Ponyboy

"Tokyo, February 23, 2009 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor) today announced that Takanobu Ito, currently the company's Senior Managing Director, will become the seventh President & Chief Executive Officer of Honda Motor effective in late June 2009. Takeo Fukui, the current President & CEO, will remain on the board and assume the post of Director and Advisor to Honda Motor. This management succession will occur following the final decision of the Honda Motor Board of Directors after the company's annual shareholders' meeting, scheduled for late June 2009.

Ito joined Honda in 1978, and began his career in its automobile research and development operations, principally as an engineer in the area of chassis design. Ito was in charge of developing the all-aluminum uni-body frame structure for the mid-engine NSX sports car that went on sale in 1990, a world's first for a production vehicle of any volume. Ito also took on responsibilities as the person-in-charge of developing a series of compact sedans for the Japanese market in the early 1990's.

From April 1998 to March 2000, Ito was stationed in the U.S. as Executive Vice President of Honda R&D Americas, Inc., where he became actively involved in the development of the Acura brand's first sport-utility vehicle, the MDX (which went on sale in the U.S. in October 2000).

In June 2000, Ito was appointed to the Board of Directors of Honda Motor, simultaneously gaining promotion to Managing Director of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. (Honda R&D). He subsequently became President and Director of Honda R&D in June 2003. Ito also took on a role in the area of manufacturing as General Manager of Honda's Suzuka Factory in April 2005.

In April 2007, Ito became Honda Motor's Chief Operating Officer of Automobile Operations and a Senior Managing Director from June of the same year.

From April 2009, he will again assume the top position of President and Director of Honda R&D, a position he will continue to hold concurrently after the successful appointment as President & CEO of Honda Motor expected in late June 2009.

Takeo Fukui has served as Honda Motor's President & CEO since assuming the position in June 2003. During the six years of Fukui's leadership, Honda was able to actively evolve its global manufacturing structure, notably the establishment of a U.S. automobile plant in Indiana and the decision to set up two manufacturing facilities - the Yorii and Ogawa plants - in Saitama, Japan.

Furthermore, Fukui enabled the company to make forays into new business areas, including the establishment of both the jet engine and aircraft businesses, and making a full-scale entry into the solar cell business with Honda's original next-generation solar cell. Also under Fukui's leadership, the company continued to demonstrate its leadership in reducing CO2 emissions through both technology and product innovations. Honda's firm commitment to reduce CO2 output on a global scale was underlined in 2006, when it announced company-wide reduction targets for CO2 emitted from its product lineups as well as from its production lines. The realization of the all-new Insight as an affordable product was an outcome of Fukui's strong guidance, based on the belief that hybrid vehicles must become accessible to more people if the technology is to contribute to reductions in CO2 output.

Fukui joined Honda as an engineer in 1969, and became a member of the project team that developed the Honda CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) engine. Fukui also has extensive experience in the company's motorcycle development and racing operations. In 1988, he became a member of the Honda Motor Board of Directors, subsequently assuming responsibilities as General Manager of the Suzuka Factory, President of Honda of America Mfg., Inc., President and Director of Honda R&D, and most recently, President & CEO of Honda Motor, a title he has held since June 2003."

So the natural speculation is what this means, if anything, for the NSX program? Hmmm.....

NSXRguy

make the next gen nsx MR platform again...

PhatRoyale

let's hope that the new CEO will make the decision to reinstate production of the NSX project

Fa1

The funds from F1 need to go somewhere

KILLAB17VTEC

i heard the new honda nsx projects is coming?

GoLowDrew

You are right. The funds will go toward Honda's most important cars.

Honda Clarity and Honda Insight.

Tontigre

So what exactly would you say are Honda's most important cars?

GoLowDrew

I'm not sure I fully understand this question.

What I think Honda's most important cars are? Or why I think the Insight and Clarity are more important (than NSX)?

lonestar55

hondas focus is becoming more liek toyota

GoLowDrew

I wouldn't say that exactly. Sure, the Insight is a copy of Toyota. Honda copy it because Toyota got it right. The Chevy Volt also looks like the Toyota with sharper angles.

Honda's "lack of clear vision" have been it's blessing. When Toyota-Nissan went big with V8, RWD, Trucks, SUVs, Honda seem to be caught with it's pants down.

Look what's happening now. Honda looks like the smarter one.

EM2Civic

He's pretty hardcore I hope he can pitch it, I have no doubt he won't try. Hope they scrap it and go MR won't be too cost effective tho

square_1

Check this out... Honda on top of Motor Trends '09 power list.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/c...keo_fukui.html

Who cares if we don't have a V8... That will come in due time and you know it will kick butt... Let Honda focus on being ahead of the economy game for a while and the rest will follow. I'd rather have crappier economy cars for a while then have them making a dumb decision and losing money!

Tontigre

Sorry about that. I missed where it said Insight and Clarity as being the ones you feel are the most important. It's true that more & more vehicles are becoming more 'green'. Is that gonna sacrifice performance?

MidShipCivic

The Clarity and Insight are already made now start installing hydrogen stations everywhere...

NSX isn't coming back if anything, the most sense would be to continue the V10 awd supercar.

Blue-Civic-Hybrid

iTrader: (1)

I think Honda will focus more on smaller cars like the upcoming CRZ. That will be just like the CRX back in the 80's hopefully and Honda will turn around the market with fun to drive green econo cars once again.

Just think, the new CRZ will be a hybrid with a manual transmission, light weight and fun to drive.

It's win-win I think for Honda starting in 2010-11.

AS for the NSX, I don't think it has been scrapped, just put on the back burner. Maybe in a few years after the recession stars to wither a bit, they will begin testing again.

MidShipCivic

It's not called an NSX, that V10 car, it was never named.

realride

Video of the new NSX at the Nurburgring.

http://www.froggertv.com/content/spy-new-nsx-video2

benny

Ponyboy

Right. When Fukui stated the company's intention of makin an NSX replacement, I keyed on the fact that he never called it an NSX. Rather it was always referred to as an NSX "replacement."

EM2Civic

Ummm dear god that car sounds good

unknownally

I just hope they don't make something that doesn't look anything like an NSX or have any resemblence.

If they were to make one, they need to make it more than 300whp.

nsxxtreme

I think the NSX or "replacement" will be dead for a while. With the economy in the crapper I don't see any company investing in a small production number vehicle anytime in the near future.

Ponyboy

Agreed. Honda has bigger fish to fry. Namely selling profitable cars that will keep the company afloat. Considering the state of the economy, I'm not even mad that they pulled out of F1 anymore.

Top Ramen

On this planet, Honda's most important car is the Accord.

GoLowDrew

Correct. The Accord and Civic are the most important cars. It's the one that pays the rent.

However, there will be no revolutionary development for the Accord and Civic. Only evolutionary improvements. That's all that is needed.

My use of the word "important" means Clarity and Insight are heavily invested projects that MUST succeed. It "can not" fail. It represent the future. Future of the industry (maybe). If it fails, it could hurt Honda. Therefore "important."

The next NSX will probably be slower than the GTR (sorry). So what if Honda stop developing it? Not much. So what if Honda don't have the fastest car in Japan? Or even a fast car at all?

MidShipCivic

The replacement was said to have a 5 liter 550HP v10 and back in the 90's the NSX did beat the GTR in a drag race .