Accordingly, Honda engines still have a long way to go, You can’t improve the hybrid system without working on engines as the company puts it..

Honda has a good shot at keeping its edge in the global auto industry, at least for the foreseeable future.

Having got its start in post-war Japan knocking together engines for bicycles, then motorcycles and eventually also lawnmowers, generators and cars, Honda is the world’s top engine maker by far, producing more than 20 million a year.

It was Honda’s CVCC Civic engine that, back in 1974, named the Civic as the world’s first car to pass the emissions standards under the U.S. Clean Air Act, putting Honda on the map in the US almost overnight, prompting direct competitors such as Toyota to have to anti up to stay competitive.

Experts in this subject unanimously agree competitive engines are a prerequisite for developing a good hybrid system.

The hybrids of today are an integrated system which requires a delicate balance of engine, electric motor, batteries, power splitter, and the rest of the vehicle, which in essence is part of the vehicle.

Simple to say, but that’s why it’s not quite as simple as buying a hybrid system and mounting it on a car; refining the engine is extremely important.

Staying ahead in the hybrid race will be vital for Honda, which has so far weathered the economic downturn better than rivals.

In most European markets, the regulatory eyes are on carbon dioxide rather than nitrogen oxide emissions, making diesel-engine cars popular while slowing gas-electric hybrid technology by some manufacturers, placing diesel engines in Volkswagen, Peugeot and Renault.

Honda will also eventually need more variations of it’s current hybrid system because the current version, mounted on the  new Insight hatchback, has just one electric motor that would be ineffective power-wise for a much larger car.

Honda had originally planned to use clean-diesel engines on bigger models such as the Accord, CR-V and MDX, so they are working on several diesel engine hybrid setups that will be interchangeable in their car line.

Honda’s simple hybrid system is relatively cheap, however being a different system than Toyota’s,  limits the options, because the basic setup can not be applied to plug-in hybrids, which is the most logical next phase for fuel-saving cars.

Honda’s even dropped out of  Formula One racing last December, in order to pursue hybrid technology more aggressively.

In the future, hybrid cars will need more varieties and combination’s of transmissions and engine systems. Truth be known, there are for most purposes, only two manufacturers that develop their own transmissions, hybrid systems, and motors all in-house, referring to Honda and Toyota, the only hybrid giants to date.

Apparently, the possibility of outsourcing the production of engines and transmissions is not even a possibility for Honda. Which is a strong point for their future.

After saying all of the above, it really boils down to engine technology in terms of lowering emissions and upping gas mileage. Realizing that hybrids have to use a fossil fueled engine for power. Which makes advanced engine setups more important.

With this being the future, non-hybrid cars still roam the roads primarily. With that being the case, upon engine replacement, remember that certain engine supply companies put an extra slant on testing procedures to insure the engines being sold are as  close as possible to meeting the future emission standards we already know exist.