Honda Mileage Marathon winner beats official mpg figure

The winner of Honda’s Mileage Marathon challenge for fleet drivers recorded an average of 63.6mpg in a Honda Insight, beating the official economy figure of 61.4 mpg (combined).
The challenge involved six high mileage company car drivers swapping their existing cars for a Honda Insight for a month, to see if the hybrid could reduce their fuel costs.

E-ON company car driver, Ray Hadlington, usually drives a Vauxhall Zafira Diesel. He improved his typical fuel economy by over 10mpg, which saved nearly £50 in fuel bills over the month.

“Fuel prices are likely to rise again due to the weaker pound, and with the recent increase in duty, fleets will be looking at how they can reduce their fuel costs,” says Graham Avent, Manager – Corporate Sales at Honda (UK). “The results of this challenge show how switching the average company car driver into a Honda hybrid could save around £600 in fuel annually, or £1,800 over a 3-year contract.” *

As the CO2 emissions of the Insight are just 101g/km it sits in the lowest 10% Benefit in Kind (BIK) band. This means that company car tax starts from just £28 a month.

“Driving the Honda Insight was really no different from driving my Zafira, but the dashboard graphics reminded me to ease off the accelerator a little more than usual,” said winner Ray Hadlington. “The Benefit in Kind cost saving is probably the hardest element for me to ignore.”

Fleets taking on the Honda Insight also stand to benefit from low whole life costs due to a combination of solid residual values, low SMR and low fuel costs. In addition, Insight has low Class 1A National Insurance contributions and is exempt from the London congestion charge.

Source;
http://www.automotoportal.com/article/honda-mileage-marathon-winner-beats-official-mpg-figure

Honda changes course and switches from diesel back to hybrid

A few years back after getting the hybrid ball rolling with the original Insight and then Civic, Honda added a hybrid version of the Accord. Like the Insight, it was not a strong seller and, after a few years, it was discontinued and Honda decided to switch its focus for larger vehicles to clean diesel. The plan was to keep hybrids in smaller cars and while using oil burners in larger cars, SUVs and vans. Honda had planned to start its U.S. diesel push with a 2.2-liter four in the TSX this year. However, after diesel prices spiked last year and the overall market collapsed in the fall, that program was canceled.

Honda CEO Takeo Fukui has now revealed that plans for larger diesel engines have also been canceled as a result of the cost of trying to meet new U.S. and Japanese emissions regulations. Honda had hoped that its in-house developed NOx catalytic convertor would allow it to avoid using urea injection. Instead, Fukui said the company will develop a hybrid system suitable for larger vehicles. No timetable has been revealed for introduction. Fukui also said that Honda would not drop the price of the Insight in response to Toyota's price cuts on the Prius in Japan.

Source;
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/04/03/honda-changes-course-and-switches-from-diesel-back-to-hybrid/