Honda

The world's fastest road bike derivatives went to Italy last weekend for the latest round of the World Superbike Championships at Monza, AKA “the Cathedral of Speed.” Monza favors very fast motorcycles and the results echo what we'd already suspected after several rounds of the championship - there appears to be a changing of the guard underway and the addition of BMW and Aprilia to Europe's previously sole superbike contender, Ducati, appears to have tipped the balance of power away from the Japanese marques. A double-win to Aprilia and BMW's first podium in the superbikes were one indicator as was BMW's continuing superstock dominance. In a class that's an excellent guide to the sportiness of showroom road bikes, BMW's S1000 RR blew the competition into the weeds.  Read More

Honda's U3-X personal mobility device which so impressed us at the Tokyo Motor show last year has made its first appearance on U.S. shores. The unique multi-directional, self-balancing one-wheeler is currently taking part in a three day demonstration New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square with a second event scheduled for April 13-15, at the 2010 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress in Detroit, Michigan.  Read More

Scheduled to go on sale at Honda dealers throughout Japan this May, the ENEPO EU9iGB is pretty compact as far as generators go. It's powered by common butane canisters, which makes for safe and easy storage in contrast with gasoline-fueled alternatives. A fold-down handle makes transport dead simple, as the design is reminiscent of carry-on luggage with two wheels at the base.  Read More

In terms of teaching secondary students relevant and very useful life skills, there could be no better investment at every secondary school than Honda’s all-new automobile driving simulator. Honda has been developing bicycle, motorcycle and car driving simulators solely for the purpose of traffic safety education for almost a decade, and the this model is completely new from the ground up, designed specifically to enhance the ability of driver trainees to recognize, understand and appropriately react to potential risks. In a world where becoming part of the road toll is a daily risk we all share, one wonders at just how many lives a US$66,000 machine like this might save?  Read More

Honda is set to release yet another revolutionary personal mobility concept at the Geneva Show next week. Following the company’s revolutionary 10 kilogram U3-X monocycle with its even more revolutionary HOT omni-directional driving wheel system show at Tokyo Motor Show last October, Honda has released the first details of its new 3R-C - a minimalist three-wheel urban electric vehicle for one person.  Read More

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 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

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

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