Honda doesn't "recommend" electric cars

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co. remains skeptical about demand for electric cars 10 years after it stopped selling its EV Plus battery-powered model, the head of research at Japan’s second-largest carmaker said.

“We lack confidence” in the electric-vehicle business, Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda’s research and development unit, said in an interview in Wako City, northwest of Tokyo. “It’s questionable whether consumers will accept the annoyances of limited driving range and having to spend time charging them.”

The skepticism contrasts with an estimate by Nissan Motor Co.’s Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn that the vehicles will make up 10 percent of the global car market by 2020. While Honda plans to sell electric cars in the U.S. to help meet California emission rules, its priority is to improve the fuel efficiency of new and upgraded models, Kawanabe said.

“We are definitely conducting research on electric cars, but I can’t say I can wholeheartedly recommend them,” said Kawanabe, 58, an engine specialist who replaced Chief Executive Officer Takanobu Ito as head of Honda R&D Co. on April 1.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aoc8RmMkfLGE&pid=20601087

Can't say I'd recommend anything that looks like their prototype :silly:

They're best for a second family car in a family with one working spouse or when both spouses work opposite hours. They're great for running errands around town, but they do need recharging time before the next batch of errands.

My second car is an http://www.egovehicles.com

That is their pattern. Meanwhile if Volt-style hybrids become real, the point will be moot. It doesn't have to be pure electric if it gets 200+/mpg.

We own a 93 Chevy purchased new that has 71K miles on it. We also own a 03 pickup that has 69K on it. As you can see we don't put a lot of miles on. A rechargeable electric car would work for us.

but it doesn't have much aerodynamic sensibility to it.

Assuming we want a car that can drive at highway speeds, there is going to be a helluva lot of drag on a car shaped like that.

That's being kind. The car looks like crap. In fact, get second one, paint some dots on the side, add a table, and you could shoot some craps.

I can just see the teenagers fighting who get the keys to that for their hot date. A real chick magnet that one.

I think they were going for sort of a Mini-E vibe but stumbled upon an EPIC FAIL.

Some may go for it just for the attention it would draw.

He used a DC motor from a forklift I think. The car is hard to restore because it has odd sized 10 inch wheels.

That design is a basic utilitarian form for efficient transport of two people and cargo. Japan used to be flooded with that type of body style being pushed by 500cc_+ two stroke engines. It is hard to beat for user versatility and low weight.

Every time you come up with a sorta different way to do something Ya'll wrap it in the same 30 year old design...



That look dissipated about the same time as Disco Balls