Honda News & Blogs

Honda Reinvents the Wheel -- Just For You

Set for its public debut at the Toyko Motor Show next month, Honda has created a new "personal mobility device" it calls the UX-3. Using proprietary balance control technology developed as part of the firm's ongoing research with its amazingly anthropomorphic ASIMO robot, the single-wheeled UX-3 permits a rider to move in any direction -- forward, back, side-to-side or diagonally -- and to adjust speed simply by using body motion. That specific bit of techno wizardry comes courtesy of the Honda Omni Traction Drive System - aka the HOT Drive System -- which Honda claims is the world's first such mechanism. Weighing less than 22 pounds and incorporating a monocoque structure with seat elements and footrests that fold away when not in use, the UX-3 is...
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Ilmor Engineering Creates Experimental Five-Stroke Engine

Famed race-engine design house, Ilmor Engineering, has shown an innovative take on the conventional gasoline engine that incorporates a unique fifth stroke to its operating cycle. It's a twist that Ilmor claims can add 5-20 percent more efficiency while using 100 percent of today's existing technology. The test engine is a 700cc turbocharged inline three-cylinder with two normally configured high-pressure cylinders flanking a low-pressure center cylinder that is activated by pressures from the spent exhaust gases. Ilmor says that by decoupling the compression/expansion processes, the engine can operate in a near-diesel type of environment, creating an effective compression ratio of 14.5:1 while benefitting from significant reductions in pumping...
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Honda Confirms CR-Z Hybrid U.S. Arrival in 2010

In his first public appearance since taking over as the new CEO of Honda Motor Company, Takanobu Ito said that the automaker will expand its portfolio of hybrid models in 2010 by adding the sporty CR-Z coupe as well as a hybrid version of the existing Fit. While sales of the CR-Z will begin in Japan next February, rollout details for other world markets was not revealed. However, representatives of American Honda Motor did tell KBB.com that the CR-Z will arrive in the U.S. at some point next year. The Fit Hybrid won't hit Honda domestic showrooms until late in 2010, but no decision has been made as to when -- or even if -- we might see it here. Ito further advised that Honda is now working on a new and more powerful version of its original...
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California Mandates Cooler Cars to Fight Global Warming

It's not quite what you think. But the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has just passed the first legislation requiring solar-efficient glass to be used in all new cars sold in that state starting in 2012. Beyond literally keeping occupants cooler in the summer, the coincident reduction in the use of air conditioning will help improve average fuel economy and decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. This new regulation will be enacted using a two-stage roll. From 2012-2015, all vehicle glass must be capable of rejecting at least 45 percent of the sun's total heat-producing energy, except for the windshield which will have a 50 percent rejection requirement. Starting in 2016, the numbers will rise to 60 percent all around. CARB data...
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Quick Drive: 2010 Honda Insight

Hybrids making headlines has become almost commonplace these days. Even so, with its claim of being the most affordable vehicle in the gas/electric genre, the 2010 Honda Insight has raised -- or lowered -- the bar to an entirely new level. Save for also using a variation on the firm's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, the latest Insight shares little in common with petite two-seat coupe of the same name that Honda sold here from 2000 to 2006. Compact-sized, this new iteration comes in three trim levels: a well-equipped Insight LX at $20,470, an even-better appointed EX at $21,970 and the top-line EX with Navigation that we drove, which commands $23,770.Exterior styling of this four-door, five-passenger hatchback displays several styling cues...
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