Trident Honda News

Britain's 'greenest' car is the Honda Insight with the 'least green' car being the 8.0 litre Dodge SRT-10, according to the Environmental Transport Association (ETA). It calculates that a year's driving in the Dodge emits the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions as is absorbed by 322 mature trees - the equivalent of an acre of oak forest. The ETA examined over 1,300 models of car currently on sale in Britain and compared their power, emissions, fuel efficiency and the amount of noise they produce to create a definitive guide to buying the 'greenest' vehicle.

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It is with great sadness that we have to say goodbye to our General Parts Manager, Ian Essex, after nearly 30 years of loyal service. One of the bedrocks of Trident Honda, Ian will be sorely missed by all, but we wish him every happiness for his new life in France.

Au revoir Ian!!

The biggest vehicle reliability survey in the country has named the Honda Civic as the most reliable car. The survey, which quizzed the country's largest fleet operators who between them run more than a million vehicles, saw the Civic take top position from its nearest rival the BMW 3 Series.

Honda and BMW were the only two carmakers on the leaderboard, which revealed that Honda made three of the top five most reliable cars and BMW the remaining two.

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The first British-built Honda jazz has rolled off the production line in Swindon.

European production of the Jazz has shifted from Japan to the UK as Honda aims to produce particular models in the continent where they are most popular. More than 70,000 Jazz cars are sold in Europe each year.

David Hodgetts, Director of Honda of the UK Manufacturing in Swindon, said:

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With the Government's scrappage scheme pushing more small cars onto the road, insurance specialist Warranty Direct has revealed the Honda Jazz as one of the most reliable Superminis on the road.

According to data compiled from Warranty Direct's 50,000 UK policies on 4-7 year old cars, only one in 10 of the diminutive Jazz models will break down in the average year.

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Official pictures have been released of the Honda CR-Z concept, the first hybrid with seriously sporting pretensions.

Honda is set to unveil it at this year's Tokyo motor show in late October and, despite the 'concept' tag, Honda sources say that it's nine-tenths production ready and will be in UK showrooms by the summer of 2010.

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Honda is testing reaction to a future rival for the Ford S-Max with a new hybrid concept called the Honda Skydeck.

The sleek MPV is likely to replace the FR-V for Europe, although it has a more conventional three rows of seats instead of the previous car's two benches. The car's proportions are only slightly smaller than those of the Ford, and it is substantially larger than the FR-V in all but width.

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The government is to extend its car scrappage scheme, in an announcement made by Lord Mandelson. He said the scheme, which started in May and gives consumers £2,000 off a new car if they trade in one at least 10 years old, was running out of money.

We cannot do everything but that does not mean doing nothing

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Our managing director Richard Roberts today announced the appointment of James Roberts to the board of directors:

I am very pleased to announce that James Roberts, our Group Used Car Buyer, has been promoted to the role of Director - Used Car Operations with immediate effect. This is in recognition of the role played by James in a vital part of our business.

Please visit our Management Team page for more details.

Official pictures have been released of the new Honda CR-V, which will go on sale in January 2010.

The car will be available with Honda's 2.2-litre i-DTEC engine, which was launched in the Accord last year, for the first time. It produces 148bhp and 258lb ft of torque. It can also be mated to either a manual gearbox or a new, five-speed automatic unit.

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The Honda Insight has been rated one of the UK's safest cars, setting the benchmark for hybrid cars, according to the new independent crash testing results from Euro NCAP.

The Insight is in good company, with the Jazz, Civic and Accord all awarded the maximum five star rating since the introduction of the new rating scheme.

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Honda could be set to launch an all-electric city car at the Tokyo motor show in October, according to reports in Japan.

Honda has long favoured hydrogen fuel-cell technology over all-electric cars, but it could be forced into adopting electric technology due to the slow set-up and huge cost of hydrogen networks around the world.

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This is the first picture of the facelifted Honda CR-V, which will go on sale in Europe next year.

The picture was leaked on to the internet by a Japanese Honda website, which also revealed the car will be unveiled on 17 September.

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Honda has released a special edition Civic Si, which comes with a smattering of sporty add-ons.

The Si grade only applies to the five-door Civic and covers all engine variants. The package includes colour-coded bumpers, front foglights, a Type-R-style mesh grille and dark chrome door handles and fuel cap.

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Honda is pushing ahead with its plans to begin mass-production of its hydrogen fuel-cell-powered FCX Clarity, despite the slow take-up of hydrogen technology.

In the U.S, a key market for hydrogen technology, the Obama administration has publicly backed electric car technology and has consistently distanced itself from creating a hydrogen network.

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Honda Civic Type Rs are to be exported from the UK to Japan from next year. The three-door will be called the Type-R Euro to distinguish it from the four-door Type-R Civics on sale in Japan and will be sold in limited numbers.

The cars are built at Honda's plant in Swindon.

A Honda spokesman said:

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The new Honda Accord has been named as the UK's most reliable car in this year's Which? car survey, it was announced today. The car achieved a reliability score of 99%, one of the highest scores ever achieved; closely followed by the new Honda Jazz in second place with a score of 98%.

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Automotive insurance company Warranty Direct has unveiled its manufacturer reliability index of the most dependable used cars (3-6 years old) for 2009.

Warranty Direct studied the reliability and cost of repair of 250 of the most popular models during the last 12 months. A total of 30 manufacturers from a database of 50,000 policies were analysed.

Honda claimed top spot as the brand least likely to break down with fellow Far East manufacturers Mazda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan and Mitsubishi close behind in the Top 10.

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Honda's new CEO, Takanobu Ito, has announced plans to begin sales of the CR-Z hybrid car in Japan in February 2010. Ito also mentioned that details of a UK release date for the new hybrid will be announced towards the end of 2009.

The Honda CR-Z is the company's sportiest hybrid model yet, with Honda giving it more power and performance than the Insight in a bid to improve the image of hybrids.

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Honda has announced that its FR-V MPV is to be phased out this year. Production of the six-seater will be stopped this summer, with the last Honda FR-V expected to roll off the Japanese Suzuka production line in August.

Honda does not intend to replace the FR-V; the company says it will be able to cover the market with the Insight and Jazz.

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Car Comparator is a fantastic industry leading new tool, available via the Honda website, which allows you to see just how well Honda cars compare against other manufacturers.

It allows you to compare any car on the market for not only price and specification, but other variables including Power, Torque, CO² emissions, MPG, Annual driver BIK tax, Insurance group and VED band.

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Honda has scored top marks in the What Car?/JD Power Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Survey 2009. Following on from its 5-star success in 2008 Honda have again triumphed, with an overall score of 81.7%.

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Mugen Motorsports, Honda's tuning division, is set to release a hardcore Civic Type RR later this year - heralding plans to enhance Honda's entire model range.

Based on the high-revving three-door UK-spec Civic Type-R, the Type RR features a 240bhp engine and track-focused cabin. It is expected to look a lot like the original Civic Type-R concept, revealed in 2006.

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The Honda Insight has been named Green Car of the Year 2009 by the Environmental Transport Association (ETA).

The ETA examined over 1300 models of car currently on sale in Britain and compared their power, emissions, fuel efficiency and even the amount of noise they produce to create a definitive guide to buying the greenest vehicle.

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The New Honda Jazz has been rated one of Europe's safest cars, setting the benchmark for the supermini class, according to the new independent crash testing results from Euro NCAP.

Euro NCAP's new rating scheme focuses on the vehicle's overall safety performance which gives consumers an easy to understand single score. The new system considers occupant protection in frontal, side, pole and rear impacts, child protection, pedestrian protection and the availability of driver aids. The Honda Jazz has been awarded the maximum 5-star rating which follows on from the 5 star results achieved by both the Honda Civic and the Honda Accord.

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TOKYO, Japan, May 11, 2009 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that Insight ranked as the industry's best-selling car among new vehicle registrations* in Japan for the month of April 2009, with sales of 10,481 units (source: Japan Automobile Dealers Association). It is the first time in history for a hybrid model to be the industry's best selling vehicle in Japan for any monthly sales period.

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Honda's Insight is the first hybrid to become the top-selling vehicle in Japan. The car clinched the top sales spot for April, with the Japanese car maker shifting 10,481 units to the home market.

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Honda (UK) has confirmed that it will participate in the UK car scrappage scheme, which starts on Monday 18th May. The UK car industry has put considerable pressure on the government to introduce a scheme to encourage new car purchases and help support UK dealers and manufacturers.

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Honda's FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car has been announced as the World Green Car at the New York International Auto Show.

The FCX Clarity was chosen from an initial entry list of 22 contenders nominated by 59 World Car jurors from 25 countries throughout the world and is the second time Honda has won the award with the Civic Hybrid receiving the same honour in 2006.

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Trident Honda are pleased to announce we are now able to offer test drives in the fantastic new Honda Insight hybrid car.

The original Honda Insight, launched in 1999, was the pioneer of hybrid technology in Europe. The new Insight breaks new ground by providing all the environmental and economical benefits of a hybrid, plus it sells for several thousand pounds below the Toyota Prius. At the same time, the new hybrid should match or exceed the fuel economy of the Prius.

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Following on from recent press reports, we thought you would be interested in the following facts:

• Honda has NOT closed its factory in Swindon for good
• Honda has NOT made job losses and has NOT introduced a voluntary redundancy scheme
• Honda is fully committed to manufacturing in the UK and to date, has invested £1.38 billion in the manufacturing operation at Swindon
• Honda is NOT stockpiling cars destined for UK customers
• Honda is by no means the worst affected in the industry, in fact Honda is one of the few motor manufacturers still in profit
• Honda is fiercely independent and does not accept Government handouts
• Honda has NOT requested or received any Government funds to aid operations, anywhere in the world, even during these unprecedented times

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Honda has today announced the prices of the all-new and highly anticipated Honda Insight. Prices for what is the world's most affordable hybrid are confirmed as follows:

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TOKYO, Japan - Honda announced that global sales of Honda hybrid vehicles passed the 300,000-unit mark on a cumulative basis at the end of January 2009, since the introduction of the first-generation Insight in November 1999.

Honda will unveil its first hot diesel, in the shape of the new Honda Accord Type S, at the Geneva motor show in March, the company has announced.

The Honda Accord Type S will use the same 2.2-litre diesel engine as the standard car, but tweaked to produce an extra 22lb ft of torque and 29bhp more. The power gain is achieved through the use of a larger intercooler and changes to the turbocharger and cylinder head.

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Honda has been voted the best manufacturer for customer service, according to a recent survey.

The UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) surveyed 24,000 people who voted for companies in a variety of different sectors including retail, leisure, finance and utilities.

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Honda welcomes any Government measures aimed at stimulating the UK car market. In particular, we welcome Government support for the automotive supply chain and the skills and training initiatives. As an independent company, Honda's policy is not to request or receive any direct financial support from the Government. For Honda's UK manufacturing operation at Swindon, our plans remain on course to retain our people, their skills and return to full production in June.

Trident Honda are delighted to announce a new variant to the highly acclaimed Honda S2000 model line up, marking the end of production for the award winning sports car.

The Honda S2000 GT Edition 100 is limited to 100 units and has the following unique features;

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Honda has revealed a range of accessories for the new Insight. The exterior pack brings a sporty bodykit, chrome B-pillars and Crystal design alloy wheels.

Interior upgrades include ambient lighting for the footwells and centre console, as well as a Honda-branded portable sat-nav that mounts to the dash. Further details and prices will be available later in the year.

Honda has announced that it will discontinue production of the S-2000 sports car by the end of June 2009. The S-2000 is still a highly respected sportscar, and this truly marks the end-of-an-era. It is believed that the credit crunch, the moving environmental goals, and the eagerly anticipated launch of the hybrid Honda CR-Z have combined to bring about the demise of the S-2000.

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Trident Honda is now on YouTube. We plan to start adding videos and selecting favourite videos from YouTube to share. There isn't much content yet, but please do subscribe, so that you can see the new content as it arrives.

Read how Autoexpress got on with their first drive of the forthcoming Honda Insight:

The restructuring of Honda's new model programme that led to the death of the new Honda NSX is much more extensive than previously thought. Honda is completely dismantling its plans for the next two years as it attempts to deal with the decline in new car sales across the world.

Among the casualties of Honda's rethink are a range of rear-wheel-drive cars to be sold under the Acura brand, a proposed V8 engine, a successor to the Honda S2000 and a convertible based on the forthcoming Honda CR-Z coupé.

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Official pictures of the UK-spec Honda Insight hybrid have leaked onto the web ahead of this weekend's Detroit motor show.

The UK version of Honda's new 'affordable hybrid' differs only slightly from the production-ready US model unveiled at the end of last year, with new clear indicator lenses and conventional round fog lights.

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