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This P-51 Mustang replica flies with a Honda Odyssey engine

The legendary WWII P-51 Mustang fighter ranks right up there with hot dogs, baseball, and apple pie. So sought after is the original Mustang that one of the 200 or so airworthy P-51s left will run you at least $1.5 million. That's why there's a thriving replica market with three-quarter-scale aircraft like this Titan T-51D Mustang. It looks every bit the part until you crack open the cowling and find not a howling Rolls-Royce Merlin V12, but the V6 from the Honda Odyssey minivan. To be precise, the Titan T-51 uses Honda's J35A6 60-degree SOHC V6. It's one version of the ubiquitous J-series engine, found in the Odyssey minivan as well as the Honda Pilot. Other variations of the Ohio-built powerplant pull duty in the Accord and several Acura models. But why a Honda V6? Titan Aircraft president John Williams says the company began production of the T-51 with a Rotax 912F four-cylinder boxer engine, but its 100-horsepower output wasn't cutting it for customers. They wanted "more power and more noise." So the search began for a lightweight, easily-packaged V6, leading first to a Suzuki 2.5-liter with 160 hp. "Our guys still wanted more power, so the next choice was either going to be a Chevy V8 or a Honda V6. The Honda is a little bit lighter and from a V6 standpoint, it's a brute. In the Honda Pilot or the Odyssey, it's rated from 240 to 250 horsepower," Williams explains. Converting the V6 to an airworthy powerplant requires minor modifications, such as swapping the stock engine control unit (ECU) for an aftermarket one. Car-specific parameters for things like anti-knock sensing and rev limiters simply don't work well in the air. "You don't want your timing retarded when you're trying to clear a tree," Williams chuckles. With a hotter Acura camshaft and exhaust modifications, the naturally aspirated Honda engine makes about 300 hp in the T-51D, Williams says. The V6 mates to a custom gearbox designed to yield a 2-to-1 reduction for the propeller. Rather than the original Mustang's crankcase oil, the Titan's nosecase uses automotive gear oil. And while the engine can obviously use regular unleaded from any gas station, it runs well on the 100-octane low-lead aviation fuel commonly found at airports. The T-51 is a kit airplane that buyers can build themselves for less than $100,000. And like most kit manufacturers, Titan offers a builder-assistance program to help with assembly.

Honda working on 'power exporter' to go with fuel-cell vehicle

The bad news, as we've previously reported, is that Honda's first production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle won't debut until 2016, a bit later than expected. The good news is that the automaker may produce a device that will let that FCV's motor power up other devices as well. So it's a tradeoff of sorts. The company is producing what it calls the Power Exporter Concept. Put simply, it's a device that can connects to the fuel-cell vehicle and produce AC power (the picture makes it look fairly small, but dimensions weren't disclosed). The device has a maximum output of 9 kilowatts. Honda isn't saying much else about the device, which was announced along with further details of the company's upcoming fuel-cell concept vehicle. Still, it's heady yet not terribly surprising stuff from a company that's long been a big player on the portable power generator industry. Honda recently said its first production fuel-cell vehicle would see the light of day in early 2016 instead of 2015. The futuristic-looking vehicle will have a power output of about 130 horsepower and will be able to have its hydrogen tank filled up in less than five minutes. Take a look at Honda's press release below. Honda Unveils All-New FCV CONCEPT Fuel-Cell Vehicle - Striving to Realize a CO2-free Society by Combining FCV with an external power feeding device and Smart Hydrogen Station - TOKYO, Japan, November 17, 2014 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today unveiled, for the first time in the world, the Honda FCV CONCEPT, a concept car for an all-new fuel-cell vehicle (FCV), and the Honda Power Exporter CONCEPT, a concept model for an external power feeding device that enables AC power output from the FCV with maximum output of 9 kW*1. The all-new FCV that will be based on this concept model is scheduled to go on sale in Japan by the end of March, 2016 and subsequently in the U.S. and Europe. In addition to the FCV and external power feeding device, Honda will further promote the application of the Smart Hydrogen Station (SHS), a packaged hydrogen station unit that adopts Honda's original high-differential-pressure electrolyzer. In this way, Honda will work toward the forthcoming hydrogen society under three key concepts – "generate," "use" and "get connected" – and strive for the early realization of a CO2-free society.

Japan could consolidate to three automakers by 2020

Sergio Marchionne might see his dream of big mergers in the auto industry become a reality, and an analyst thinks Japan is a likely place for consolidation to happen. Takaki Nakanishi from Jefferies Group LLC tells Bloomberg the country's car market could combine to just three or fewer major players by 2020, from seven today. "To have one or two carmakers in a country is not only natural, but also helpful to their competitiveness," Nakanishi told Bloomberg. "Japan has just too many and the resources have been too spread out. It's a natural trend to consolidate and reduce some of the wasted resources." Nakanishi's argument echoes Marchionne's reasons to push for a merger between FCA and General Motors. Automakers spend billions on research and development, but their competitors also invest money to create the same solutions. Consolidating could conceivably put that R&D money into new avenues. "In today's global marketplace, it is increasingly difficult for automakers to compete in lower volume segments like sports cars, hydrogen fuel cells, or electrified vehicles on their own," Ed Kim, vice president of Industry Analysis at AutoPacific, told Autoblog. Even without mergers, these are the areas where Japanese automakers already have partners for development. Kim cited examples like Toyota and Subaru's work on the BRZ and FR-S and its collaboration with BMW on a forthcoming sports car. Honda and GM have also reportedly deepened their cooperation on green car tech. After Toyota's recent buyout of previous partner Daihatsu, Nakanishi agrees with rumors that the automotive giant could next pursue Suzuki. He sees them like a courting couple. "For Suzuki, it's like they're just starting to exchange diaries and have yet to hold hands. When Toyota's starts to hold 5 percent of Suzuki's shares, this will be like finally touching fingertips," Nakanishi told Bloomberg. "I absolutely do believe that we are not finished seeing consolidation in Japan," Kim told Autoblog. Rising development costs to meet tougher emissions regulations make it hard for minor players in the market to remain competitive. "The smaller automakers like Suzuki, Mazda, and Mitsubishi are challenged to make it on their own in the global marketplace. Consolidation for them may be inevitable." Related Video: