Perhaps it was doomed from the start - a performance hybrid trapped in the body of a normal-looking Honda Accord. Here you had the power of a 3.0 liter V-6 and an electric motor to boost acceleration but who are ya gonna challenge? That mom w/ kids in the minivan, or that secretary in a Durango? After selling on 5,600 Accord Hybrids in 2006 compared to 349,000 non-hybrid Hondas - that is only 1.6% - Honda management decided to pull the plug.

Well, this presents an opportunity. Honda dealers will want to get rid of these cars if that have any left. It will be a quality build. It has front wheel drive. Fuel economy will be nothing to brag about but it is a hybrid and it will go like hell when flogged. You can sneak up on all kinds of Acuras, Lexi, Infinities, Jags, Bimmers and Benz and quickly pull away, if that is your thing. Think about this car about 5 years from now. It could be king of the road, something Mel Gibson would drive in those Mad Max movies.

Related:

• No hybrid for the new 2008 Honda Accord, diesel in 2009

[Source: Car and Driver]

After the rather dismal sales of the current generation Accord hybrid, Honda has apparently decided not to offer a hybrid version of the new 2008 Accord due this fall. Honda will focus the hybrid applications on smaller cars like the Civic and the new hybrid-only model they have coming for 2009. Larger models like the Accord will instead use Honda's new fifty-state diesel engine that is coming in 2009.

When the hybrid Accord was introduced in 2004 the IMA system was paired up with the V-6 engine instead of the smaller four cylinder. The more expensive Accord was marketed as more of a performance upgrade than an efficiency improvement which proved to be a tough sell. The new self contained emission control system that Honda has developed will not require any Urea injection unlike the BlueTec system developed by Mercedes Benz.

[Source: GreenCarCongress]

I have been having an ongoing email conversation with a man who lives in California about the state of the green automotive choices for someone who fits into the middle-class kind of vehicle, but who wants a sense of style in their car and some driving pleasure. Past vehicles owned by this potential buyer include a hand-me-down Volvo 850 and a Mazda Miata. He is in the market for a new car, and as a reader of AutoblogGreen, would like something environmentally friendly, and possibly a bit "up-market" in appearance. He would also prefer a hatchback for practicality. His claim is that there are no stylish, mid-priced vehicles that fit his needs on American roads today. Is he right? The only logical thing to do is to look at each option, weigh the pros and cons of each and make the best decision possible. Maybe our readership can help pick out a non-economy car that offers style, driving pleasure and is reasonably green.

Please, continue after the break, and help out a fellow reader make a wise decision.

Honda has been making headlines on sites such as ours as of late with the greening of their automotive fleet. Remember, Honda is not exactly a newcomer to the world of green vehicles, their Insight brought them into the hybrid game right from the start. Not only that, the combined fuel economy of their fleet of vehicles is the best in America. They offer hybrid versions of their Civic and Accord, and have been working on their hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for years. They also have CNG versions of the Civic. So, it should come as no surprise that they have won the award as the "Greenest Automaker" for the fourth consecutive year from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Want to know more? Check out this article from The Auto Channel. Don't forget to watch the included video.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

Honda has already announced their intentions to introduce super-clean diesel engines into their lineup starting in 2009. Now comes word from digital buff-book Winding Road that the abysmally slow selling Accord Hybrid may get dropped in favor of a new diesel V-6. The next generation stateside Accord - which might be shown at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show - will get a 2.2-2.4-liter four cylinder first and then later the V-6 would be added. The V-6 will also go in the Ridgeline and other larger vehicles. The Honda diesels will be using their new catalyst technology that produces ammonia on board for treating the NOx emissions, making it maintenance free, unlike the Mercedes BlueTec system. All the upcoming Honda diesels are expected to be 50 state legal.

[Source: Winding Road]

Overall hybrid vehicle sales are showing significant growth in 2006 compared to 2005, but not all the players are celebrating. Honda has only managed to move 4,924 Accord hybrids by the end of October, compared to 15,269 in 2005, a drop of 67.8 percent. The Civic hybrid on the other hand is up 25.3 percent compared to 2005. Price and fuel consumption may be factors in the discrepancy, since the Accord with the V-6 is set up more as a performance enhancement than an economy booster. The Civic is definitely tuned more for mileage with ratings of 49/51 mpg compared to the 28/35 mpg of the Accord Hybrid.

The Prius is down by about 1,000 units so far in 2006 but still dominates the hybrid segment with a 42.5 percent share. The new Camry hybrid which has only been available since May has already sold over 24,000 copies and combines a four cylinder with the electric motor. The other major hybrid player so far is Ford which has also seen very contradictory results. Sales of the Escape hybrid are up 23.5 percent to 16,304 while the identical Mercury Mariner hybrid has only sold 2,793 units this year.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Honda Motor Company has announced plans to build a plant in Mie Prefecture to build components for its hybrid vehicles, the Japan Times reports. The plant will increase Honda's capacity for electric motors to 200,000 per year to match up with Honda's expected sales of 200,000 hybrid units once the company launches its small hybrid in 2009. Honda's banking on the idea that mass production of hybrid components will also lower the overall cost of producing hybrid vehicles. The plant is expected to go online in 2008.

[Source: The Japan Times]