2016 Honda FCev – Driven To Write

Charges Will Apply

Are we never satisfied?

On the face of things, Honda’s Geneva e prototype – a thinly veiled (95% production-ready, we are told) version of the forthcoming production Urban EV, marks not only a refreshing change from the over-decorated norm but also a satisfyingly close approximation of the car Honda showed at Frankfurt 2017 to audible gasps of pleasure from the massed cohort of auto-commentators, this non-attending scribe included.

Because if indeed this broadly represents the form the production version will take (and informed speculation suggests it does), it presents a wildly divergent face to the one Honda currently presents to the world. Continue reading “Charges Will Apply”

Leading the Charge

Electric cars are coming. But when are we going to be presented with one we might actually want to buy?

Coming never to an Audi dealer near you. AiCon. Image: autoblog

During a recent conversation with an automotive design commentator and critic I pointed out that motor manufacturers had so far failed to create a truly desirable electric car. He agreed, suggesting they appear stuck at the Blackberry phase and that their i-phone moment has yet to occur. He isn’t wrong, as this week’s deluge of concepts and production cars illustrates. On one extreme we have Audi’s Frankfurt-fodder Aicon, which as implausible flights of conceptual fancy go, is about on point and on the other we have the 2018 Nissan Leaf, which takes retrenchment to new levels of jaded whatever.

One of the advantages of a pure electric car is that by taking the engine and powertrain out of the equation, the entire architecture of the vehicle can Continue reading “Leading the Charge”

Dream On, Honda

Honda came within touching distance of premium status only to let it slip through their fingers. What happened?

2015-Honda-Civic-Facelift — Even its own mother would disown it – the 2015 Civic

Honda Europe has made a profit just once since 2007, when sales in the region peaked at 313,400 cars. In 2013 sales collapsed to a mere 139,700 cars. What on earth is going on at Japan’s number three motor manufacturer?

During the latter years of the 1980’s Honda appeared poised to make a significant breakthrough in the European market. Perhaps the most engineering-led of mainstream Japanese manufacturers, Honda achieved what its better selling rivals had hitherto failed to manage – credibility. Continue reading “Dream On, Honda”

2016 Honda FCev Design Analysis

In 2013 Honda showed their highly aerodynamic FCev concept car. The production version has been revealed and is surprisingly close in feel to the ’13 car.

The objectives with the FCev are for a vehicle to produce 100kW from its fuel-cell stack and carry four adults. The aerodynamically creased body shell reduces the cD in an overt way we have not seen for two decades. This promises 300 miles of range, which is not so bad if you recall that the Citroen CX GTi got by with a 280 mile range. If you drive an Aston Martin hard you can get considerably less. Continue reading “2016 Honda FCev Design Analysis”