (With 2015 Fits coming from Mexico, Honda likely hopes to keep this price stable for the New Car.)

Long payback
If a gasoline Fit is rated at 36 mpg, even if the Fit Hybrid could reach 50 mpg, that would be a difference of only 117 gallons of gasoline each year at 15,000 miles a year.

Even at $4 a gallon, the payback would take more than six years--far longer than consumer will pay, Honda feels.

So unless something changes, we're not likely to see the Honda Fit Hybrid we drove in the States any time soon.

Over time, however, you might expect the new i-DCD hybrid system to show up in future Honda Civic Hybrid models--and perhaps the next Insight and CR-Z. IF those models are replaced, that is.

Until then, the neat little Honda Fit Hybrid and its new small hybrid system will remain forbidden fruit.

Honda provided airfare, lodging, and meals to enable High Gear Media to bring you this first-person report.

Source;
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1088604_2015-honda-fit-hybrid-forbidden-fruit-drive-report

AutoNews.com; Honda's new drivetrains: Sporty, green

by Hans Greimel and Mark Rechtin of www.autonews.com

In 2011, Honda Motor Co. CEO Takanobu Ito unveiled the Earth Dreams powertrain line. But the fuel-sipping drivetrains had critics wondering whether the automaker had lost its performance edge.

Now, Ito is answering the critics with a trio of turbocharged engines and the company's second dual-clutch transmission.

Those powertrain additions likely will be for smaller-volume vehicles. In a quieter, yet no less important, introduction last week, the U.S.-market Civic received a continuously variable transmission for its 2014 model freshening.

With the redesigned 2015 Fit hatchback also poised to get a CVT, nearly all Honda passenger cars with four-cylinder engines and automatic transmissions will have CVTs. Adding up to nearly 700,000 units a year in the United States, that's a huge commitment to a technology that hasn't yet won broad consumer acceptance.

The additions to the powertrain lineup mean Honda's Earth Dreams line now covers the spectrum from fuel efficient to sporty. Call it Earth Dreams 2.0.

Ito: Enhancing sportiness

The new downsized turbos deliver more power and better fuel economy than Honda's earlier naturally aspirated engines. Customers who feel the need for speed will be won back, Ito promises, by the latest eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
"We want to enhance the degree of sportiness within the current lineup," Ito told Automotive News. "To that end, we are continuing to develop DCTs. And we are trying to come up with a more powerful engine lineup."

Kurt Sanger, lead auto analyst with Deutsche Securities Japan in Tokyo, said, "It's notable that they are putting their foot back into the turbo ring. For Acura, it can only be a good thing to embrace a bit more performance."

Toyota's Ogiso: Turbos across the portfolio

Industry trend

Honda is joining an industry move to turbos in an attempt to boost fuel efficiency without sacrificing power -- or to boost power without hurting fuel efficiency.



Volkswagen, Ford and BMW led the move to turbos. Toyota, Subaru, Nissan and General Motors are among those following suit.

Toyota, which has no turbos in its lineup today, will use turbocharged engines across its portfolio, Satoshi Ogiso, managing officer in charge of global product planning, drivetrain and chassis engineering, said at the Tokyo Motor Show. The first -- since the 1980s -- will be a 2.0-liter engine offered in the Lexus NX 200t compact crossover expected in 2014.

Subaru will put its first downsized turbo on sale next spring in Japan: a 1.6-liter engine in the Levorg compact wagon. That engine subs for a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine, said Naoto Muto, executive vice president for global engineering.

Honda's new engines include 1.5- and 2.0-liter four-cylinders and a 1.0-liter three-cylinder. The 2.0-liter turbo is projected to have 280 hp, which would place it atop the industry at that displacement.

All combine turbocharging and fuel injection with Honda's variable value timing and lift system, known as VTEC. Honda also said it plans a twin-turbo V-6 for the redesigned 2015 Acura NSX, but the company declined to give that engine's size.

Honda also introduced a new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, which joins a seven-speed version that is used in the Honda Fit hybrid and next year's Acura RLX sedan.

Bam-bam-bam

"We want to gear the DCT system toward people who really love sportier driving," Ito said. "The gears shift, 'bam-bam-bam.'"

The 2.0-liter turbo will debut first, in 2015, in the European Civic. Yuji Matsumochi, the engine's chief engineer, said Honda is studying U.S. sales. The engine would replace a 3.5-liter V-6, he said. Honda says it achieves 10 percent better fuel efficiency and 10 percent better torque than the V-6.

The 1.5-liter is expected to arrive in 2016, and is geared toward North America and Asia, Matsumochi said. Honda is considering use in vehicles such as the Acura ILX and Honda Civic and Accord, but nothing has been decided, he said.

At a media event, Honda demonstrated it in an ILX. The 1.5-liter turbo would sub for a 1.8-liter or larger engine. Honda says it delivers 15 percent better fuel economy and 45 percent more torque than a conventional 1.8-liter engine.

The 1.0-liter turbo is expected to come last, possibly by the end of 2016, Matsumochi said. It is being considered for the United States, Europe, China and Asia.

Honda also released a CVT that had been revised since its intro with the fall 2012 launch of the Accord.

By not having fixed gear ratios, CVTs do not suffer "shift shock" during acceleration, producing a more linear acceleration feel than a normal automatic transmission.

But for some drivers, the sensation of a CVT's pulleys and cones finding the optimal acceleration and fuel efficiency can feel disturbingly like a slipping clutch. The 2014 Civic's CVT "will not interrupt the usual experience of a car," vowed Jay Guzowski, American Honda Motor Co. product planning manager.

Honda is far from alone in the CVT race. Nissan Motor Corp. equips the Sentra, Altima, Murano and Cube with CVTs. The redesigned 2014 Toyota Corolla has CVTs in nearly every trim level.

Honda's Iwamura: Serious CTV discussions

CVT issues

But the longer-term durability and reliability of some CVTs -- especially those combined with higher-horsepower engines -- has been an issue. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has singled out the company's CVTs as prone to recalls. Volkswagen of America this year settled a class-action lawsuit over alleged defects of CVTs in 2002-06 Audi A4 and A6 cars.

CVTs also suffer greater parasitic losses than dual-clutch automatics in getting power from the engine to the wheels.

American Honda CEO Tetsuo Iwamura, speaking at the Los Angeles Auto Show, acknowledged that Honda engineers had "serious discussions" about migrating to CVTs. The consensus was that Honda would go with CVTs so long as performance and drive characteristics were better than those of the geared automatics they replaced. If not, Honda would stick with automatics or dual-clutch automatics.

Said Iwamura: "It's up to us how to allocate the technologies, according to the character of the model."

An Acura ILX outfitted with a 1.5 liter turbocharged engine.

 

Source;

http://www.autonews.com/article/20131125/OEM06/311259938/hondas-new-drivetrains-sporty-green#axzz2lfT1dG7z

Honda readies new turbocharged engines, 8-speed dual-clutch transmission

by Hans Greimel of www.automotivenews.com

Honda Motor Co. unveiled a series of downsized, turbocharged engines and an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, rounding out its line of Earth Dreams powertrains with ones that offer more performance without sacrificing fuel economy.

Tetsuo Iwamura, CEO of American Honda Motor Co., declined to say which of the automaker's U.S. nameplates would get which engines. But Iwamura, who also heads Honda's automobile operations globally, said the automaker plans to switch its existing gasoline engines to turbos "as much as possible."

The unveiling of the new engines and transmission, and Iwamura's remarks, came during media events before the Tokyo Motor Show, including an advanced technology briefing at its global r&d center north of Tokyo. The show's press days are Wednesday, Nov. 20, and Thursday, Nov. 21. The show opens to the public on Saturday, Nov. 23.

Performance, fuel economy
The new downsized engines use turbocharging, direct injection and Honda's variable valve timing system, known as VTEC, to improve performance and fuel economy. The lineup:

• A 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that puts out more than 280 hp.
• A 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine.
• A 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine.

"Other companies have downsized turbos to increase fuel economy," said Yuji Matsumochi, chief engineer for Honda's new 2.0-liter turbo powerplant. "Honda had to make an engine that has better fuel economy and more powerful torque."

The 2.0-liter turbo will debut first, in mid-2015, in a European-market Civic given the Type R designation. Matsumochi said Honda is studying U.S. use.

1.5 is the new 1.8
The 1.5-liter is expected to hit the market in 2016, probably early in the year, and is geared toward North America and Asia, Matsumochi said.

Honda is considering use in such vehicles as the Acura ILX and Honda Civic and Accord, but nothing is decided, he said. "It has potential for a wide range of vehicles," he said.

The 1.5-liter engine is seen as a replacement for 1.8-liter powerplants. Compared with a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated engine, Honda said, the 1.5-liter turbocharged unit provided 15 percent better fuel economy and 45 percent better torque.

The 1.0-liter turbo is expected to be the last to market, possibly by the end of 2016, Matsumochi said. It is being considered for the United States, Europe, China and Asia.

One Honda engineer hinted that the company will monitor the success of a three-cylinder engine that Ford Motor Co. plans to sell in the United States, to see whether American consumers will embrace an engine that small.

The 1.0-liter turbo engine yields a 20 percent increase in fuel economy and a 15 percent increase in torque compared with a 1.8-liter naturally aspirated engine.

Transmission transitions
The eight-speed dual-clutch transmission follows a seven-speed dual-clutch unit that Honda unveiled earlier. Compared with a five-speed automatic, the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox offers an increase in fuel efficiency of 8 percent or more and an increase in acceleration performance of 10 percent or more, Honda said.

Honda pairs the eight-speed with a torque converter. That aims to smooth the jerky startup often associated with dual-clutch transmissions.

Although Honda engineers and executives declined to comment on specific models, they said the automaker's transmissions will be used roughly as follows:

• Continuously variable transmissions. CVTs will become Honda's mainstay, used in its small- to mid-sized vehicles, replacing manual and automatic transmissions.
• Dual-clutch transmissions. These will be used with 2.0- to 3.0-liter engines. Some executives said the seven- and eight-speed dual-clutch transmissions may be standard equipment on some vehicles, but will be optional on others.
• Traditional automatic transmissions. These will continue to be used in larger vehicles such as the Odyssey minivan.

RLX changes
Among specific products, the current 2013 Acura RLX, powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 engine, uses Honda's precision all-wheel steering system to enhance responsiveness.

The 2014 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid, which will go on sale next spring, will come with the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and Honda's new Sport Hybrid-All Wheel Drive linked to the 3.5-liter V-6.

The SH-AWD system uses a three-motor hybrid system to redirect power, when the car is turning, from the inner wheel to the outer one to improve handling and performance.

The rear wheels get one electric motor each, while the third is integrated into the engine as a motor-generator.

• Traditional automatic transmissions. These will continue to be used in larger vehicles such as the Odyssey minivan. The SH-AWD system in the 2014 RLX Sport Hybrid uses a three-motor hybrid system to redirect power, when the car is turning, from the inner wheel to the outer one to improve handling and performance.

Honda, without providing specifics, plans to switch its existing gasoline engines to turbos "as much as possible," executives say.

Source;
http://www.autonews.com/article/20131118/OEM04/131119899/honda-readies-new-turbocharged-engines-8-speed-dual-clutch#axzz2l6V0uNIt

Honda Expanding in North America With Mexico Transmission Plant

Honda Motor Co. (7267), the first Japanese automaker to build cars in the U.S., plans to build a $470 million transmission factory in Mexico at the same site as an auto plant opening in 2014. 

The parts facility opens in 2015’s second half in Celaya, near the central Mexican city of Guanajuato, and will be able to make as many as 700,000 continuously variable transmissions a year, Tokyo-based Honda said today in an e-mailed statement. It will employ 1,500 people and be adjacent to a factory scheduled to start making Fit subcompact cars next year.

Mexico has drawn billions of dollars in automotive investment in recent years, particularly from Japan’s carmakers. Along with the country’s lower production costs, Mexico’s favorable trade agreements with the U.S., Latin America and the European Union make it appealing as an export base.

Honda announced its $800 million Celaya auto-assembly plant in 2011. Mazda Motor Corp. (7261) is building a $650 million factory in the same state, where it will make Mazda2 and Mazda3 cars and also small cars for Toyota Motor Corp. Nissan Motor Co. expects to complete a $2 billion plant alongside an existing facility in the state of Aguascalientes by the end of this year.

Honda said today that transmissions made in Celaya will also be exported to its other plants in North America and overseas. The company’s American depositary receipts rose 1 percent to $39.57 at 10:55 a.m. New York time.

by Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles of www.blumberg.net