Separated At Birth: Honda FC Concept Vs. Star Wars Clone Trooper [Separated At Birth]

This wasn't the design direction Honda was looking for with the Honda FC Sport concept. Move along.

 

Guangzhou-Honda Linian Prototype

The Linian is a cooperative project between the Guangzhou Automotive Group (GAG) and Honda, bringing together the visual aspects of a Honda S2000, new Nissan 370Zish headlights and just a touch of Saturn Astra in the rear. There are no details available regarding engine choices, drive layout or just about any information at all for that matter (probably because it will never be produced). The badge adorning that scowl of a front fascia is neither GAG, nor is it Honda, meaning this is most likely the logo of the newly established GAG-Honda design studio. Just imagine all of the tasty vittles just waiting to pour out of that dream factory. [ABChina]

 

Being An Engineer At Honda Must Be Nice

Speaking as someone who has done it, being an engineer for any of the not-so-Big Three is something of a soul-crushing endeavor. Deadlines are always too aggressive, budgets are always too small, management never grasps the true complexities of a system, and you inevitably have to deal with totally incompetent suppliers who over promise and under perform. It's a delightful job. That kind of experience makes the open letter from a Honda employee that arrived at the offices of BoingBoing seem like working there is some kind of magical fantasy-land of happy rainbows and pony rides. Be sure to head over and give it a read, but the email describes a place where the sun rises and sets on curiosity and innovation, where you're more or less free to do as you want and where everyone is treated with respect even in the face of conflict. Sounds like a total fallacy to us. Maybe even Honda propaganda. Take the opening paragraph for instance: Honda is a freak, by American and even Japanese standards. There is an absolutely astounding amount of room here for anyone to work once they get in. The view is Global and the focus is Local. No one has ever told me what to do. One Rule - Dream. We find our way on an individual level, as reason, interest and inclination dictate, and this is an ultimate form of unequaled personal power to affect the future. In Honda, our own best interests are at the forefront of every day life at work and home. In engineering, there are no lines of demarcation segregating futurists from the present applications of science. There is nothing so esoteric that doesn't deserve a close inspection, and there is a common belief here in doing things the Hard Way. Even so, the core philosophy of the company could best be described as the pursuit of Joys. It's practically impossible to believe such a place actually exists. If it did you'd have the happiest, most productive, best engineers in the world turning out superior products and doing it while leading the way in innovation. Oh, wait a minute. [BoingBoing]

 

2010 Honda Insight Ecological Drive Assist System Grows Leaves, Gets Other Features

Details on the instrument panel and driver assist systems on the new 2010 Honda Insight have been released and it seems Honda is intent on training the new hybrid's drivers in much the same way other auto manufacturers have announced. The "Ecological Drive Assist System" uses a combination of color cues in the speedometer and "leaves which grow" to encourages economical driving behaviors. When you push the "Eco" mode button, the speedo turns green when you're being frugal or blue when you're hooning it, also a panel grows "leaves" to reward short term driving and displays the long term performance as well. This of course comes on the heels of the announcement from Ford about their "Smartgauge with EcoGuide" system in the Fusion Hybrid and Milan Hybrid which also rewards judicious use of the go-pedal with growing leaves. We expect everyone who complained about that system to bellyache about this too. But that's not all these new images tell us. If we take a closer look at the rest of the dash, it looks like the Insight will share design cues with its Euro Civic cousin and offer such features as a USB aux audio input, a CD/MP3/WMA disc drive and an overall simple control scheme. What we don't know is what the heck an "S" means in the PRNDL cadence. What the heck does "PRNDSL" mean? Park, reverse, neutral, drive, second and low? Probably, but we're holding out for a "Superamazing" gear. NEW INSIGHT TECHNOLOGY HELPS DRIVERS MAXIMISE FUEL ECONOMY Dashboard display encourages and rewards greener driving styles Honda has announced a new Ecological Drive Assist System to help drivers achieve better fuel economy. The technology will feature on the new Insight family hybrid car, which goes on sale in spring 2009. It will be the world's first system to combine three different functions to enhance fuel economy: an ECON Mode which controls engine, transmission and other powertrain components to support more fuel-efficient driving; a guidance function that helps drivers become more fuel efficient behind the wheel using the colour of the speedometer display; and a scoring function that provides instant and long term feedback on driving techniques, after each journey. Honda developed the Ecological Drive Assist System to help its customers improve their fuel economy in real world conditions. The scoring function provides cumulative, long-term feedback through graphic 'leaves', which 'grow' over time as drivers learn and then implement a smooth driving style that boosts fuel economy. The visual nature of the scoring function display makes it easy and enjoyable for drivers to improve the efficiency of their driving skills over time. "Hybrid technology delivers great fuel economy and low emissions, but these can both be affected by driving style," says John Kingston, Government Affairs and Environment Manager at Honda (UK). "This new package encourages greener, more efficient driving, in a fun and engaging way." The technology will further boost the appeal of the Insight, which is due to hit UK showrooms in the spring next year. Honda has already announced that the 5-door family car will be significantly lower in price to any other hybrid on the market, making petrol-electric technology accessible to more people. A production version of Insight will be unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show, in January 2009. To learn more about Honda's Ecological Drive Assist System and the new Honda Insight, please visit: http://www.insightecon.co.uk Key features of the Ecological Drive Assist System 1. ECON Mode By pushing an ECON button on the dashboard, drivers can engage ECON mode to support more fuel efficient driving. As well as controlling the engine, CVT and other powertrain components, ECON Mode also adjusts the air conditioning unit, extends idle stop time and increases regenerative recharging during deceleration to enhance the fuel efficiency of the Insight. 2. Guidance function The main part of the guidance function is an ambient meter in the form of a background colour behind the speedometer display that changes to indicate real time fuel consumption. The ambient meter displays a green colour when fuel-efficient driving is being achieved: a blue-green colour when relatively fuel-efficient driving is being achieved with smooth acceleration and deceleration; and a blue colour during heavy fuel consumption. The ambient meter makes the driver aware of real-time fuel consumption patterns, and encourages the driver to be more fuel efficient, while trying to maintain the green colour display. The Ambient Meter is the world's first technology of its kind that encourages environmentally-responsible driving by responding to braking practices as well as acceleration. 3. Scoring function The aim of the scoring function is to engage drivers in more fuel efficient driving, and encourage them to develop a more environmentally-responsible driving style. The scoring function is located within the Multi-Information-Display, in the centre of the instrument panel. This part of the Ecological Drive Assist System uses graphics of tree leaves to 'score' the fuel-efficiency of the driver's performance. While the ignition switch is turned on, the display shows a score reflecting the real time driving performance. When the ignition switch is turned off, the 'leaves' in the top row display a score for the journey just completed, while a horizontal bar in the bottom row of the display gives a 'lifetime score' that represents cumulative lifetime performance. The Multi-Information Display also allows drivers to view fuel economy figures for the past three trips, as well as instantaneous and average fuel economy statistics. When the technology debuts in the Insight in the spring, it will be the world's first function of its kind to provide real-time and post-trip assessments of the impact of driving habits on fuel economy.

 

Honda FC Sport: Hydrogen Sports Car Concept Of The Future

Honda surprised the motoring world today with the release of the radical and futuristic Honda FC Sport, a three-seat Hydrogen-powered design study that hints at the future of Honda sports cars to come. Using the Honda V Flow fuel cell setup already found in the Honda FCX Clarity, the FC Sport is the supercar to the FCX's stately sedan. The stunning design is meant to invoke the concept of a high-performance, low-weight hydrogen sports car. Press release and more details below the jump. Honda FC Sport Design Study Suggests Hydrogen Sports Car Future Innovative fuel cell packaging demonstrates green performance potential LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19, 2008 – Honda today revealed the Honda FC Sport design study model, a hydrogen-powered, three-seat sports car concept, at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. The FC Sport emphasizes the design flexibility and potential of Honda's V Flow fuel cell technology – already deployed in the Honda FCX Clarity sedan – and reconfigures it into a lightweight sports car design with an ultra-low center of gravity, powerful electric motor performance and zero-emissions. The design study concept is inspired by supercar levels of performance through low weight and a high-performance, electrically driven fuel cell powertrain. "The Honda FC Sport explores how to satisfy automotive performance enthusiasts in a world beyond petroleum," said Dan Bonawitz, vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "People who love sports cars will still have a reason to love in a hydrogen-powered future." The high-output Honda fuel cell powertrain and a sleek, aerodynamic body contribute to the vehicle's performance potential. A modular approach to fuel cell component packaging and the electric drivetrain contribute to the FC Sport's low center of gravity with the majority of vehicle mass distributed between the axles, creating the balanced weight distribution sought after in sports cars.

 

1977 Honda Accord

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Can you believe we've never had a Honda Accord in this series? Have the early Accords become that rare? They sure have, which makes me sad; the first-gen Accord was a great car for its time. It was reliable, had fairly decent performance, was less cramped than its tiny Civic cousin, and- in my no-doubt-shared-by-few-others opinion- looked pretty good. The Accord's engine had the same CVCC technology as the Civic's, but it displaced 1600cc instead of the 1488 of the Civic. With 68 horsepower, the Accord was no hot rod, but its weight of just 1,993 pounds- about 1,650 pounds less than the current Accord- kept it zippy enough to be fun. The price was pretty good, too: $3,995, about the same as the '77 Chevy Nova Concours and about 400 bucks less than a new VW Dasher hatchback. It's always fun when I find a DOTS car with another one in the background, and this time we've got two: the '66 Mercedes-Benz 200D and the '76 Ford Mustang II.

 

Spoon Sports JDM Honda Integra Launches Into Stands, Miraculously Injures No One

It was a bad weekend for the folks at Spoon Sports. The same people who brought you the Spoon NSX-R GT (yes, the same one we reviewed earlier this week) managed to place a JDM Honda RSX/Integra in the stands of Infineon Raceway during a NASA race. No one appears to have been hurt, but the driver had to be cut out of his Honda touring car. From reports, the Spoon Sports Honda hit the grass berm in the runoff area in turn 1 before being launched by momentum over the fence and into the grandstands. It apparently landed within a few rows of a group of people there to watch the race. A report from MadCat360 in the NASAFormus below: Did anyone see it? I caught the tail end of it from the grand stands. What I guess happened was the car had some sort of problem (suspension? Tire?) and went spearing off at turn 1. It hit the grass berm there on the outside runoff and launched into the fence just below the score tower, didn't stop and landed in the center stands there, nearly hitting a bunch of people. I heard the driver was all right but they had to tear apart the car to get him out. No spectators were hurt that I could see, though the car's nose hit just one row down from one person, maybe about 3 feet. We got lucky today. That crash could have easily killed 5 people. There really needs to be a tire wall there, which I think they put up when NASCAR race there. Why don't they put any walls up for club races? Why aren't they permanent anyway? I'm going to send a letter to Infineon alerting them of the safety situation there and I suggest you do the same. It would just be the easiest thing to put a permanent ARMCO barrier there with some tires, and have it ready for the 2009 season start. Maybe they could start putting some gravel traps in as well. It's bothersome to haul cars out, but those traps save lots of lives and cars as well. I'm normally pretty reserved about being frightened in motorsports, but that crash really made me shocked at how little there really is to stop the cars from going into the stands there. It's just a very shallow berm and a chain link fence, and if that couldn't stop a Honda touring car from going into the stands at highway speed, then it definitely won't stop a Grand Am car, or an Indy Car. [Source: NASA Forums]