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Sampling toys and tools in the Honda Dream Garage

I have two Hondas in my modest garage. One is a 1972 CB450 that I cherish but rarely ride, the other a 2014 HRR216 mower that my neighbors probably wish I'd use more often. Not quite dream garage material, but I like my trusty Hondas all the same. So I was pretty geeked to visit what Honda calls its Dream Garage. Spoiler alert: There was no actual garage. The various Honda products were spread out over a few acres of private land. And before you ask, no, the HondaJet wasn't in attendance. No confining garage meant I got to try a bunch of this stuff out. Honda makes such a wide variety of products, and so many of them, that it is the number one maker of engines in the world, having built 28 million in 2014. Highlights included a smattering of motorcycles, some rugged side-by-sides, the Uni-Cub assistive mobility device/powered stool, a few boats, Honda's latest cars, and snowblowers. Yep, in Southern California in July. They used damp sawdust for demonstrations, which meant I got to run a giant snowblower in a t-shirt. Watch the video above to see me ride, drive, walk behind, and be assisted by some of Honda's latest gear that isn't a car. Some of my favorites: The Grom. I've wanted to ride one since it came out a couple years back. This miniature motorcycle is hilarious and surprisingly rideable given its 125-cc single, which puts out about eight horsepower. It'll do 45 mph pretty easily, which feels fast on this baby bike. The only thing that takes getting used to is the time required to glance down at the instruments – they're way down there. Otherwise, it's a normal motorcycle with tiny wheels and a tinier engine. Riding the Uni-Cub was another dream experience of mine. It's much more intuitive than a Segway and makes you look slightly less goofy. I felt like I was in an OK Go video. It was neat. One item that didn't make the video is the NM4 you see here: crazy anime-inspired styling, a dual-clutch transmission, and then more crazy styling. The DCT means your left hand and foot get a rest. I still grabbed for the clutch every time I started the bike, though. Old habits and their hard deaths. Honda is also putting a dual-clutch transmission into one of its newest side-by-side offerings, but it was only on display and not available to pilot. I drove one with a traditional auto and another with an automated manual – and paddle shifters!

Honda S660 set for Yokkaichi production next year

Roadsters, you might argue, are best when they're small and nimble. If you're thinking of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, you're on the right track, but there have been even smaller ones: pint-sized, three-cylinder roadsters like the Daihatsu Copen, Suzuki Cappuccino and Smart Roadster. But the most iconic and enduring of them was surely the Honda Beat.
Designed by Pininfarina, the Beat was - not unlike the F40 was for Enzo Ferrari - the last car approved for production by company founder Soichiro Honda. It complied with Japan's strict Kei car regulations and packed a tiny, naturally aspirated 656 cc that produced just 63 horsepower. The cult classic ended production in 1996, but six months ago Honda hinted at a revival with the presentation of the S660 concept at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Now it seems Honda - or Yachiyo, we should say - is gearing up to put it into production at the same factory that produced the Beat two decades ago.
That plant is the Yokkaichi factory, a facility owned by Yachiyo Industry Co., Ltd. that builds small cars on contract for Honda. It was slated for a major expansion a few years ago until Honda shifted some of its small car production to its own plant in Suzuka, but continues to build the N series of boxy, upright hatchbacks, as well as small commercial vehicles like the Life and Vamos lines. The reintroduction of a small roadster line to the factory's output sometime in 2015 will undoubtedly be a cause for celebration in Yokkaichi. For our part we can only hope that American Honda CEO Tetsuo Iwamura gets his way and manages to bring the S660 to the US in the near future.

Japanese automakers kick in $800k for new charging-station company

Cynics may say that gathering $800,000 (total) from four of Japan's largest automakers is merely a rounding error. Still, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi, along with the Development Bank of Japan, are putting those funds to good use. So, that's something. Last week, those five entities officially founded Nippon Charge Service LLC. The company was established to promote plug-in vehicle charging installations across Japan and the automakers seeded it with 80 million yen, or about $786,000 US. Those funds will be used to help business owners deploy charging stations at convenience stores, highway-side locales and other locations that will make it easier for plug-in vehicle drivers (of Toyotas, Hondas, Mitsubishis and Nissans, obviously) to get their juice. The automakers first announced they'd collaborate last year, when they said they'd work with the Japanese government to more than triple the country's publicly accessible chargers to about 17,000 units. No targets were disclosed as far as how many charging stations would be deployed this time out, but, in a move similar to the EZ Charge system in the US, Nippon Charge Service will also have universally-accepted charging cards available by the end of the year to drivers all of those brands' plug-in vehicles to make the charging process a little more seamless. Check out Honda's press release below. Japan Automakers Advance Electric Charging Infrastructure with New Company, Nippon Charge Service -Established to help build charging infrastructure for electric-powered vehicles (PHVs, PHEVs and EVs)- Toyota Motor Corporation Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Development Bank of Japan Inc. TOKYO, Japan, May 30, 2014 - Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation jointly established a new company, Nippon Charge Service, LLC, on May 26 to promote the installation of chargers for electric-powered vehicles (PHVs, PHEVs, EVs). The goal is to help build a charging network that offers more convenience to drivers in Japan. The new company will promote the installation of chargers, for the good of society and to expand the use of electric-powered vehicles. Related industries are also expected to benefit. Development Bank of Japan Inc.