When most people think of a custom Honda Civic, clear lenses on the tail lamps, a lowered suspension and a big 'ole coffee-can exhaust pipe probably come to mind. When Mike Turner set out to design his own custom Civic, though, the only thing that his vision shared with most others is an esthetically-challenged body kit. In the case of the Aerocivic, the homemade body kit in question extends the nose and tail of the vehicle in an airfoil shape of sorts and adds hinged wheel skirts around the previously exposed tires. As we mentioned the last time we showed you this car, the Aerocivic's owner claims pretty radical fuel economy figures due to his modifications. The video at this link explains that Turner is able to achieve seventy miles per gallon while cruising at highway speeds and using hypermiling techniques. If Turner's estimates are accurate, four-hundred dollars, some elbow grease and a few gawkers questioning your sanity are all that stand between you and a super-economical Aero-car of your very own.

[Source: WCNC, h/t to Darin at Metro MPG]

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IKEA isn't the only one. One hundred Honda Civic hybrids will soon be added to the British Airways UK ground vehicle fleet. Honda announced today that it has completed a deal with BA for the hybrids, one of the largest hybrid fleet contracts in the UK and the cars will be delivered this summer. Honda's press release (available after the jump) says these hybrids will help each driver cut "CO₂ emissions by one tonne per year." This number comes from the airline and Masterlease, which calculates the hybrids will reduce CO₂ emissions from three tons a year to two compared to the unnamed vehicles they are replacing. The Civic hybrid is a good seller in the UK, and Honda's most recent numbers say that corporate sales are up 295 percent in 2008 vs. the same period in 2007. Thus far, Honda has sold 537 Civic hybrids - which get 61.4 mpg on the EU cycle and emit just 109 grams of CO₂ per kilometer - in 2008.

We've been over the Civic Hybrid which was decorated by Panic At The Disco before, along with the dates and locations where fans of the band (or the car) can pick up the associated tour. Therefore, this is just a friendly reminder that the tour itself started on Friday, April 10. We'd likely have forgotten all about it ourselves if it hadn't been for the press release (pasted after the break, naturally) issued by Honda on the matter. If you don't yet have tickets and want to pick them up, you still have time. Not all dates are sold out yet and the tour is running through June 14.

While we're on the subject, we may as well chime in that PATD's new record, Pretty. Odd. (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen), is currently available as well.

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While Porsche and London duke it out over emissions rules and Saab worries about biofuels in the UK, Honda is going about selling more hybrids. The company announced that sales of the Civic Hybrid are up by 206 percent in the first few months of 2008 (compared to when, Honda doesn't say). The low-emission car - it emits just 109 grams of CO₂ per km - is an appealing choice in a place where being under the 120 threshold is important for tax purposes. The lower a vehicle's emissions, the lower the taxes.

[Source: Honda]

You might not know it, but the Honda Civic GX is immensely popular these days. You couldn't get one of these compressed natural gas-powered cars is you wanted one, according to Green Car Advisor over at Edmonds. The best you could do is put their name on a waiting list that currently will get you a GX around June (only Honda dealers in California and New York sell the Civic GX to normal customers).

Edmonds write that Honda is thinking about doubling the number of GXs it makes each year (currently 1,000) and that for most of the past decade, Honda sold around 700 of these cars each year. GX buyers make some sacrifices when they opt for the GX over the base (and gasoline-powered) LX - less power and a higher MSRP - but demand for the gasoline-free cars is still shooting up thanks mostly to the cheap cost of natural gas. The carpool sticker offer probably helps driver sales as well, but Honda'll take our money whatever the reason.


Related:

• Natural gas-fueled cars proving popular in Utah
• Video: natural gas Honda Civic re-fueling

[Source: Green Car Advisor]

Honda doesn't offer any flex-fuel vehicles in North America or Europe, focusing on hybrids and, in the near future, diesels instead in these markets. This doesn't mean they are ignoring ethanol altogether. The biggest market for ethanol is in Brazil where drivers have been using sugar-cane ethanol since at least the early 1980s. Honda is now offering flex-fuel versions of both the Civic and Fit in the Brazilian market and, unlike US FFVs, they are optimized to run on E100 which is unavailable as a fuel here (read more on E100 in Brazil here).

[Source: 4WheelsBog]

Honda announced today that it is speaking with officials in India about regulations that will allow gas-electric hybrids - i.e., the Honda Civic hybrid - to be sold in that country. Reuters is reporting that India could be a great market for hybrids, because "Indian drivers are some of the most fuel- and cost-conscious in the world, and are increasingly choosing diesel-powered cars over gasoline due to their superior efficiency."

The problem, for now, is that India doesn't have any regulations about hybrid cars, and Honda is working with the ministry of heavy industries to figure out how and for how much hybrids will be sold there. In the U.S., the government subsidizes hybrid sales with tax credits, and Honda is looking for something similar in India to offset the higher cost of the hybrid powertrain.

[Source: Reuters]

Webster's dictionary defines pretentious as "expressive of affected, unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature." Which brings us to the video above, an ad for the Honda Civic hybrid. The ad features two drivers: one driver is balding and litters, the second driver is full-haired and picks up after the first. I found the ending to the ad to be quite funny. To further, ahem, drive home the point, the music for the ad is from the TV show the Odd Couple.

So, does this ad over-exaggerate the differences between hybrid and non-hybrid drivers or are all hybrid drivers full-haired Felix Ungers?

[Source: Adrants]

All the way back in December of last year, ABG blogger Mike Magda was able to arrange a test drive of the Honda Civic GX, which is the version of the car which runs on natural gas. Mike shared a few thoughts with us about the car which you can find here. But, what would it be like to live with the car for an extended period of time? Hopefully, we'll all be able to figure some of that out with the assistance of Edmunds Inside Line, which has one of the GX's in their long-term fleet of cars. Additionally, they plan on getting a personal CNG filling station installed so that they can fill the car up at their convenience. This brings up one potential issue with the car: the lack of filling stations. The editors at Inside Line promise to keep us up-to-date on the issues they have with the car, so let's all follow along for the ride.

Related:

• LA Auto Show: Honda Civic GX quick test drive

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]