TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan - At this week's Center for Automotive Research management briefing seminars, American Honda Motor Company Executive Vice President Richard Colliver said, 'None of us can control the difficult business conditions. But we can control the actions we take.'

Colliver said the most important tool a company can have is a set of core values that doesn't change. So despite pressure from its dealers, Honda didn't bother with full-size pickups and SUVs. It didn't do fleet sales. It's never seen the need for a V8 engine.

Colliver confirmed next spring that Honda will introduce an all-new hatchback that is a 'dedicated' hybrid (until now, all Honda hybrids except the original Insight have been variants of existing models). He said the goal for this new, dedicated hybrid is to make Honda's hybrid technology more affordable and accessible — 'to make it affordable for a new generation of car buyers.'

Honda is currently selling every Civic compact car it can make. But Colliver doesn't necessarily find that unusual. He said that even before fuel prices ballooned, Honda recognized the growing interest in protecting the environment. And Colliver said the company's research showed that sustainability concerns also extended to good old-fashioned keep-up-with-the-Joneses mentality, as many consumers are trading big trucks and SUVs for hybrid-electric models and compact cars because they don't want to be ridiculed by neighbors as environmental pigs.

As a result, Colliver said it should be possible for the new hybrid to achieve 100,000 annual sales in the U.S.