The new Honda City 2009 looks promising with a redesigned front exterior that is inspire by the FCX Clarity. The interiors feature a neat dash with a clean and simple instrument cluster and center stack. The new headlamps feature reflector lenses which are less expensive than projector type.

Behind the steering wheel are paddle shifters for the automatic transmission. A 120-horespower 1.5 liter four-cylinder i-VTEC engine will provide power to the new City. This engine is also available on the Fit and Jazz models.

Here are some great sneak photos of the new 2009 Honda City:

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Gas prices may be on the decline for now but there is no reason why you should not find ways to save on fuel costs. With a few easy to do practices, you can significantly improve your gas mileage and start saving up on gas expenses. Here are some effective gas mileage tips:

Be an efficient driver – Avoid aggressive driving habits such as speeding, rapid acceleration and excessive braking as these can lower your gas mileage anywhere between 5-33%. Always observe the speed limit; the gas mileage of a vehicle significantly lowers at speeds of above 60mph. Remove unnecessary heavy items in your vehicle as this can also reduce your MPG. When running short errands such as picking up the kids, or going to the drive-thru, avoid excessive idling as this also wastes gas. Use cruise control and overdrive gear.

Maintain your car in good shape – Keeping your engine properly tuned is probably the most practical way to save gas. Not only will you improve gas mileage, you also improve your car’s safety and longevity. Meanwhile, regularly replacing the air filters, an often neglected part of the vehicle, can increase your gas mileage by as much as 10%. You should also keep an eye on the wheels. By keeping them inflated to the proper pressure, they can help you improve gas mileage by as much as 3.3%. Furthermore, using the manufacturer’s recommended grade of motor oil can slash 1-2% from your gas consumption.

Plan and combine your trips – combining trips and errands will help you not only save gas money but also on time. With a little planning and scheduling, you can reduce the distance you need to travel as well as the frequency of these trips which translates to lower gas consumption.

Choose a fuel-efficient vehicle – The era of gas-guzzling SUVs and monster trucks is gone. When in the market for a new car, make fuel efficiency your main yardstick when selecting and comparing vehicle models. To help you with this, here are the Most Fuel-Efficient Vehicles of the 2008 Model Year.

Source: fueleconomy.gov

General Motors announced that it will invest half a billion dollars to build and develop a new compact sized car, the Chevrolet Cruze. The Cruze is set to be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor show this October. It will be built at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio plant which also assembles the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5.

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner said the Cruze would be a significant step toward ending the automaker’s reliance on big trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUV). The Cruze will replace the Cobalt, the most fuel-efficient compact car in the US and one of GM’s top selling vehicles.

GM says the Cruze will get 46 miles per gallon, a good 9 miles more than the Cobalt. It will go on sale in Europe and Asia by 2009, with a North American debut slated for 2010.

Via Forbes

The Tiguan, Volkswagen’s compact sport utility vehicle (SUV), is the Top Safety Pick for 2008 of the Insurance Institute for Highway Travel. The award is the highest rating from the non-profit research organization. It recognizes the vehicles that perform best in passenger safety through a series of evaluations: front, side and rear crash tests. Only vehicles with electronic stability control and head protection airbags are included in the tests.

According to Adrian Lund, IIHS president, the Tiguan earned top marks in the front and side crash tests without a single downgrade for structure or measures of injury likelihood recorded on the dummy. “We are extremely proud when organizations like IIHS recognize the hard work of our engineers who are dedicated to the safety of our customers,” said Stephfan Jacoby, president and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America. “This award is further validation of Volkswagen’s Prevent and Preserve Safety System approach to vehicle safety.”

The Prevent and Preserve Safety System consists of 45 safety features that help protect the driver and passengers as well as avoid crashes or keep the severity and consequences of possible crashes to a minimum. The Tiguan comes standard with the Prevent and Preserve Safety System, including ESP and six airbags, with rear seat airbags as an option. Tiguan, the GTI of Compact Sport Utility Vehicles, also features the “fun to drive” handling and performance expected from a Volkswagen.

Via IIHS

Traffic-related fatalities in the United States dipped to a record low in 2007 with 1.37 deaths for every 100 million miles travelled. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were a total of 41,056 traffic deaths last year, a decline of 1,600 from 2006. This is the lowest on record for more than a decade.

The state of California enjoyed the biggest decline of 266 fewer fatalities than the previous year while North Carolina’s death toll increased by 121 fatalities over the past year. “Thanks to safer vehicles, aggressive law enforcement and our efforts, countless families were spared the devastating news that a loved one was not coming home,” Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said.

With improved features such as side airbags and electronic stability control, vehicles are safer than ever. Another important factor in the decline of traffic deaths is gas prices and an overall sluggish economy. As fuel prices continue to soar, Americans are driving less than ever which lowers the chances of fatal road accidents.

Source: CNN
Photo Credit: bigmikelakers

Aiming squarely at the market-leading Toyota Prius, Honda Motor Co. will introduce a new gas-electric hybrid by April of 2009. Honda already has the most fuel-efficient lineup in the US. “We’re targeting sales of 100,000 units of this new vehicle in North America,” said Richard Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. in a speech at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars.

The new Honda dedicated hybrid model will be priced lower than the Prius while offering superior performance in the hope of cutting through the market share of Toyota’s popular hybrid. It will also be priced lower than the hybrid gas-electric version of the Civic. Smaller than the Honda Civic, the new five-door car will feature a hybrid powertrain. Colliver further added that Honda wants to make the hybrid affordable to a new generation of buyers and it is not specifically trying to match Prius sales.

The automaker has not yet released fuel economy figures for the new hybrid. It will sell the new Prius competitor in the US, Japan and Europe. A new hybrid version of the Honda Fit has also been announced.

Via International Herald Tribune

The groundbreaking BMW Hydrogen 7, the first hydrogen-powered luxury sedan will join other hydrogen-powered cars in the 2008 Hydrogen Road Tour. The tour will take the convoy of environment-friendly cars across the country from Portland, Maine to Santa Monica, California. The goal of the tour is to call on congressional leaders to support the creation of nationwide hydrogen fuelling station infrastructure.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 stores liquid hydrogen to power its internal combustion engine, the only car on the tour to have this functionality. Since hydrogen produces zero emissions, it is one of the cleanest energy sources available. In fact, the Hydrogen 7’s tailpipe emission is water vapor, which recent studies confirm to be safe enough to drink as it is well within the limits set by the US Environmental Protection Agency for safe drinking water standards.

The tour will also include a mono-fuel version of the BMW Hydrogen 7 that features a V12 internal combustion engine which runs exclusively on hydrogen. The mono-fuel Hydrogen 7 was created to demonstrate the zero CO2 and low emissions potential and feasibility of a dedicated hydrogen internal combustion engine. The Hydrogen 7 mono-fuel doesn’t only produce close to zero emission; it actually helped clean the air.

The 2008 Hydrogen Road Tour will run from August 11 to 23 and is in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, the California Fuel Cell Partnership and the National Hydrogen Association. In addition to BMW, participants include Daimler, GM, Honda, Hyundai-Kia, Nissan, Toyota, and VW. Also part of this broad coalition are hydrogen fuel providers Linde, BMW’s hydrogen fuel partner for the Tour, and Air Products.

Via The Auto Channel

The Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the Top Safety Pick award for 2008 to the Audi Q7, a luxury performance SUV. The luxury performance SUV came out on top as it received a ‘good’ rating in all three crash tests: side impact, offset frontal, and rear impact seat tests.

The Q7 isn’t the only Audi recognized this year for outstanding vehicle safety ratings. The Audi A3, A4 and A6 have also been recognized as Top Safety Picks for 2008, giving Audi the honor of having the most Top Safety Pick designations for any luxury automaker for 2008.

To achieve the Top Safety Pick honors, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of good in the Institute’s front, side and rear tests. The vehicle should also be equipped with electronic stability control. Audi offers this safety feature as standard on every model it rolls out.

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Over the past two years, Ford has achieved significant improvements in vehicle quality, making its vehicles some of the best in the industry in terms of quality. Now that the domestic auto industry is in a slump, Ford isn’t taking any chances. The automaker has set an aggressive new target – best-in-class initial quality for compact cars the company will launch in North America by 2010.

“We aim to launch our new compact vehicles at 800 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles,” said Bennie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president, Global Quality. “That’s more than 500 TGWs less than the predicted industry average — and we believe these levels will ensure our upcoming small cars will achieve industry-best initial quality.”

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Hyundai has indeed come a long way from being the butt of jokes in its early years in the American market. The fuel-efficient Hyundai Accent was recently named the most dependable sub-compact car by J.D. Power and Associates in its 2008 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS). The highly regarded study measures problems experienced by original owners of three-year-old (2005 model year) vehicles.

The study is based on the responses of more than 52,000 owners of new vehicles bought between November 2004 and April 2005. The Accent registered only 187 problems per 1000 cars, an improvement of more than 20% over the 2007 results. The Accent’s scores were boosted by measured improvements in the engine, climate control and seating categories.

This is the highest ranking ever for the Accent, but the honor doesn’t rest solely on the sub-compact car. Hyundai as a brand made dramatic improvements in its overall dependability scores, such as:

The number of problems per 100 vehicles over the entire product lineup dropped 28 points to 200, a 14 percent improvement over 2007, almost tripling the industry average improvement of 10 points.

In the “non-premium” segment, Hyundai improved from 13th place to sixth place.

Hyundai’s score placed it 13th among the 38 nameplates measured in the study and placed it ahead of the industry average for the first time.

Each product in the Hyundai product portfolio improved over last year.

Via The Auto Channel