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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #319 LIVE!

We record Autoblog Podcast #319 tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments regarding the rest of the week's news via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #319
Jeep checks out the Grand Wagoneer at Wagonmaster

Honda's 3D-printed customizable EV has motorcycle bones

Honda isn't the first company to reveal vehicles with 3D-printed panels, details and more. However, it's certainly one of the biggest, so its efforts warrant a closer look. Fresh off the heels of the Paris Auto Show, Honda showed off its Variable Design platform for micro EVs: petite cars where space -- and weight -- is at a premium. The automaker wants to offer a vehicle with a customizable layout where drivers can choose what they need. That could be lowered entry points at the doors for senior drivers, a hatchback trunk for delivery vehicles or space for a family of three. (Somehow!) Let's take a closer look: I was a bit skeptical of the idea of an entire vehicle built from 3D-printed panels, but a Honda spokesperson outlined how the company took design and engineering know-how from its motorcycle division, resulting in a light but safe pipe-based skeleton under the paneling. This is apparently what gives the "micro commuter model" structural integrity. The company had some assistance from design firm Kabuku, which put a bird on it -- on the hatchback trunk, as well as the doors and seat. The car mostly has that familiarly, rough 3D-printed surface to it, but despite being the early first step in Honda's efforts to offer a heavily customizable electric vehicle, today's prototype could very much move. A handful of journalists and businessmen got to sit inside and drive it very briefly around a corner in a faux-Japanese village. 3D-printing entire car bodies could lead to reduced design times and cheaper costs. But that's if it becomes a bigger thing. For now, it's a promising platform that's still in development.This article by Mat Smith originally ran on Engadget, the definitive guide to this connected life. Green Honda Technology Emerging Technologies Electric

Average new-car fuel economy figures continue record pace

Manufacturers are making more efficient cars and trucks; we've known that to be true for some time. Nearly every new car has some sort of trick to eke a few extra miles out of every gallon of fuel. Whether that be turbocharging, active aerodynamics or hybrid technology/electrified powertrains, the fact is that our vehicles are more efficient than ever before.
Thanks to a recent study by TrueCar, we've got fresh quantitative data to support the above statements. For the fourth month in a row, we've seen an improvement in national fleet fuel economy. We Americans are 0.7 miles per gallon more efficient than we were last month, and our cars are 1.6-mpg better than at this time last year. That said, we're still down on 2013's high, which was set back in January at 24.5 mpg.
Not only does this reflect the improved technologies in our vehicles, but it demonstrates a changing mindset among consumers, who are purchasing more efficient vehicles despite the relative stabilization of fuel prices. Every fuel-efficient model sold drives its manufacturers fleet average up.