When it comes to previewing new models, Honda is about as tight-lipped as Apple. In other words, no one knows anything until Steve Jobs hits the stage at Macworld. That's right, our man Jobs also controls Honda. (Just kidding.) At any rate, HybridCars.com reports that in an interview with Automotive News on March 19, 2008, Honda President Takeo Fukui confirmed a slew of details about the company's next car.

According to the report, the car's engine will be based on the Civic Hybrid, but it will use a brand-new electric motor and engine control unit, making it smaller and lighter. The car will also be less expensive than the Civic Hybrid—and therefore the cheapest hybrid on the market, if it proves true—and will look a lot like the wedge-shaped FCX Clarity fuel cell concept car.

Oddly enough, the new Civic Hybrid will continue to use nickel-metal hydride batteries instead of the newer lithium ion batteries we're starting to hear more about in automotive applications these days. Finally, the car "will have a global nameplate," just like the Civic and the Accord.