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Honda celebrates 30th anniversary of the NSX with a look back at how it began

In 1989, the baseball-loving Japanese dipped their bats in pine tar and came to the U.S. to take gigundous swings. That single year launched five legends: Lexus LS400, Infiniti Q45, Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo, Mazda MX-5 Miata, and Acura NS-X concept. The Chicago Auto Show (!) hosted the global debuts of the Mazda and the Acura. While Mazda celebrates the bygones with the 30th Anniversary Miata, Acura's reminiscing with a look at how the NSX — a car Motor Trend described in 1990 as, "[The] best sports car the world has ever produced. Any time. Any place. Any price ..." — came to be. The development yearbook opened in 1984, a year after Honda returned to Formula One as an engine supplier for the Spirit team, and for the second Williams chassis in the last race of the season. For the first time in the automaker's history, Honda wanted to build a production car with the engine behind the cabin, one that would demonstrate Honda's engineering prowess and "deeply rooted racing spirit." The sports car would also serve as a halo for the not-yet-launched Acura brand. The engineering team built the first test vehicle in February 1984 on the bones of a first-generation Honda Jazz. After four years of formal development, Honda parked the NS-X Concept in a conference room at Chicago's Drake Hotel in February 1989. This is where the media would meet the red wonder before the public show-stand debut. The F-16 Fighting Falcon-inspired coupe was built on the world's first all-aluminum monocoque, and its SOHC V6 ran with titanium connecting rods. Before the press conference, then-Honda president Tadashi Kume got in the NS-X, started the engine, and revved to the 8,000-rpm redline — a noise felt by everyone in the adjacent conference room attending a Ford press conference. Honda's PR man at the time yelled, "Mr. Kume, stop it! They're gonna hear this!" When Kume got out, he asked Honda engineers present why they didn't put their new VTEC technology in the NS-X. (What's Japanese for, "Why didn't the VTEC kick in, yo?!") They told him VTEC had been created for four-cylinder engines. Kume told them to work on a V6 application. More suggestions came from journos who drove the early prototypes at Honda's Tochigi R&D Center, who said the NS-X "could use more power." The development team had grabbed the SOHC V6 from the Acura Legend for the NS-X concept, and it put out 160 horsepower in the luxury sedan.

2016 Honda Pilot First Drive [w/video]

For all it had going for it, the second-generation Honda Pilot was stung by one undeniable fact: it looked like a big, boxy SUV at a time when consumer favor was shifting towards car-based crossovers. For 2016, though, Honda is offering a third-generation Pilot that not only does away with the old model's brutalist looks, but also adopts bleeding-edge safety technology and fuel-efficient powertrains. The Pilot's new styling still doesn't really work, to our eyes. That's not because of the CR-V-inspired headlights or Accord-derived grille. It's not even because of the horizontally oriented, reshaped taillights. The biggest problem with the Pilot is its profile. The hood is an inch lower for 2016, and the CUV is 3.5 inches longer than its predecessor with an extra inch ahead of the front axle. Simply put, the proportions are out of whack. The hood is too short, the passenger compartment too large, and the beltline too low. It's little wonder then that both Autoblog staffers and readers have pointed out the 2016 Pilot's minivan-like resemblance. Changes underneath the Pilot's sheetmetal are just as drastic. Honda incorporated a mix of high-strength steel, aluminum, and even magnesium to create the CUV's new bones. Taken as a whole, our top-of-the-line Elite tester is 286 pounds lighter than the previous model, while being 25 percent more rigid overall. Aside from some penny pinching in the cabin – the hard plastic on the top of the rear door panels is particularly egregious – the Pilot's interior is home to soft-touch plastics, quality leather, and handsome piano black accents. Front passengers are treated to broad, comfortable, power seats, complete with heating and ventilation (depending on trim). What they lack in outright support through the turns, they make up for in long-haul comfort. Honda will continue to sell the Pilot with seating for eight, but for the very first time, it's also offering a pair of captain's chairs in place of the second-row bench. Either setup is comfortable, though the seven-passenger layout allows easier access to the third row. As for the way-back, it can accommodate two kids or two adults in a pinch, but we aren't sure how Honda thinks three humans of any size will fit back there. Happily, Honda ditched the two-screen center stack setup found elsewhere in its model range. The Pilot's ample eight-inch display (standard on the Touring and Elite trims) has menus that are easy to manage.

Green self-driving cars take center stage in Tokyo

Visions of cars that drive themselves without emitting a bit of pollution while entertaining passengers with online movies and social media are what's taking center stage at the Tokyo Motor Show. Japan, home to the world's top-selling automaker, has a younger generation disinterested in owning or driving cars. The show is about wooing them back. It's also about pushing an ambitious government-backed plan that paints Japan as a leader in automated driving technology. Reporters got a preview look at the exhibition Wednesday, ahead of its opening to the public Oct. 30. Nissan Motor Co. showed a concept vehicle loaded with laser scanners, a 360 degree camera setup, a radar and computer chips so the car can "think" to deliver autonomous driving. The Japanese automaker called it IDS, which stands for "intelligent driving system." Nissan, based in Yokohama, Japan, said it will offer some autonomous driving features by the end of next year in Japan. By 2018, it said vehicles with the technology will be able to conduct lane changes on highways. By 2020, such vehicles will be able to make their way through intersections on regular urban roads. Nissan officials said they were working hard to make the car smart enough to recognize the difference between a red traffic light and a tail light, learn how to turn on intersections where white lane indicators might be missing and anticipate from body language when a pedestrian might cross a street. Nissan's IDS vehicle is also electric, with a new battery that's more powerful than the one currently in the automaker's Leaf electric vehicle. Although production and sales plans were still undecided, it can travel a longer distance on a single charge and recharge more quickly. A major challenge for cars that drive themselves is winning social acceptance. They would have to share the roads with normal cars with drivers as well as with pedestrians, animals and unexpected objects. That's why some automakers at the show are packing the technology into what looks more like a golf cart or scooter than a car, such as Honda Motor Co.'s cubicle-like Wander Stand and Wander Walker scooter. Instead of trying to venture on freeways and other public roads, these are designed for controlled environments, restricted to shuttling people to pre-determined destinations. At a special section of the show, visitors can try out some of the so-called "smart mobility" devices such as Honda's seat on a single-wheel as well as small electric vehicles.