Honda will produce a plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle for the U.S. by 2012, according to the automaker.

There are no specifications on the Honda EV, but it will likely compete with the upcoming Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i MiEV. The EV will be introduced in the U.S. in 2012 after the company completes a demonstration program with participants from Stanford University, Google and the City of Torrance, Calif.

A plug-in hybrid system is also under development for midsize and larger vehicles – such as the Honda Accord – for the U.S. by 2012. The plug-in system will be evaluated in 2010, again by the City of Torrance.

Honda also announced a next-generation Honda Civic Hybrid will debut for 2011. The new hybrid will feature a lithium-ion battery, which has a better energy-to-weight ratio compared to the current Civic Hybrid’s nickel-metal-hydride battery. 

The news comes at a time when Honda is falling behind in the hybrid segment. Honda Civic Hybrid sales are down 74.6% this year. While the Insight sales are up 37.2%, the model is only selling at one-sixth the rate of the Toyota Prius, which is the Insight’s closest competitor. 

The 2011 Civic Hybrid announcement is also significant in that it points to a ballpark date for the next-generation gas-powered Honda Civic; until now, we had no idea when to expect the new Civic.

2010|Honda|Civic Hybrid

2010|Honda|Insight

Hill-hold assist automatically applies the vehicle's brakes for 1.5 seconds once you lift your foot off the brake when you're on an incline that’s 5% or steeper. It's part of the Chevrolet Silverado's integrated trailer brake controller, so it will apply the trailer's brakes, too, if it has electric brakes. 

During PickupTruck.com’s testing on a 7.2% grade on July 13, the hill-hold system didn’t engage. The truck rolled backward as soon as we lifted our foot off the brake pedal. 

The issue was traced to an incorrect calibration setting in the hill-hold assist system’s software that was quickly diagnosed, and a fix was rolled out to production by Monday. That’s a remarkably fast update for a production issue, says Jim Hossack, vice president of AutoPacific, an automotive consulting company.

“It’s astounding” that GM could discover and fix an issue like this so quickly, Hossack said. “I think it’s the new GM and technology that wasn’t there a few years ago. It's another feather in GM's cap.” 

A GM engineer we spoke with said fixing an issue like this a few years ago could have taken weeks or months. Now, it’s being fixed in days. 

Although the hill-hold assist calibration settings have been patched in GM’s production HD pickups and trucks waiting to be shipped to dealers, the company is still studying how it will update the software of trucks already in the hands of customers. 

Written by Mike Levine, PickupTrucks.com

2011|Chevrolet|Silverado 2500

2011|Chevrolet|Silverado 3500

2011|GMC|Sierra 2500

2011|GMC|Sierra 3500

The subpoena, issued in late June, is intended to help the panel determine if criminal charges against Toyota are warranted. It asks the automaker to submit documents related to problems with a relay rod, or center link, which is an integral component to the steering assemblage on some solid front axle trucks. The issue was found on 1993-1998 Toyota T100 pickup trucks and on 1989-1995 Toyota 4Runner SUVs.

According to Toyota’s own recall notices from the time, if the wheels on those pickups or SUVs were fully turned while the vehicle was not moving, the relay rod could crack. Toyota issued a recall in 2005 for the above models, and dealers replaced the defective steering components. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration linked the relay rod defect to at least 15 crashes, three deaths and seven injures. 

This is the second subpoena for Toyota in the past year. In February, Toyota was subpoenaed by the grand jury for documents related to unintended acceleration and for more information regarding the Prius’ braking system. 

Federal Jury Subpoenas Details on Toyota's Steering Relay Rod Defect (Washington Post) 

GM’s recent announcement that the Chevrolet Volt will get an extended eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on its battery has prompted Nissan to act. The automaker, which plans to launch its Leaf electric vehicle later this year, has sent electronic surveys asking participants about how long the Leaf’s battery warranty to should be. 

The survey was sent to consumers who have reserved a Leaf with a $99 reservation fee. According to the automaker, that is more than 9,500 people. 

These screens provided by LeafOwner.com show Nissan asking participants to report on the lowest level of warranty coverage they’d accept before not considering the Leaf. The year and mileage on the survey range from 10 years or 200,000 miles to a basic three-year, 36,000-mile powertrain warranty that we see on most cars today. 

Another question asks respondents if five years or 60,000 miles is a good enough to seriously consider a Leaf. Nissan’s survey also asks respondents if they would cancel their reservation if the warranty ended up being five years or 60,000 miles. That sort of makes us think that this is the warranty Nissan was shooting for before GM’s announcement. The survey goes on to ask whether or not an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty would change the buyer’s opinion of the Nissan brand.

Nissan asking prospective Leaf owners how long battery warranty should be (Autoblog Green)

2010|Honda|Civic

For people currently driving ethanol or biodiesel vehicles, this should come in handy with locating the nation’s 2,052 E85 and 659 B20 fuel stations. For earlier adopters of electric and hydrogen vehicles, the locator shows 538 electric charging stations and 56 hydrogen stations nationwide. Owners of the natural-gas-powered Honda Civic GX can choose from 834 stations with the locator. 

The mobile website uses Google Maps to display the fueling stations, contact information and business hours. To search, all you do is enter your current address and the type of alternative fuel. 

You can try the Alternative Fueling Station Locator by clicking here on your smart phone. It works on Android, BlackBerry, iPhone and Palm operating systems. 

Before making a trip to any station on the locator, you should verify that the location is real, open to the public (the locator shows private locations, too) and has the available fuel you need.

Blue Oval execs rolled out the red carpet for Taurus SHO owners last week in Dearborn, MI to welcome 100 privately owned examples and many more enthusiasts to town for the 19th annual national Taurus SHO convention. Ford would love nothing more than to win the approval of the already rabid SHO enthusiast community, many of whom appreciate the performance potential of two turbos and all-wheel drive but aren’t necessarily on board with the new super-sized model. To that end, Ford dropped some not-so-subtle hints on what could be in store for the next SHO, a model rumored to be on deck for 2013.

“The SHO is at the top [of Ford's performance sedan lineup] and we’re going to keep it there,” said Steve Ling, Ford’s North American car marketing manager during a Tuesday lunch presentation at Ford World Headquarters. “365 horsepower is good. 400 is better.”

Advanced Engine Design and Development Engineer Brett Hinds spoke at length about the EcoBoost V6 during the Tuesday presentation, noting that the 3.5-liter engine had the potential for considerably more power, as we’ll likely see later this year between the fenders of the F-150. That version of the EcoBoost will definitely produce more torque than the SHO’s mill, but if the rumors of 400 horsepower for the F-150 are true, a more muscular SHO could indeed be just around the corner.

Photos by Christopher Smith / Copyright (C)2010 AOL

Continue reading Ford hints at 400-HP Taurus SHO and more during annual convention

Ford hints at 400-HP Taurus SHO and more during annual convention originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This. Is. Awesome. Autoblog reader Jason L. over at Second Method Graphic Design has been so kind as to share a couple of skins he’s devised for both the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe and the McLaren MP4-12C in Forza Motorsports 3. Why do we care? Because these particular wraps are a tribute to a certain blog that obsessively covers the auto industry. Call us vain, but there’s something cool about seeing our logo slathered all down the sides of two very lust worthy pieces of metal, even if they only live in the virtual realm.

Maybe we should talk to Cadillac about getting into a long-term tester with a similar theme. Something tells us that McLaren would be somewhat less receptive. Leder says that you can purchase either of the two designs through his Forza storefront for a nominal fee. The guy also has a slew of other very attractive liveries in case you don’t feel like sporting your AB pride on your fenders. It’s fine, we won’t be offended. In fact, might we suggest The Simpsons-inspired Datsun 510 in Mr. Sparkle livery or the Ikea Saab 9-3?

[Source: Second Method]

Reader Submitted: Autoblog-themed Forza Motorsports McLaren MP4-12C and Cadillac CTS-V Coupe originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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