Honda Civic Hybrid Greenlighted for the Philippines?

**niky** · February 7th, 2006 05:24 PM

Just to put this out in the open, guys. Please don't merge this with the other Civic thread, I think the Hybrid might deserve its own...

The other week, Honda was releasing flyers/teasers for the upcoming 2006 Civic at the Autofocus show. Included were specifications for the upcoming 1.8, 2.0 and 1.3 Hybrid Civic. Though there is a disclaimer at the bottom stating that specs are not final, the flyers were labelled for "reservation purposes".

I'm not sure if Honda is committed 100% to bringing in the Civic Hybrid, but considering that its current US price comes to about 1.1 million (compared to 850-950k for the LX) and it will probably be CBU, it may never be more than a niche car.

What do you guys think, serious, or not? Anyone have an inside line on Honda? Share!

**ghosthunter** · February 7th, 2006 06:09 PM

I think honda's hybrid car ads is their counter-attack to toyota's ads about the Prius.

**gearspeed** · February 8th, 2006 01:54 AM

Wow thats good news sayang hindi ko napanood ang autofocus..Sana pwede test drive..

**squala** · February 8th, 2006 02:16 AM

One who's gunning for an economical car also wants to get it cheap of course. Buyers who are after fuel savings will certainly not feel the economy benefits of the Civic hybrid if it will be priced near an Accord. Those who can afford it might as well settle for the bigger Honda. Besides, if they can afford the car, they can satisfy its lusty thirst.

Hybrid automakers are still finding ways to cut costs in producing this kind of cars.

**AG4** · February 8th, 2006 02:23 AM

being a CBU from Japan plus the importation tax... the Civic Hybrid will obviously cost more than P1.1M...
I guess if people wanted better fuel economy... they'd go for a City 1.3 or 1.5 VTEC.

**ghosthunter** · February 8th, 2006 08:19 AM

I guess the answer of the hybrid car is to the public question of who can make a relatively big sedan with the running cost of a small car.

**niky** · February 8th, 2006 10:30 AM

Yan nga siguro... After calculating the price difference of the Civic 1.3 IMA and the Prius versus the 1.3/1.5 City and inputting the difference in everyday fuel economy, it's hard to make a good case for the hybrids.

Especially since anyone with half-a-brain (I've seen this!) can get over 50mpg out of a City on an economy run in traffic, while some people are getting 70mpg on the highway. (Paul Tiglo's legendary 60 km/l - 140mpg run was probably a freak occurence that may or may not be repeatable).

But much as I dislike hybrids from a pesos and centavos point of view, it would be undeniably cool if they brought them in.

I think Honda should have started with the Accord Hybrid. Charge 2 million, but make it look special, different. That's the one problem the Accord hybrid has in the US... it just doesn't stand out. Which is a shame, as it's relatively fuel efficient for a big car, is very very fast, and it's roomy.

**ghosthunter** · February 8th, 2006 11:17 AM

do that some hybrids aren't designed to save fuel, some are designed primarily to add performance. Nissan's hybrid sedan is an example.

**niky** · February 8th, 2006 12:10 PM

As are the Accord Hybrid... and the Eclipse Concept.

It would be nice to have at least some hybrid tech on regular cars... not the heavy batteries, but cylinder deactivation... on cheaper engines, I mean... with balancing shafts, it's possible that we could run 4 cylinders nowadays as 3 or 2 cylinders during low load conditions to save gas. And Honda's integrated thin starter motor/regenerator/assist motor would be a nice power adder to any car.

Also, electric airconditioning. If they can perfect this, I'd gladly convert my car's AC! (More power!)

**zildjian** · February 8th, 2006 12:43 PM

hybrids may not be attractive for now but analyst are saying that it will be on the rise if oil crisis continues. imagine nga naman kung hindi ka na makakabili ng gaso dahil nirarasyon na at sa sobrang mahal din. well matagal pa naman yata yan so hybrid and alternative fuel running vehicles will be the future.