Honda CRZ Japans Car of the Year Award Winner, Memorial Edition

The Honda CR-Z got a lukewarm welcome in the international automotive media, or should I write confused welcome : cool and lame in equal proportions, nice to look at, entertaining on the inside, almost fun to drive… but not quite : it is not easy to give it thumbs up, or thumbs down.

The Japanese press, on the other hand, likes it much. So much that it gave it the coveted Japanese Car Of The Year 2010. That made Honda feel proud, and they decided to make a CR-Z “α Japanese Car Of The Year Memorial Award Edition” which is also a good way to put the CR-Z back in the news as the sales are slowing somewhat.

Besides winning the 7Tune award of the longest model name of the year, this CR-Z features a special “Pearl Deep Sapphire” color and special 16 inches alloys.

In the cockpit the changes are limited to a set of aluminum pedals… and the obligatory commemorative plate, as well as a uprated satnav with hands free calling, and that’s pretty much it.

1000 cars will be produced and sold between January and March of next year, available as a 6 speed manual or CVT transmission, at the hefty price of 2,794,000 yen. It might look a little steep for a slab of blue paint and a self-congratulating plate, but you also get the super-connected top of the range navigation system that a lot of customers put in anyway, so I guess Honda know what they are doing.

What was your Japanese car of the year ?

7tune – The Ultimate JDM Experience
Words – Pierre-Laurent RibaultSource and Photos – Honda

Source;

http://www.7tune.com/news-honda-cr-z-jcoty-memorial-edition/

Honda scoops European Excellence Award

Honda Motor Europe's crowd-sourced, social media activated film project, Live Every Litre, has been recognised by the European Excellence Awards hosted in Prague last week (9 December, 2010).

Short-listed in a total of three separate categories - Best Campaign, Social Media and Automotive and Transport - Live Every Litre was rewarded in the Automotive and Transport category.

Laura Price, Social Media Manager for Honda Motor Europe, said: "Live Every Litre gave those who consume media online the chance to do something unique and different. This was such an exciting project for Honda because the crowd sourced nature of the campaign allowed the online community, rather than us, to mould the final outcome thereby tearing up the rule book on traditional car launches."

Marc-Oliver Voigt, Communications Director and Chairman of the Jury for the European Excellence Awards, commented: "As one of only 58 winners from a field of over 1,450 projects, Live Every Litre has been recognised as one of the best projects in European public relations over the past year."

Live Every Litre is a social media activated, European road trip documentary project which encouraged people to submit their dream journey to http://www.liveeverylitre.com, where the public could rate their stories. The best journeys were chosen and the participants invited to join the pan-European odyssey, having their experiences recorded as they drove a new Honda CR-Z hybrid coupe on their trip of a lifetime. Over 1000 applications were received from 28 countries. Filming took place over 38 days, starting in the Netherlands, heading down through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and finishing at the infamous Nurburgring circuit in Germany.

All of the short films that introduce the cast and their individual stories can be viewed on http://www.liveeverylitre.com. Or join the conversation on www.facebook.com/liveeverylitre.

Source;
http://www.hondanews.eu/en/news/index.pmode/modul,detail,0,1641-DEFAULT,21,text,1/index.pmode