The future is stranger than you think. Fifty years from now, Honda won't be simply an automaker. It'll be an energy provider -- or at least some kind of utility manager. The company has lofty goals, and the introduction of the Honda Fit EV and a plug-in hybrid architecture at the Los Angeles auto show are merely the first steps in a new-energy order.
In some dark corner of office blocs, at some unmarked Honda skunkworks in Japan, men with the 100-year view sketch the advance of the Honda Mobility Network. It's an ambitious plan that integrates cutting-edge, enviro-friendly vehicles, home energy management systems, even solar panels and "micro-cogeneration" technology. Your home, wired by Honda.
"We want to go from less petroleum to zero petroleum," says Honda Global President Takanobu Ito. "Fewer emissions to zero emissions."
But before mounting an eventual Halliburton takeover, Honda first gives us the cars. Making his first LAAS product intro, Ito dropped the covers on the Fit EV Concept and the Honda plug-in hybrid. The former uses the same exoskeleton as the current Fit hatch but draws power from a lithium-ion battery pack and coaxial electric motor. The EPA estimates the Fit EV can travel 100 miles on a charge, but Honda will likely market it with a 70-mile range to reflect real-world driving conditions.
"An EV should offer great utility and be fun to drive," Ito says, and the three drive settings similar to those in the Honda CR-Z will allow drivers to dial in their style, whether it's ultra-eco (increasing range by about 17 percent) or the acceleration-friendly Sport mode. And when it's drained, the battery pack should recharge in less than 12 hours using a conventional 120-volt outlet, and half that duration using a 240-volt port. Drivers will also be able to check the status of a charge or fire up the heater or A/C through a remote key fob or smartphone app.
The plug-in hybrid is, for now, simply an architecture that will underpin a forthcoming model. Gauging from its midsize layout, expect an Accord or perhaps an Acura sedan/crossover -- Honda's preferred tech debut platform -- to bring this concept to market. Its two-mode system is designed for short, frequent, in-city driving under electric power. A 2.0-liter four-cylinder gas engine takes over when the electric motor depletes its 10-15-mile range, dispersing power through an electric CVT.
Honda expects to have both vehicles available in 2012, and plans to start pilot demonstrations with Google, Stanford University and the city of Torrance, California, home to American Honda's headquarters.
It's tempting to dismiss Honda's plans as somewhat whimsical or impractical. But consider that the company debuted an EV -- the EV Plus -- 13 years ago at this same auto show. They put them in the garages of some 300 drivers, who found a barely existent charging infrastructure and an automotive culture enthralled with SUVs. Whether Honda (and to be fair, GM) was ahead of its time, and now sees the rest of the world catching up, remains to be seen.
That was little more than a decade ago. In the ensuing 30 years, we expect to transfer our monthly payment to Honda Energy Systems from the touchscreen of our 700 pound-feet, fuel-cell NSX-V.
hondalvr4life says:
10:06 AM, 11/18/10
That Fit EV concept is a very sharp fit! I hope Honda offers those rims on the updated Fit for 2012 when this EV Fit comes out!