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Honda Odyssey hybrid under consideration in Japan, but not US

"Over time you can expect to see broader application of our two motor hybrid system" - Sage Marie The idea of a hybrid minivan is not new, at least in Japan. Toyota sells the Estima - the world's first hybrid minivan, it has been available since 2001 - and the Aphard hybrids there. The US is not immune to the dream - in 2011, Chrysler said it was going to make a hybrid minivan in 2013 (didn't happen) - but there has never been a gas-electric minivan sold from a major automaker in the US. And, despite new rumors of a Honda Odyssey hybrid for Japan, the chances that the US will get one in the near future remain roughly at zero. A new report says Honda is considering a hybrid version of the fifth-generation Odyssey in Japan, and such a gas-electric powertrain could reduce fuel use by up to 50 percent. Honda powertrain assistant large project leader Takashi Shinchi told CarAdvice that the hybrid (not a plug-in version) is "under consideration," given the hybrid minivan competition in Japan. Such consideration is not happening in the US, at least not in any serious way. Sage Marie, senior manager of public relations for Honda North America, told AutoblogGreen, "The only thing the Japanese Odyssey and the US Odyssey have in common is the name. There are no current plans for a US Odyssey hybrid, but I will tell you that over time you can expect to see broader application of our industry-leading two motor hybrid system." The standard, gas-powered 2014 Odyssey gets 22 miles per gallon, combined (19 city and 28 highway). Featured Gallery 2011 Honda Odyssey: Review View 35 Photos News Source: CarAdvice, HondaImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Steven Ewing / AOL Green Honda Hybrid JDM hybrid minivan honda odyssey hybrid

Honda's new hybrid will cut use of rare-earth metals

Honda will start selling a hybrid vehicle later this year that will reduce the use of rare-earth metals in the hybrid-electric motor's magnets. The Japanese automaker worked with Japanese metal supplier Daido Steel Co. to develop a process that eliminates the use of rare-earth elements such as terbium or dysprosium. The first vehicle to feature this process will be the Honda Freed subcompact minivan, which is based on the platform of the Fit and will go on sale in Japan later this year. The new technology will help free Honda from its dependence on China, which produces about 90 percent of the world's rare-earth metals. The new process uses what's called the "hot deformation method" to eliminate the need for the heavier metals and likely reduce hybrid-engine costs. Honda's new hybrid motors use a lighter rare-earth material called neodymium. With both electric and hybrid vehicle production forecast to grow within the next few years, rare-earth metal demand is forecast to rise by 14 percent a year to more than $9 billion by 2019, Automotive News says, citing an estimate from technology-research company Technavio Research. Honda estimates that the new process cuts the cost of making the motors' magnets by about 10 percent while reducing their weight by about eight percent, Reuters says. Additionally, neodymium is found in Australia and North America, as well as China. Honda has been selling a gas-powered version of the Freed in Japan since 2008. Three years later, Honda started selling a hybrid version of the minivan, which was rated to get 51 miles per gallon on the Japanese driving cycle. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Daido Steel and Honda Adopt World's First Hybrid Vehicle Motor Magnet Free of Heavy Rare Earth Elements – Honda Freed, on sale this fall, will be the first hybrid vehicle to adopt new magnet – Daido Steel Honda TOKYO, Japan, July 12, 2016 - Daido Steel Co., Ltd. and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. became the world's first companies to achieve practical application of a hot deformed neodymium magnet containing no heavy rare earth*1 and yet with high heat resistance properties and high magnetic performance required for the use in the driving motor of a hybrid vehicle. This heavy rare earth-free hot deformed neodymium magnet will be applied first to the all-new Honda FREED, scheduled to go on sale this fall.

Cafe racer motorbikes storm Japan

Japan may be best known, at least among motorcycle enthusiasts, for its sport bikes. But as we found at the Tokyo Motor Show this year, Japanese motorcycle manufacturers are capable of producing all kinds of motorbikes. And to our delight, that includes cafe racers.
Along with the myriad electric bikes, dirt bikes, crotch rockets and scooters, the halls of Tokyo's Big Site convention center this year were full of the retro-infused rides we love. Chief among them was the Bolt (shown above) which Yamaha exhibited alongside their various electric two-wheelers, sporting a delicious metallic blue paintjob, inverted handlebars and hanging mirrors, machined metal bits, blacked-out trim and saddle brown leatherwork.
Honda was also on hand with a new EX version of its '70s-style CB1100 retro roadster in sinister and low-key matte black. And this was our first chance to check out BMW Motorrad's new birthday present to its 90-year-old self, the R NineT, a model recently unveiled at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. But one of the most amusing retro rides we came across was the Honda Monkey Limited, a mini bike that makes the new 125cc Grom (which was displayed alongside it) look positively gigantic.