Honda to Become First Automaker in Brazil to Undertake Wind Power Generation

-Generating Renewable Energy to Cover Entire Electricity Needs for Local Automobile Production-

SÃO PAULO, Brazil, April 25, 2013 - Honda Automoveis do Brasil Ltda. (HAB), the Honda automobile production and sales subsidiary in Brazil, today announced plans to invest in wind power generation to be more proactive in using renewable energy to minimize the environmental footprint of its business activities. HAB will be the first automobile manufacturer in Brazil to invest in wind power generation.

With a goal to begin the operation in September 2014, Honda will build a wind farm in the city of Xangri-lá in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil (approximately 1,000 km south of HAB's automobile production plant in Sumaré, São Paulo). Equipped with nine wind power turbine units, the wind farm is expected to generate approximately 85,000 MWh of electricity per year, equivalent to HAB's annual electricity needs for automobile production. By generating renewable energy to cover the entire electricity needs of the plant, HAB is expecting to reduce CO₂emissions by approximately more than 2,200 t annually. The total investment in this wind farm is expected to be approximately 100 million Brazilian reais (approximately 4.6 billion yen*).

In order to evolve wind power generation business in Brazil, HAB established a new subsidiary, Honda Energy do Brasil Ltda., specialized in wind power generation business. Honda Energy do Brasil Ltda. will be responsible for the management and operation of all areas related to Honda's wind power generation business in Brazil.

About Honda Energy do Brasil Ltda.

Establishment:	March 21, 2013
Capital Investment:	1,000 reais (approximately 46,000 yen*)
Capitalization Ratio:	99.99% Honda Automoveis do Brasil Ltda. 0.01% Others
Representative:	Carlos Eigi, President
Number of wind turbines:	9 units (1 unit: maximum output of　3MW)
Generation capacity:	Maximum output of 27MW (9 units total)

Comment by Carlos Eigi, president of Honda Energy do Brasil Ltda.

"Ever since Honda began local production in Brazil in 1976, Honda has been cooperating with the local community and striving to minimize the environmental footprint of our production activities. Wind power generation has proven to be very effective in reducing CO₂ emissions. Through the utilization of renewable energy, Honda will continue to be proactive in pursuing environmental conservation activities in Brazil."

Honda has set a target to reduce CO₂ emissions from its global products by 30 percent by the end of 2020 compared to year 2000 levels. Striving to attain this goal, Honda has been strengthening its initiatives on a global basis to reduce CO₂emissions from all business activities, including production and the supply chain.

*

Calculated based on the exchange rate of 1 Brazilian real = 46 yen

Honda LaneWatch™ Blind Spot Display Wins A 2013 VIP (Very Innovative Products) Award from Good Housekeeping

Innovative system helps the driver locate objects in the right-side blind spot

Honda's LaneWatch™ blind spot display has won a Good Housekeeping 2013 "Very Innovative Products" (VIP) Award, the only automotive product to earn this distinction for 2013 and one of only nine innovative new product winners overall. 

Good Housekeeping's 2013 VIP award winners were chosen from more than 1,500 new products evaluated by the scientists and engineers at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute during the past year in the magazine's state-of-the-art product-testing laboratory. Before any product can be named a VIP award winner, it must also pass the Research Institute's evaluations for performance and safety.

Debuting on the all-new 2013 Accord, which recently achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) new TOP SAFETY PICK+ designation, and now also available on the versatile 2013 Crosstour, LaneWatch uses a camera mounted on the passenger-side mirror to display real-time images of the vehicle's right-side blind spot on an 8-inch color dashboard display. The image appears when the right turn signal is activated, or when a button on the end of the turn signal stalk is pressed.

"LaneWatch is an intuitive visibility technology that represents the sort of innovation that consumers have come to expect from Honda," said Mike Accavitti, vice president of national marketing operations, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Automotive products don't often win Good Housekeeping's VIP awards, and that makes it even sweeter to have LaneWatch listed among the best new consumer products of 2013."

The typical field of view for a passenger-side mirror is approximately 18 to 22 degrees, but the LaneWatch field-of-view is about four times greater, or approximately 80 degrees. The system helps the driver to see traffic, as well as pedestrians, bicycles or other objects in the vehicle's blind spot. To help make judging distance easier, the display has three reference lines. Drivers are encouraged to visually confirm roadway conditions prior to changing lanes.

What's your take on Honda's #LaneWatch ?

Let us know!

Honda Odyssey's New Onboard Vacuum

A Honda Odyssey with a vacuum cleaner? What' s not to love?

Surprisingly, the idea came from the 6 year-old daughter of a Honda engineer.  While on a family road trip in her family's Honda Odyssey, she lamented there was no vacuum cleaner aboard to clean up her spilled food.  Her father, a Honda engineer, brought the idea to the company's development team.  Three years later, Honda has installed a vacuum cleaner in the Touring Elite trim level of its 2014 Odyssey due at dealerships this summer called the HondaVac.

While you may find this to be a humdrum advancement, any parent who has ever cleaned up crushed Cheerios from the inside of a car will rejoice.  Designed with some help from the good folks at Shop-Vac, the vacuum is housed in a small compartment on the left side of the trunk.  The hose is long enough to reach even the front of the car.  It has a one-gallon collection tank along with an on-off switch.  Spilled a snack up by the drivers side? No worries, it comes along with two attachments, perfect for reaching those crevices in between the seats.  It works for up to eight minutes with the car turned off. It works indefinitely when the engine's running.

In our monthly Route 23 Honda Newsletter, we were interested to know what you all thought about the HondaVac....

We were actually shocked at the results, it was rather close! 58.8% of the voters gave it a Thumbs Up while 41.2% gave it a Thumbs Down!

Interested in an Odyssey? Check out our Odyssey Inventory!

Why Nitrofill?

It’s not what nitrogen is that makes it such a beneficial inflation medium, but what it is not. Nitrogen is an “inert” gas, which basically means it is “nothing”…completely free of any properties. Essentially, it is the nothing that oxygen is combined with in our atmosphere so we humans can survive.

“Regular air,” the air that we breathe and compress to fill tires, is about 79.1% nitrogen and roughly 20% oxygen. While oxygen, again, is essential for us and almost every other living organism, it is detrimental to almost everything else, think “oxidation.” Oxidation, also known as rust and corrosion, is the absolute enemy of anything composed of rubber or steel. Without oxygen, it is impossible for oxidation to occur, i.e., no rim rust or corrosion, no TPMS sensor oxidization and no tire rot. Further, without the presence of oxygen, water or condensation cannot form in a tire, the “O” in H2O. Hence, no oxygen means no rust, no corrosion and no water or water related issues.

The greatest disadvantage of oxygen, however, is its molecular size. Air filled tires, as you probably know, lose pressure at the rate of at least one psi per month through normal “permeation.” Nitrogen filled tires, on the other hand, typically loses NO pressure over a one month period. This is because the size of a molecule of oxygen, which again comprises about 20% of regular air, is roughly ¼ of the size of a molecule of nitrogen. Under inflated tires run warmer, wear out faster and increase rolling resistance, which wastes energy, i.e. fuel…and nitrogen inflated tires stay properly inflated much longer.

A recent study indicates that oxygen free, or nitrogen inflated, tires can last up to 50% longer, provide up to 10% better fuel economy and fail much less frequently. Knowing these facts, no one can refute the value of keeping tires oxygen free.

Here's a summary of Nitrogen in Tires:

• Improves steering
• Improves handling
• Improves Braking
• Reduces chance of tire failure
• Dramatically slows pressure loss from permeation
• Improves fuel economy
• Reduces tire oxidation
• Eliminates interior wheel corrosion
• Reduces running temperatures
• Decreases false alarms and activation of Tire Pressure Monitoring System

EZ Referral Network @ Route 23 Honda

We would like to welcome you to the EZ Referral Network, the ultimate referral program. We know that buying a car can be challenging and, although there is a ton of product information available at customer's fingertips, there is nothing like having a friend who sells cars to make the process easier.

The EZ Referral Network lets you easily:

• Log in to your personal website or smart phone application.
• Enter your friend's or relative's contact information. Their information is sent directly to the dealership and to your salesperson friend.
• Follow whether your friend purchased a vehicle or not.

The EZ Referral Network lets you easily;

• Track the status of your referral fee.
• Get paid in one of three ways;

1. Electronically via a prepaid card.**
2. Kept on account at the dealership for future use at parts, sales or service.*
3. Donate the money toward your favorite charity!

Everyone wants a friend in the car business and you're lucky because you do! The EZ Referral Network is easy to use and you'll earn a small referral fee if your friend purchases a vehicle!

Route 23 Honda to Run the Rock & Run for Education 5k

We are very proud & excited to be participating in this great cause!

Join us in this 5k on Sunday, April 28th @ 930AM!

They'll have live music from local artists throughout the 5K course. “the Provisional” is the feature band and will be playing near the finish line. They will also kick off the 1 mile fun run and play a concert. Come Rock, Run and Have Fun with us on April 28th!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

8:00 AM: Rock’n Registration opens.

9:00 AM: Registration Closes / Pre-race Warm up with Angelica Ulliana from the Wyckoff YMCA

9:30 AM: 5K RUN/WALK START SHARP!!!!(Rain or Shine)

10:30 AM: 1 Mile FUN RUN & the Provisional Concert begins! Enjoy Music at the finish line with awards to follow!

__________________________________________________________________________

AWARDS

Trophies:

***Top 3 Overall Finishers M/F

***Top 3 North Haledon Residents M/F

***Top 3 North Haledon Teachers

Medals:

***Top 3 M/F in the following Age Groups:

8 & under * 9-12 * 13-16 * 17-19 * 20-70+ (in 10 yr increments)

Ribbons:

To ALL 1 Mile Fun Run Finishers

10:30 AM: 1 Mile FUN RUN & the Provisional concert; Enjoy music at the finish line! Awards to follow.

Post Race: Refreshments, raffle prizes, awards and a whole lot more!

Earth Day 2013 with Route 23 Honda

What are you doing for Earth Day 2013? Why not spend it with us?!

On Saturday, April 20^th at the Pearl R. Miller School in Kinnelon from 12 Noon to 4PM Route 23 Honda will be a sponsor at the annual Earth Day Fair Celebration.

We’ll be offering test-drives on two Honda Hybrids, the CR-Z and the Insight! These vehicles are great Green alternatives.

CR-Z: The philosophy of a fun, lightweight 2-seat coupe continues with the CR-Z. Featuring a mode for every mood, the 3-mode drive system lets you change how the car performs in real time. If you want efficiency, simply push the ECON button; for more thrills, go for Sport mode; and for a combination of the two, remain in Normal. Using the latest generation of IMA technology, the 2013 CR-Z set the standard for nimble small cars of the modern era, just like its predecessors did back in their day.

Insight: The original Honda Insight 2-seat coupe, introduced in late 1999, broke new ground as the first gasoline-electric hybrid car sold in America. Aerodynamic and innovative, the Insight redefined the way the industry thought about fuel-efficient vehicles. The centerpiece of this groundbreaking car was the compact and efficient Integrated Motor Assist IMA® hybrid powertrain.