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Honda execs take 'quality-related' pay cut after Fit Hybrid's 5th recall

Generally, the best policy in life is to admit when you're wrong and just accept the consequences. However, that attitude generally seems to be a bit less common in the world of business - at least without some government or legal prodding. So, it's especially surprising to learn that top Honda executives in Japan are taking a pay cut for the next three months following the fifth recall of the Fit Hybrid (pictured above) in the last 12 months.
According to Reuters, Chief Executive Takanobu Ito is taking a 20-percent pay cut to make amends for the quality issues. Also, 12 other high-ranking executives are taking 10 percent drops in their salaries. In addition to those temporary changes, Honda is creating a new position in charge of monitoring vehicle quality.
The latest recall fixes "noise-related defects," according to Reuters, on both the hybrid and naturally aspirated versions of the Fit, both variants of the Vezel (the sibling to the future HR-V in the US) and the N-WGN. There have also been three recalls for problems with the hybrid's seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. None of them have caused reported injuries or deaths, and these issues haven't affected US models.

2024 Honda Prologue name announced, and an Acura EV follows

Honda is revealing a couple of little nuggets of information about its future EVs today, shedding more light on the partnership between it and GM on electric vehicle technology. The big news is that Honda’s first new EV made in this partnership will be called Prologue, and it will be an SUV produced for the 2024 model year. HondaÂ’s “Prologue” logo is revealed with this news, and a few additional details about the car itself are, too. On the obvious front, Honda says the Prologue will ride on GMÂ’s global EV platform and use GMÂ’s Ultium battery technology. The company is also promising “versatility and driving range on par with our current lineup of rugged SUVs.” “Our first volume Honda BEV will begin our transition to electrification, and the name Honda Prologue signals the role it will play in leading to our zero-emission future,” says Dave Gardner, executive VP of American Honda. “The Prologue will provide our customers with a battery-electric SUV with the excellent functionality and packaging theyÂ’ve come to expect from Honda.” ItÂ’s not just Honda that will join in on the fun, though. An electric Acura SUV was also announced today. Just like the Honda, it will use GMÂ’s electric vehicle platform. A model year for the Acura wasn't promised, but Honda claimed it would be revealed “in the 2024 calendar year.” Any details beyond what you see here are being kept under wraps by Honda. WeÂ’re told to expect more “specific details” to be released over the coming months. Basically, expect a slow drip of information about the Prologue leading up to a full reveal where Honda finally shares all there is to know about the SUV. Looking even further into the future, Honda promises EVs based on an in-house-developed EV platform sometime in the second half of this decade. For now, itÂ’s calling this future platform “e:Architecture.” Ultimately, Honda promises that 100% of its auto sales in North America will be fully electric by 2040. The 2024 Prologue is the brandÂ’s first step toward this ambitious goal. Related video:

Honda, Top Gear working on 130-mph lawn mower

We're not even sure they've got a blade of Kentucky Bluegrass to cut, but the folks at Top Gear have gone ahead and started building what will become, if they're successful, the world's fastest lawn mower. Actually, it appears Top Gear is not doing much of the design and assembly work at all, instead having solicited help from experts at Honda and Team Dynamics, which oversees the automaker's touring car efforts.
What the three are working on is a riding lawnmower with a 110-hp engine that can reach 60 miles per hour in four seconds and trim turf at speeds up to 130 mph. If they succeed, such a maximum velocity would put them well ahead of the current record for the world's fastest lawnmower, which is 96.529 mph set by Bobby Cleveland and his Snapper race mower at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September of 2010. Top Gear hasn't said whether or not it will officially go after Cleveland's record, but the build will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Top Gear magazine and is scheduled to be completed by June 17, so we may learn what this maniacal mower's true purpose is then.
According to TG's report on how the build is going, as well as the video of it being fired up (literally) for the first time below, there aren't many actual mower parts left on this machine. What started out as a Honda HF2620 mower now sports wheels and tires from a racing quad, a back axle from a go-kart, a steering rack from a Morris Minor and a 1000cc engine from a Honda VTR1000F sport bike. All that remains from the original mower are the pedals and body panels; even the steel cutting deck has been replaced with a lighter fiberglass version. And blades? This mower will be bladeless, instead using two electric motors to spin lengths of brake cable like a weed whacker.