2006 Honda Civic Sedan on 2040-cars

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Honda lets us 'drive' the FCEV; PHEV with 40-mile EV range

Blue skies for our children. That's Honda's wonderfully Japanese/English slogan that it uses as a fresh shibboleth to describe the company's plan for the future. It's vague enough to be positive, positive enough to be corporate, and corporate enough to be repeated in presentations around the world. I've certainly heard it a million times. The 2015 Honda Meeting in Utsunomiya, Japan this week was, thankfully, held under a brilliant blue autumn sky, on Honda's R&D track filled with the roar of short test drives in the NSX hybrid and the deafening electric silence of the upcoming hydrogen fuel cell FCEV. But that wasn't all. The amount of technical information Honda offered to visiting journalists during the Meeting was nothing short of overwhelming, which is why I'm glad that Autoblog editor Seyth Miersma was along for the ride. We were both at the same event, but we paid special attention to very different things. You can read his take on the four-motor CR-Z EV and the NSX, among other things, here, and get my take on a bunch of Honda's green news below. Honda calls the FCEV the "ultimate clean performance" vehicle. Honda FCEV: A Short First Crack At Honda's "Ultimate" Vehicle Sure, I got to take a lap in the NSX, but the FCEV was my highlight of the event. This was the first time Honda has let outsiders test drive the upcoming fuel cell vehicle, which the company calls the "ultimate clean performance" vehicle and which is due in the US in next year after a launch in Japan in the spring of 2016. The bad news is that the entire length of the test drive was a measly kilometer, totally straight, with one U-turn at the half-way point. So, even though I went through the course three times (two more than originally scheduled), I can't really say I know how the car drives. What I can tell you is that there are two drive modes, normal and sport, with the main difference being that sport offers stronger regenerative braking and a bit quicker acceleration response. The higher regen level does not allow for one-foot driving, sadly. There's a blue orb that glows in the digital dashboard to indicate the power output of the fuel cell stack (not the motor), so even though the car is fairly quiet as you drive, there's some minimal level of connection between the driver and the "engine." Creature comforts include Honda's excellent LaneWatch and a glossy touch screen for the infotainment system.

Honda adds 1.39 million more vehicles to Takata recall to fix Civic and Accord

Honda is already recalling millions of vehicles in the US to replace their driver's side Takata airbag inflators, and now the company is adding 1.39 million more to repair that part on the passenger's side, as well. This expansion covers the 2001-2005 Civic and the 2003-2007 Accord with a four-cylinder engine. According to the documentation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the broadening of this campaign brings the total number of cars from Honda in need of the fix on the passenger's side to 2.3 million. Honda had previously believed that the issue with Takata passenger's side was only a regional problem for high-humidity areas. However, NHTSA determined that the components were in need of a national recall, like their driver's side counterparts. The same problem affects these as the other Takata parts where prolonged exposure to moisture could cause the propellant to ignite too quickly. This can make shrapnel shoot at occupants in an airbag deployment. Up to seven fatalities have been linked globally to this happening. Honda owners affected by the company's latest expansion to its Takata recall will be notified by mail in the next 60 days. Related Video: Statement by American Honda Regarding Nationwide Recall of Certain Takata Passenger Front Airbag Inflators Jun 15, 2015 - TORRANCE, Calif. Nationwide recall of passenger front airbag inflators in 2001-2005 Civic and 2003-2007 Accord will add approximately 1.39 million inflators not previously subject to recall or safety improvement campaign No change to national recall of driver front airbag inflators announced on May 28 Honda today announced that it will initiate a national recall to replace, free of charge, Takata passenger front airbag inflators installed in certain 2001-2005 Civic and 2003-2007 Accord models sold in the United States following a recently announced defect determination by Takata. The recall will add 1.39 million passenger front airbag inflators not previously subject to either a recall or safety improvement campaign. In its preliminary announcement on May 28, Honda stated that it would recall a more limited population of vehicles. That announcement, which was based on the specific regional nature of the defect determination made by Takata, indicated that approximately 350,000 additional passenger front airbag inflators would be added to inflators included in an earlier regional action (14V-700).

Honda reveals Mobilio MPV, Brio Satya hatchback for Asian markets

Sometimes, vehicles developed for mainstream markets don't work as well in emerging markets due to a lack of infrastructure for which they were originally designed. Indonesia is one of those environs where vehicles that are low, long and wide struggle cover the country's often rough terrain, let alone fit into the nation's compact parking spaces. Taking this into account, Honda has been developing the Mobilio multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), which it teased in July, based on research conducted on the country's roads and weather conditions. Today the Japanese automaker unveiled a prototype of the MPV at the Indonesia International Motor Show.
The Mobilio has three rows of seating for seven occupants, is compact enough to fit into the country's parking spaces, which are often less than 14.4 feet in length, and has a sports utility vehicle-like ground clearance of 7.3 inches to handle most road conditions. It's equipped with a 1.5-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder engine, which should give the MPV good fuel economy.
On September 11, Honda also introduced the Brio Satya five-door hatchback (shown at right) for the Indonesian market, which features an i-VTEC four-cylinder engine that Honda says will help the car net a fuel economy rating of 20 kilometers per liter of gasoline (equivalent to 47 miles per gallon). The model is closely related to the Brio budget hatchback, which was first revealed back in 2011.