Honda to debut Prius-fighter concept this Thursday
by AutoblogGreen Staff on Sep 2nd 2008 at 1:29PM 
If there's one vehicle that's leading the pack for "Car of the Future, Today," it's the Toyota Prius. The world's most popular hybrid will have it's own plug-in version sooner than expected, but the competition isn't waiting to try and take its hybrid crown. Honda's "Prius fighter" has been talked about for what seems like ages (spy shots here) and we're getting awfully close to seeing the real deal. We already know it'll look something like the fuel cell-driven FCX Clarity, but details beyond that are scarce. We had been told the reveal would happen at the Paris Motor Show next month, but word from Honda is that we'll now see it in just 48 hours when the concept version is revealed on Thursday, Sept. 4th. After that we can view the concept in person at the Paris show, and then the production version is expect to bow at the Detroit Auto Show in January.
Honda will begin selling the car early next year and word is that it will be affordable. While the official MSRP is still a long way off, Honda's UK environmental manager John Kingston told Just-Auto (sub. req'd) that it should not cost more than "traditional cars from rival manufacturers." Hybrid premium, what hybrid premium? On the technical front, the size of the car's revised Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system has been reduced and the lighter powerplant will help push up its MPG numbers. What those are remains a mystery, but Honda is expecting to sell around 200,000 of these puppies a year, with half of those being bought in the U.S. Sounds good, now can we just see the thing already?
[Source: Just-Auto via CarScoop]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joseph 12:25AM (9/04/2008)
I'm counting.
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BillySharps 2:58AM (9/03/2008)
I am really excited!
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Gary 11:26AM (9/03/2008)
How can anyone be excited about another Prius clone on the road?
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BillySharps 7:02PM (9/03/2008)
To answer your question, this car will achieve similar fuel economy as the Prius and it will cost a few thousand dollars less, making the technology more accessible to more people, and helping our country move away from its dependence on oil as a transportation resource.
REC 1:12AM (9/04/2008)
Options! With no competition in this space, innovation lags. If Honda can get this thing selling and put pressure on Toyota, it will spur quicker innovation with both parties.
Not to mention that Honda's offering is supposed to be cheaper and get better mileage!
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BoneHeadOtto 1:55PM (9/03/2008)
Uh Gary you do realize this is autoblogGREEN.com right?
I for one am excited about a cheaper more efficient 5dr hatch. And get ready, the auto industry always copies success and that means the Prius. Plus when aerodynamics are important, cars all start looking similar.
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Felipe 4:33PM (9/03/2008)
Eventhough in Brazil we have ethanol-driven cars, news such as developments in hybrids make us wonder... how nice would it be to have an ethanol+eletric hybrid?
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MS 5:39AM (9/06/2008)
I own a Prius.
It's great to see that Honda or other makers are going for fuel eficient cars.
More competition bring better solutions.
More two years and my car will be 4 years old, time to replace I hope new solutions arrive. I do 4.1 liters /100km, pretty good and hope to reduce in futher models.
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