2014 Honda Odyssey Touring on 2040-cars

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Honda is replacing airbags nationwide, not just in humid states

With a Senate hearing scheduled for November 20, the investigations into the exploding airbag inflators from automotive supplier Takata are just beginning. Honda is among the automakers most affected by the problem with over five million vehicles potentially in need of repair in the US, according to the last estimate from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But the actual number being fixed could be even higher because the company is also working with worried owners nationwide.
According to the Associated Press, Honda is willing to perform the repair for concerned owners of affected vehicles who live outside of the high-humidity regions that the recall covers. In a letter to customers online, the company explains that it wants to work with them to fix the problem and even provide temporary transportation, if necessary.
"This is not a new thing, and it does not represent us including vehicles outside of those regions within the recall or investigatory campaigns. It is a part of our ongoing efforts to work with our customers individually to resolve their concerns, even if their vehicle is not technically part of one of those actions," said Honda spokesperson Chris Martin to Autoblog via email.

Honda FCEV could be hiding EV, PHEV surprises in Tokyo

Honda has already detailed which vehicles it will bring to the Tokyo Motor Show next week, but we think there's something the automaker isn't telling us. We've been thinking about the company's various announcements regarding future powertrain plans, and we now think that the FCEV is going to house more than just a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain at some point down the road. We think that the upcoming pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles that Honda has talked about - but still hasn't shown hide nor hair of - will actually be based on the FCEV. The FCEV that's coming to Tokyo (pictured) has been toned down from the fanciful concepts that we saw in LA in 2013 (below) and 2014 and there's no reason why Honda couldn't be the first to offer one car with a truly wide variety of powertrains. It's already said that electric vehicles are a core technology, and while many automakers talk about how both plug-in and hydrogen cars are electric at heart, Honda could just be the first to prove it in a big way. Now, all that Honda has officially confirmed is that it will introduce the new electrified vehicles by 2018. Ryan Harty, Honda's manager of environmental business development, told AutoblogGreen earlier this year that, "We want to bring these vehicles [EV and PHEV] to market in significant volume." One way to make that feasible would be repurpose the FCEV to use a battery or a PHEV powertrain. We've got no proof of any of this, of course, but we think the logic makes sense. In any case, we're plenty excited to see what Honda reveals at the show. There is still plenty of time for the company's future plans to shift – the hydrogen car might not arrive until June of 2017, after all, with the other two due in 2018 – but we could learn a lot of specifics in Tokyo next week.

Honda Civic poised to get new Earth Dreams engines

When Honda executed its emergency refresh of the Civic for 2013, it didn't do any massive powertrain reworking. But that doesn't mean new things aren't already in the works for Honda's compact. According to Automotive News, Honda has confirmed that it will offer the Civic with a new Earth Dreams powerplant sometime in the future, though details on timing and exactly what sort of engine are unclear as of this writing.
The confirmation comes from Honda's executive vice president and regional director for North America, Tetsuo Iwamura, who says that the Earth Dreams engine will come when the Civic is re-engineered or redesigned, not during a refresh. There is also no mention of whether these changes will apply to just the standard Civic, or if the Si and Hybrid models will receive some Dreamy new tech, as well.
The entire Earth Dreams group of technologies encompasses more than just naturally aspirated engines with direct injection. A turbo-diesel engine is also part of this suite, as are new continuously variable transmissions and new gasoline-electric hybrid powerplants. Honda launched its 2.4-liter and 3.5-liter Earth Dreams engines in the redesigned 2013 Accord.