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Honda, Acura EVs will adopt Tesla's NACS charging port

CARMEL, Calif. — As more and more automakers pledge to install TeslaÂ’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports on their electric vehicles, Honda says that it, too, will hop on the bandwagon. Future EVs from Honda – as well as its luxury division, Acura – will have NACS charging setups, giving these cars access to TeslaÂ’s huge network of Supercharger stations. "It is quite important," American Honda Motor Co. President and CEO Noriya Kaihara said in an interview Friday. "We also have to push NACS, as well. It is clear." As for when this will happen, Honda is currently at the mercy of General Motors. The Japanese automakerÂ’s next two EVs – the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX – use shared architecture with GM, leveraging The GeneralÂ’s excellent Ultium battery technology. The ZDX will launch first, and have the traditional CCS port that isnÂ’t compatible with TeslaÂ’s chargers, but it will switch to the NACS design in 2025 or 2026. "We clearly depend on GM," Shinji Aoyama, Executive Vice President of Honda Motor Co., said during Friday's interview. "Once they [switch to NACS], this will follow for ZDX, as well." Looking to the future, Honda is part of a joint venture with seven other global automakers that will see the installation of more than 30,000 EV fast-charging stations across the United States and Canada. The chargers are still in development, but Honda says the companies are all aligned on the core values that are needed to make this charging network successful.  "The software needs to be really reliable and really open infrastructure so it communicates with every OEM's software," Jay Joseph, American Honda's Vice President of Sustainability and Business Development, said in Friday's interview. "The hardware needs to be capable of the highest levels of charging. It needs to be secure, it needs to be reliable, it needs to be accessible." Joseph said the current public charging companies know and understand the shortcomings with their systems, and that TeslaÂ’s Superchargers set an example of how to do chargers right. "If you look at what's so great about the Tesla Supercharger network, it's the maintenance," Joseph said. "They stay on top of it, they've got someone onsite monitoring the equipment, they're monitoring it electronically and remotely, and they fix it – fast. That's probably the most important thing." All the more reason for Honda – and other automakers – to switch to the NACS charging setup as quickly as possible.

Honda sending two NSX racers and new EV concept to Pikes Peak

Honda is always good for a few interesting Pikes Peak entries. In 2015, Acura supplied a 2017 NSX prototype for pace-car duty. This time around, two NSXes will compete alongside a reconfigured version of the company's four-motor electric racecar. Those aren't the 2016 entries above. The one on the right is last year's pace car and the one on the left is a first-gen NSX that did the hillclimb the past few years. The 2016 cars haven't been unveiled yet, but we know that one will be in the Time Attack 2 Production class, which is mostly stock with the addition of items like a roll cage, and the other will be in Time Attack 1. TA 1 allows modifications to the powertrain, additional aero aids, suspension changes, and other tweaks, so expect to see a lot more power and a big wing on the back. The cars will be driven by James and Nick Robinson, brothers who work for Honda R&D in Ohio. Honda will use a version of the four-motor electric powertrain from its 2015 CR-Z Exhibition class entry in a new EV. (We got to drive a non-race tune of this setup in Japan last year.) The 2016 version, which will wear a different body, moves to the Electric - Electric Modified class of last year's frontrunners. We're told this car is aiming for an overall win at the 2016 race; the CR-Z took 11th place overall in 2015. The EV will again be driven by Tetsuya Yamano, a Japanese Super GT driver. Oh, and there will of course be a factory entry or two from Honda's Powersports division. Honda engineer Keith Steidl will ride a 2015 TRX1000 ATV in the Pikes Peak Challenge - Exhibition Powersport class. In the past, Honda has fielded plenty of other neat stuff in the Race to the Clouds. In 2012, it ran an NSX fitted with a twin-turbo V6 from an LMP2 car, and the 2013 race saw the very practical 532-horsepower turbocharged Odyssey minivan join the Exhibition class. The 2016 race marks the Pikes Peak hillclimb's 100th anniversary (but not the 101st running since competition took some breaks back in wartime). We're looking forward to June already. Related Video: Image Credit: Honda Green Motorsports Acura Honda Electric Hybrid Racing Vehicles pikes peak exclusive

Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, Toyota Tundra flunk IIHS headlight test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety put pickup truck headlights to the test and found that the majority of them were equipped with subpar units. The 2017 Honda Ridgeline was the only truck to earn a rating of "good." The large pickup truck test was comprised of the: 2016 to 2017 GMC Sierra, 2017 Nissan Titan, 2016 Ram 1500, 2016 to 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, 2016 to 2017 Ford F-150, and 2016 to 2017 Toyota Tundra. The Sierra's headlights earned a rating of "acceptable," the headlights found on the Titan and Ram 1500 were found to be "marginal," and the ones on the Silverado, F-150, and Tundra were rated as "poor." IIHS claims the F-150 was the most disappointing out of the large pickup trucks as both its halogen and optional LED headlights failed to provide adequate visibility during testing. The Ridgeline (which earned a "good rating"), is usually considered a midsize or small truck, though IIHS included it in the field of large pickups. The headlights on the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado, 2016 GMC Canyon, 2016 Nissan Frontier, and 2016 to 2017 Toyota Tacoma, which made up the small pickup truck group, all earned a rating of "poor." The IIHS claimed the Colorado had the worst headlights of any truck that was tested, as the base vehicle's units were only able to illuminate up to 123 feet in front of the car. The Ridgeline's headlights, for reference, were able to illuminate up to 358 feet in front of the vehicle. To conduct its test, the IIHS utilizes a special tool to measure how far light is projected out of the headlights in different driving situations. The trucks' headlights were tested in a straight line and in corners, while vehicles with high-beam assist were given extra praise. The headlights on the pickup trucks also mimic the testing that was done on small SUVs and cars earlier this year. Next year, automakers will need to fit their vehicles with headlights that earn a rating of either good or acceptable to earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick+. Related Video: