Honda City to debut at Jakarta Auto Expo
Honda City to debut at Jakarta Auto Expo
By Russell Williamson
PT PROSPECT Motor, the local importers and assemblers of Honda
vehicles will preview its Honda City at the Jakarta Auto Expo.
The City is expected to go on sale in the third quarter of
1996 and will join the company's other two established models,
the Civic and the Accord.
Although the company has yet to announce pricing, Honda will
be trying hard to introduce the car at a price to compete with
the Timor national car.
The City, a four-door sedan slightly smaller than the Civic,
has been developed by Honda specifically to meet the needs of the
Asian region.
Although small on the outside, inside the car offers
comfortable seating for four adults and a very large trunk for a
car of this size with a capacity of 385 liters.
The City's small exterior dimensions (1,454mm wide and 4,225mm
long) will enable the car to maneuver easily in Jakarta's crowded
streets.
The City is powered by a 1300cc four cylinder 16-valve engine
which is light and fuel efficient. Maximum power is 70kW at
6400rpm with a maximum torque figure of 120Nm at 4700rpm.
Honda's "Asia car" is part of the company's strategy of
"Globalization through Localization", which was a philosophy
designed to respect the diversity of the region and ensure the
local community reaps the benefits of a growing automotive
industry.
As such the car will be built in a number of Asian countries
with as much local content as possible. This local content will
also include parts manufactured in neighboring countries which
will be exported within the region.
Honda has already said that it plans to use components
manufactured in Indonesia for its cars built in Thailand and vice
versa.
Honda's localization strategy in the growing Asian markets has
now progressed from local production to the next logical step,
the development of a new model for the region.
In designing the car Honda's engineers have taken the human
element as the most important and largely structured the car
around that.
The air-conditioning system, standard on the LXi, has been
designed specifically to deal with the high temperatures and
humidity of Southeast Asia, with large outlets inside the car and
separate ducts for the air conditioner and the defogger.
The car also features green glass to reduce direct sunlight
thereby keeping the cabin temperature lower.
The electronic fuel-injection system is a modified version of
that found on the Civic and has been designed to run on the
petrol octane ratings available in the region.
The monocoque body is highly rigid for both safety reasons and
to ensure high levels of stability and ride comfort and low
levels of noise vibration and harshness.
A simple independent strut-type suspension has been employed
to cope with both rough roads and easy repair. This system also
allows a lower suspension tower enabling a lower front hood
height for improved visibility and less intrusion into the trunk
space in the rear.
Braking power comes from power assisted front ventilated discs
and rear drums which are actuated by low-input pedal pressure for
stop-start driving conditions.
While the designers set out to engineer a car that was
relatively cheap to build, it was also necessary to make it
relatively easy and cheap to repair.
As such the Honda City features a number of unique properties
to aid its repairability.
Both front and rear bumpers are in three sections so in a
crash the whole bumper does not have to be replaced.
Also in response to the high incidence of flooding in the
region, the car's electronic control unit is positioned high on
the chassis to eliminate the possibility of immersion in water
while the chassis is sealed to minimize water intrusion and
extend its durability.