Subscribe to Gizmag's RSS feed
Follow Gizmag on Twitter
Honda
Honda aerodynamic scooter conversion results in 214 mpg
By Paul Ridden
14:50 February 3, 2010 PST
Adding a self-built aerodynamic outer shell to a brand new Honda Innova 125i big-wheeled, step through scooter has resulted in its already pretty impressive fuel efficiency being improved considerably. Experienced Dutch cycle designer Allert Jacobs has spent the last couple of years designing, building and tweaking his machine before hitting the road recently for the all important road test. Read More
Honda's next gen solar-powered hydrogen fuel cell station for home use
By Jeff Salton
23:28 February 1, 2010 PST
Honda has begun work on a smaller solar hydrogen station prototype intended for use as a home refueling appliance. Capable of an overnight refill of fuel cell electric vehicles it is designed to be a single, integrated unit that will fit in the user's garage. Honda's next generation Solar Hydrogen Station, though not as big as the previous systems, will still produce enough hydrogen (0.5kg) via an eight-hour overnight fill for daily commuting (10,000 miles per year) for a fuel cell electric vehicle. Read More
Valentino Rossi becomes the world's hottest property on 2 and 4 wheels
By Gizmag Team
13:09 January 23, 2010 PST
It is interesting to note that the three biggest stories in Formula One right now concern a driver who competed in 2010 but not in 2009 (the Michael Schumacher comeback), a driver who competed in 2009 but not 2010 (Raikkonen loses his drive and goes WRC) and a driver who has never competed in F1 and quite possibly never will – Valentino Rossi. Indeed, Rossi has only ever driven an F1 car six times, but his status as one of motorcycling’s all-time greats and one of the most popular and media-savvy sportspeople of all time make the possibility an incredibly enticing prospect. For Ferrari, Rossi brings a global army of fans and the possibility of a rare Italian driver-car title combination that hasn’t happened since Alberto Ascari in 1953, despite 15 drivers titles and 16 constructors titles for the marque since then. This week Rossi tested in a Ferrari F1 car again, and was so fast that the possibility might now be approaching a probability. Read More
Honda’s NSX supercar replacement shows its face
By Gizmag Team
13:37 January 20, 2010 PST
The press release is one of the shortest ever. It reads: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today introduced the HSV-010 GT, which will compete in the GT500 class of the 2010 Super GT Series.” Accompanied by 20 stunning images, and one set of alluring specifications, what the press release didn’t say was, “this is the NSX replacement we shelved due to the GFC and now that the economy is looking better, we’re gonna race it and see how we go at drumming up interest.” With a weight of just 1100 kg, the HSV is not a V10 as rumoured, but a short-stroke (93.0 x 62.5mm) 3.4 litre V8 producing 500 horsepower. The roadcar is not expected any time soon, but Honda should consider global interest suitably stimulated, cos it's a little ripper. Read More
The highest and lowest depreciating cars of 2009
By Gizmag Team
02:17 January 19, 2010 PST
There’s no question that picking up a new car makes for a very special day, if for no other reason that the value that disappears when you drive your pride and joy off the showroom floor makes it one of the most expensive days of your life. The latest edition of Parker's annual depreciation report surveys 300 model ranges in the UK market, and lists their value in good condition with 10,000 miles on the clock one year later. Accordingly, the depreciation cost of one year for every model can be calculated, and the most and least expensive cars are hereby presented: Read More
Honda to show auto navigation and multimedia system with gesture recognition
By Gizmag Team
20:17 January 13, 2010 PST
Tokyo Auto Salon opens tomorrow and could benefit from much of the hangover from the greatly downsized Tokyo Motor Show last October. One of the most exciting prospects of the show is the first showing of Honda’s Gathers Advance 4, a next-generation car navigation and multimedia system concept which is based around a combination of gesture control (top left image) and voice recognition. Little has been released about the system as yet, however a series of images released by Honda indicates in-car cameras trained on the driver (behind iPod –top right) and voice recognition controls on the steering wheel (bottom right). Read More
Honda’s CR-Z hot production hybrid takes a bow
By Jeff Salton
15:52 January 11, 2010 PST
Honda made the first commercial hybrid and cut the path for the rest of the world’s auto makers more than a decade ago. Now it is in the process of trailblazing the path for desirable hybrids with the release of its all-new CR-Z which made its world premiere at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit today. The ingredients are all top shelf: a six speed manual gearbox, a 1.5 litre i-VTEC engine coupled to Honda’s IMA hybrid system, a flexible 2+2 seating arrangement, 3-mode drive system, 56.4 mpg from a sports car, light good handling chassis … but the package is integrated and that’s what makes the Honda CR-Z hot, hot, hot! We are very impressed! Read More
The top 10 most reliable and unreliable 4x4s
By Gizmag Team
15:47 January 5, 2010 PST
If you’re planning on choosing a roadgoing car based on racetrack results, maybe you’d better think again. With the world’s greatest off-road race, the Dakar Rally, currently powering its way through Chile, it’s interesting to note that the leaders of the event (BMW and Volkswagen) are among the least reliable 4x4 vehicles on the road, where it really counts. Newly released and highly credible information from the U.K. has revealed the most and least reliable pre-owned 4x4 and SUV cars on the market (see the top 10 lists here). Honda’s CR-V won the crown of the most reliable 4x4 by a fair margin while Audi’s A6 Allroad is the most unreliable 4x4 on the road, with Volkswagen’s Touareg and BMW’s X5 placing second and third most unreliable. That’s right folks, despite performing spectacularly in race events such as the Dakar, the VW Touareg is the second most unreliable 4x4 on the market, according to Warranty Direct. Read More
Honda shows five seater New Small Concept
By Gizmag Team
01:50 January 5, 2010 PST
India’s automotive industry is the second fastest growing in the world and has exceptional prospects. Already the ninth largest in the world it is expected to become one of the largest in the world several decades from now. Already the auto makers are developing specifically for the future, with Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) pulling the covers off what has been dubbed the “Honda New Small Concept”, a very small vehicle with seating for five people. The world premier was aptly staged at the Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi, India's leading auto show, along with new small cars from Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan and Ford. Read More
Honda’s new US$900, 110cc, 164mpg CB Twister
By Gizmag Team
15:01 December 14, 2009 PST
One of the most important motorcycle launches of the year happened on Friday though you’re unlikely to read about it in any of the testosterone-infused websites – it was the Indian unveiling of Honda’s new fuel-efficient and low maintenance 110cc motorcycle model, the CB Twister. Honda sells a million motorcycles a year in India, and next year expects to sell 220,000 Twisters, based on its similar looks to the company’s CBR1000RR flagship, its low maintenance and its outrageous fuel economy (164 U.S. mpg and 197 U.K. mpg) and a price of just US$900. Read More
Honda’s 50cc three-wheeled Gyro cargo scooter
By Gizmag Team
20:01 December 8, 2009 PST
Our story and video on the Nissan Langlider explained the trend toward narrow track vehicles and the convergence of the car and motorcycle. It also covered all of the major two-, three- and four-wheeled vehicles already at, or soon to be at market, or so we thought. What we missed is potentially the most important of them all - Honda’s three-wheeled Gyro, a Japanese-only delivery scooter with two wheels at the back that tilts just like the Xingyue. It’s fully enclosed, gets 100mpg and even in Japan sells for less than US$3500. Read More
Honda cracks snack-sized P-NUT concept at LA Auto Show
By Darren Quick
01:56 December 3, 2009 PST
With the variety of different engine technologies emerging to replace the traditional internal combustion engine, Honda has taken a very smart approach with its Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT) ultra-compact vehicle. The concept car features a modular rear engine bay designed to accommodate a wide variety of potential powertrain technologies including a conventional small internal combustion engine, a hybrid system, or a battery-electric drivetrain. Read More
The US$40,000 Robotic Bed
By Mike Hanlon
18:16 November 28, 2009 PST
One of the stand-outs amongst a stellar field of automated and autonomous ingenuity on show at the IRex robotics expo in Japan this week was the Yurina Care Robot from Japan Logic Machine. Essentially a robotic bed, the 3.5 million Yen (around US$41,000) Yurina reconfigures electronically, on-the-fly, can be controlled by the user or a carer into many different configurations, has four separate sections which can all be angled differently, and can lift and make comfortable, a disabled person of up to 120 kilograms in almost any position. It gets along at 4kmh, can lower you into the bath and get you out again without giving anyone a hernia and comes with a range of optional extras you could only dream about if you are in need of such a device. Read More
Youth Mobile 2030 - designers dream up hip cars for the kids of the future
20:25 November 24, 2009 PST
Each year as part of the Design Los Angeles Conference held at the LA Auto Show, creative types from major car companies get to stare into their crystal balls and let their imaginations run wild in designing the car of the future. In 2007 the theme was the car 50 years from today, last year the challenge was to envision how motor-racing will look in 2025 and this time around, the brief is to look at what young people will be driving in the year 2030. Read More
Research reveals the most reliable vehicles
By Gizmag Team
21:53 November 7, 2009 PST
A large percentage of the cars on the road, up to half in some countries, are owned and maintained by fleet management groups rather than individuals. In recent times we’ve seen a number of fleet management companies begin producing statistics on the reliability of their often massive fleets to better inform the public on the reliability of current vehicles. Now U.K. publication Fleet News has conducted research across a number of the major British fleets to produce a reliability survey across more than a million late model vehicles to reveal that the Honda Civic is the UK’s most reliable car and the Ford Transit the most reliable van. Honda snagged three of the top four most reliable cars but got beaten as the most reliable manufacturer. Read More
VFR1200 Tourer: The World's safest bike?
By Ben Purvis
05:08 October 27, 2009 PDT
The oddball styling of Honda's forthcoming VFR1200T tourer isn't just the result of a designer's whim; the shape is designed to radically reduce rider injuries in the most common sorts of accidents. The appearance of the touring version of Honda's fourthcoming V4 has already been revealed in design patents which copyright the bike's styling, but for the first time we've managed to dig beneath the skin and discover that the looks aren't simply there to catch buyers' eyes. In fact, they've been dictated by the technology underneath. Read More
At long last - a bicycle simulator
By Darren Quick
20:40 October 25, 2009 PDT
Simulators are a great, safe way to teach people how to do things properly before they actually have to do them. The first simulators were for airplanes and they cost a lot of money when they appeared 80 years ago. Although simulating an aircraft cockpit and behavior was a difficult and costly business, it had a very effective ROI in terms of planes and pilots. Nowadays, you can simulate almost any environment thanks to the computer - there are low cost safety simulators available for planes, boats, cars, motorcycles, and even the inside of a person’s mouth - but until now, not bicycles. Honda is rectifying that with a bicycle simulator that has been developed for the purpose of traffic safety education. Read More
Honda’s V4 VFR1200F official announcement all fluff and no substance!
By Mike Hanlon
16:47 October 8, 2009 PDT
Honda has finally unveiled its much-anticipated V4 road-sports VFR1200F, though sadly it has gone the verbal-diarrhea-PR route with its press announcement and not a great deal has been revealed about the machine. Isn’t it high time that Honda allowed its knowledgeable engineers to tell the story directly to a public that it should know by now is allergic to unsubstantiated prose, and deliver some facts. We understand that the bike is quite special, and raises the bar much higher for its competitors, but in allowing advertising copywriters to write the press statements and its communication strategists to indulge in prolonged onanistic delight, it is simply selling its engineering prowess way-too-short. Read More
Honda develops new personal mobility device – the U3-X experimental vehicle
By Mike Hanlon
04:22 October 3, 2009 PDT
A self-balancing unicycle experimental vehicle from Honda to be shown at the Tokyo Motor Show next month might just be history in the making. Weighing less than 10kg, the 24 by 12 by 6-inch U3-X experimental vehicle runs for an hour, is small enough to be carried onto an airplane as hand luggage, has a wheel which spins in two planes and is set to challenge, perhaps even change, society’s concept of personal mobility. Read More
Better control over nanotube growth promises important advances in electronics
02:12 October 3, 2009 PDT
Researchers at the Honda Research Institute, Purdue University and the University of Louisville have discovered a way to systematically grow carbon nanotubes with either metallic or semiconducting properties, solving a long-standing problem in nanotechnology research and paving the way for the widespread use of nanotubes in electronics. Read More
Honda’s LOOP and HELLO vehicle2vehicle and vehicle2driver infrastructure
By Gizmag Team
10:55 October 1, 2009 PDT
Honda issued a press statement and images of its Tokyo Motor Show exhibits yesterday, raising far more questions than it answered with the brief and cryptic release. One of the primary announcements involved a car2car and car2driver and car2infrastructure communications system named HELLO! (Honda ELectric mobility LOop) and a LOOP portable communication tool that fits in the palm of one’s hand and “allows people and mobility devices to communicate with each other.” The various components of the system look fascinating. Read More
Honda to exhibit 2WD electric motorcycle at Tokyo Motor Show?
By Mike Hanlon
18:19 September 30, 2009 PDT
Honda has released images of several new eco-friendly two-wheelers it will present at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month, including the EV-Cub electric motorcycle, the EVE-neo electric scooter and its previously-announced PCX global scooter, the first two-wheeler to employ an 'idling stop system'. The most interesting of the new eco-bikes is without doubt the EV-Cub, which employs what appears to be car2car and car2driver communications dubbed HELLO! (Honda ELectric mobility LOop) and a LOOP portable communication tool that fits in the palm of one’s hand and “allows people and mobility devices to communicate with each other.” The EV-Cub also appears to have electric motors in both front and rear wheels, indicating that it is almost certainly a two-wheel-drive (2WD) motorcycle. 2WD motorcycles are expected to become commonplace in the future as, like their 4WD automotive cousins, they offer traction advantages on loose surfaces and wet roads and improve rider safety, especially for learners. Read More
Honda announces Dual Clutch Transmission for large-displacement sport motorcycles
By Gizmag Team
00:46 September 8, 2009 PDT
Dual Clutch Transmissions (DCT) are still a relatively rare breed, though in the past few years we have been inundated with them in high end automobiles. By using a separate clutch for odd and even gears, gears can be changed without interrupting power by applying the engine's torque to the next gear just as it is being disconnected from the previous one. This enables quicker and smoother gear changes and delivers better fuel economy while reducing emissions. Honda’s newly-announced, fully-automatic motorcycle DCT is a first for large-displacement sport bikes and will debut on the new VFR set for release in 2010. Read More
Nissan's 'smarter' navigation system assists with safer, greener driving
By Jeff Salton
19:24 July 23, 2009 PDT
Nissan's new enhanced on-board navigation system will provide drivers with more information to make safer and greener driving decisions. The company is launching an automotive navigation system that uses intelligent transportation system (ITS) infrastructure and other advanced technology to warn drivers of low-visibility intersections, school zones, and navigation-linked speed control. The navigation system can also recommend faster route calculations, which can lead to fuel savings. Read More
CR-Z sports hybrid to hit showrooms next year
04:55 July 15, 2009 PDT
Honda has announced that the CR-Z sports hybrid will be available for sale in Japan from January of next year. First unveiled as a concept at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007, the two-door sports hybrid is powered by Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, which combines a small gasoline engine with supplementary power from a built-in electric motor. Read More
windykites1
- February 9, 2010 @ 19:22 UTC
