Honda Stream RSZ Facelift now in Malaysia

I still think this vehicle would do well here in North America....
Honda has brought in the new facelifted version of the Honda Stream RSZ. Of course being facelifted there are changes with the vehicle’s looks.

The front end has a new honeycomb design with a chrome bar going through the middle of it, similiar to the Accord Modulo grille. The bumper design is also new, and there are side skirts for the side profile. Thankfully 17 inch alloys have been provided as when the Stream first came out, the alloys were rather small compared to the rest of the car’s sporty demeanor which looked a little odd.

On the rear, the bumper now has a diffuser insert design, and there is a tailgate spoiler. The tailgate has a black garnish around the individual rear lamps. The wing mirrors now have turn signals.

Personally I feel the best change in the facelift is the addition of VSA stability control to the Stream, which is a definite plus point in raising the safety level of the Stream. A typical Stream driver who only carries full loads of 7 people during the weekends may not be used to the different vehicle dynamics and VSA may be able to catch him out of a tight spot, touch wood. Other than VSA, suspension settings have also been improved for better comfort.

On the interior you get a leather gear knob, and a leather steering wheel, both of which come with leather stitching. The rest of the interior is done up with black and red upholstery. The instrumentation panel, speedometer, air conditioning controls, and cupholders have red illumination instead of the ’standard’ Stream’s blue illumination. The styling seems extremely skewed to a certain type of young 30s buyer who has to get an MPV but still wants to stay true to his ’sporty’ heart. You know, the kind that probably wishes the turbocharged grey import Toyota Caldina GT4 comes with 7 seats instead of 5.

But performance will not match its sporty looks. Under the hood is the R18 engine similiar to the one used in the Civic 1.8 making 140 PS and 174 Nm of torque, mated to Honda’s dual-overdrive 5-speed automatic transmission.

Source (with more pics);
http://paultan.org/2009/11/07/honda-stream-rsz-facelift-now-in-malaysia/

Japan's 2009 Honda Stream facelift

Here's a pic of a vehicle that I know a lot of you would like to have here in North America. At one point it looked like this small 7 seater 4cyl van was on it's way, but that looks to have changed to an Accord wagon this fall.
Source;
http://www.carspyshots.net/showthread.php?t=17349

4 Hybrids and 2 Diesels on the Way for Honda

2009 Honda FIT (2011 FIT Hybrid?!?) Nice.
Honda CRZ.
The Global Honda Hybrid, incorrectly termed 2010 Insight.
2010 Honda Stream/Latitude.

Honda seems to be the only major automaker making it through the tough times of high gasoline prices and for the future the Japanese automaker plans to keep doing what its doing - keeping compact and green. Honda plans to offer more hybrid and diesel technology in its future lineup which will also get smaller.

“A smaller minivan could fit into Honda’s future,” Dan Bonawitz, vice president for corporate planning and logistics at American Honda Motor Co., told Automotive News. ”Ultimately, there will be a lot more smaller cars. The U.S. will look a lot more like Europe.”

So far dealers are waiting on the arrive of the redesigned 2009 Honda Fit. A hybrid version of the Fit will arrive in 2011. Of course let’s the five-door hatchback that’s been keeping Honda in the headlines recently. The dedicated-hybrid model will arrive next year as a 2010 model year and will cost below $20,000.

Both of those hybrids will be followed by the Honda CR-Z hybrid that is due out in late 2011. The CR-Z will be followed by a redesigned Civic and Civic Hybrid along with a diesel powered Accord. The diesel engine will also make its way in the CR-V in 2010.

As for the gas-guzzling and larger models - the S2000 roadster’s future is unclear after sales have fallen off dramatically. The new redesign Pilot just hit the market this year and Honda has already cut production of the new SUV.

The Honda Ridgeline was just refreshed for the 2009 model year - the Element will see a redesign in 2010 along with the Odyssey. Another minivan, the Japanese Honda Stream, is expected to be imported to the U.S. by 2010 as a rival to the Mazda5.

Source; http://www.automotivenews.com/ subscription needed.

Honda considering bringing Japanese models to the U.S.

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co., encouraged by U.S. demand for Fit subcompacts, is reviewing its Japanese lineup for other possible imports as near-record fuel prices spark interest in cars once viewed as too small or quirky.

"There are a couple of things that we are looking at again, whether they make sense right now,'' Dan Bonawitz, Honda's U.S. vice president for corporate planning, said in an interview yesterday, without naming specific models.

The U.S. introduction of the Fit in 2006, five years after its Japan debut, is helping Honda post gains in 2008 even as a slowing economy and gasoline that topped $4 a gallon erode industrywide demand. U.S. sales of the hatchback, rated at 30 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, jumped 73 percent through last month.

Those gains contributed to making Honda the only major automaker to expand U.S. sales this year. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are now also considering bringing in small cars designed for overseas markets.

Honda has studied the compact Stream wagon and a Japanese version of the Odyssey minivan that would be categorized as a station wagon in the U.S., Bonawitz said in an interview in Malibu, California. He declined to say whether either would be added to Honda's U.S. lineup.

The automaker is also benefiting from demand for fuel- efficient Civic small cars and four-cylinder Accords. Honda's U.S. sales have grown 3.2 percent this year, compared with an 11 percent industrywide decline through the first seven months.

The company won't rush any Japan market models to the U.S. until it's confident current U.S. patterns are likely to continue, said Bonawitz, who manages a team of U.S. product planners.
"We've got a fairly long-term product plan laid out and we're going to try to stick with that,'' Bonawitz said.

The company's U.S. headquarters are in Torrance, California.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net.

2009 or 2010 ?!? Honda Stream/Latitude

I get enough inquiries about this van that is currently not available in North America but has been rumoured to be brought aboard for the 2009 or 2010 model year (2009 seems unlikely, I haven't seen anything in Honda's ordering for the 2009 model matrix, although they could bring this vehicle over in limited supply and just 'drop ship' the vehicles into our inventory).

This is a van that would make a whole lot of sense for North America right now, people are looking for economical people-movers, and it doesn't get much better than the 1995-1998 Honda Odyssey (which is esentially what this van still is-a 4 cylinder, 7 passenger van).

Based on what Honda brought over to the malaysia, here is what I think will be brought over to us in North America;

-1.8 or 2.0 Litre sohc i-vtec engine with 140 - 160 horse power - 5-speed automatic transmission, with 4th and 5th being overdrive gears for better highway gas mileage.

-Front wheel drive

-Electric power steering and drive by wire throttle system

-MacPherson struts with a new side cancellation spring at the front, while the rear uses a compact reactive-link double wishbone.

-15" or 16" tires

-Tilt and telescopic steering wheel

-Air conditioning with micron filter

-Cruise Control

-Anti-lock Brake system with electronic brake distribution

-Front, side, and curtain airbags

-Available DVD and Navigation packages

-Both the second and third row seats can be folded down individually for a flexible seating configuration.

-Traction control with Vehicle stability assist

-Cd player with Mp3 playback and Auxillary input for i-pods etc.

-Keyless remote entry

-I hope they keep the 4-door aspect! (not a huge fan of sliding side doors).

-I'd expect a EX-L (leather package) with heated front seats.

Anyway, I think this van would be a sure winner in our market.

Here's a link to Honda's website on the van;

http://www.honda.net.my/models/stream.cfm

The Honda "FREED"

Well, alot of us in North America have been waiting for Honda to release a smaller van like the Honda Stream, but it looks like Honda may be switching gears a little bit. This is the Honda Freed, based on the newly redesigned Honda FIT. It appears that the vehicle may come in 2 different seating configurations, one with 2nd row bucket seats seating up to 6 (or 7?) and one with a 2nd row bench seating for up to 7 (or 8?). No word on what engine they would put in it, though it seems unlikely that they'd leave the 1.5 litre 109hp FIT engine. Could this be the 1.8 litre that the Civic gets?