Word: honda
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...fair to say that environmentalism is existential at Honda. "We are car producers," says Takeo Fukui, Honda's CEO. "As long as we're doing business producing cars, we need to resolve the environmental problems that arise from what we produce...
...Fukui designed Honda's thrifty CVCC engine, which met the emission standards of the 1970 Clean Air Act without an expensive catalytic converter. It made Honda the brand of choice for early environmentalists. "Honda has always been the leader in environmental technology," says Dan Sperling, director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at University of California at Davis...
...that changed with hybrids. Although Honda launched the Insight, which had gas mileage superior to its main competitor, the Toyota Prius, the latter vehicle seized the public imagination, thanks to better drivability and better marketing. "In North America, Honda got caught with its pants down on hybrids," says Eric Noble, head of the auto-consulting company the CarLab. "They've been badly eclipsed by Toyota on looking green...
That's why Honda is so eager to make the next green breakthrough, spending billions to develop everything from a new form of ethanol production that can utilize the waste parts of plants to a fuel-efficient minijet. But the design that might have the best chance of making an immediate difference is a throwback: Honda's clean diesel car engine. Diesel is the choice of fuel-guzzling 18-wheelers, but it burns as much as 30% more efficiently than gasoline. It's also dirtier. But last month Honda unveiled an engine that uses a new catalytic converter to block...
...Honda may have the technology, but it still needs to sell it. Dominated by engineers, Honda can sometimes outthink itself, creating cars that are more appealing in the design lab than on the dealer's lot, like the clunky Insight. "Toyota may have engineers that aren't as smart as Honda's, but they are certainly better at listening to consumers," says Noble. John Mendel, senior vice president for American Honda, notes that there are "robust conversations" between the design and the sales sides but says the emphasis on conservation means that Honda has long anticipated consumer desires. "We were...