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2014 Honda Odyssey set to clean up in NY with world's first in-car vacuum

Much of the minivan segment's volume has been sucked up by the industry's ever-increasing appetite for crossovers, but a few major players are hanging in there, eager to serve as beasts of burden for America's families. Chief among those players is Honda, which is showing its revamped 2014 Odyssey at this week's New York Auto Show with a potential game-changing feature - an in-car vacuum.
Co-developed with Shop-Vac, the HondaVAC system will come standard on the range-topping Touring Elite model. The system includes a replaceable filter and canister bag, along with a range of attachments located in the cargo hold. Honda says this first-ever feature includes a hose that is long enough to clean the entire interior. Better still, the vacuum will run for up to eight minutes after the vehicle is turned off, so you can get every last Cheerio out of the seat cushions, and it never needs plugging in or recharging, as it runs off of the vehicle's electrical system.
In other news, the 2014 Odyssey gets a new aluminum hood and fenders to pair with its revamped grille and lower fascia. Headlamps get a more sinister look thanks to darker surrounds, and there are new LED taillamps out back, as well as revamped side mirrors on the doors. Underneath the skin, Honda says the 2014 Odyssey has received structural changes to help it ace the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety's new small-overlap frontal crash test, and it's also added active safety features like lane departure warning and forward collision warning to the optional features list.

Remembering the glory days of the Honda Civic Si

In addition to watching host John Davis slowly age over his decades on the show, MotorWeek's Retro Review series on YouTube allows us to look back on some of the favorite models of yesteryear to see their evolution toward present day. Take the 1989 Honda Civic Si for example, which is newly featured. The name is still on the market, and the current model boasts 205 horsepower and 174 pound-feet of torque from its 2.4-liter four-cylinder. However, the current Si is being left behind in power by other performance compacts like the latest Volkswagen GTI, Subaru WRX and Ford Focus ST. Back in 1989, the Civic Si was still something of an upstart in the hot hatch ranks and definitely had something to prove. Remember, this was a about decade before the tuner boom of the late '90s gave these Hondas massive popularity. Though, the writing was on the wall for eventual success, based on the MotorWeek review. The show called it "stylish" and was attracted to vehicle's sharp handing, even with no power steering. Like today, power was lacking compared to major competitors like he VW GTI, but Honda's 1.6-liter four-cylinder with 108 hp and 100 lb-ft still received some praise. As always, it's fascinating to see how these now beloved models stack up when looking back. The high-performance Civic might be due for another surge in popularity too, if the forthcoming Type R from Europe ever makes to the US. News Source: MotorWeek via YouTube Honda Hatchback Performance Classics Videos honda civic si

SAE World Congress: Testing out the Honda UNI-CUB, Walking Assist Device

Based on the downstairs display at the 2015 SAE World Congress in Detroit this week, you would think that Honda is barely an automaker. Instead, it was a company that focuses on robots, bizarre unicycles, motorcycles, and jets. We were not adverse to the car-related tech on display upstairs, but we wanted a closer look at the UNI-CUB and the Walking Assist Device. The UNI-CUB is one of the strangest vehicles we've ever experienced. It feels telepathic, because when you're sitting on it and think you want to go forward, your body naturally leans and then the UNI-CUB starts to move. The UNI part of the name stands for unicycle, but that's kind of a misnomer, since this thing has more than one wheel. First off, there's a tiny wheel for balance at the rear, but the main wheel itself is made up of multiple smaller wheels, which Honda calls the Omni Traction Drive System. This is what lets the UNI-CUB move side to side instead of just frontwards and backwards. The Walking Assist Device is a small setup with motors, leg straps, and a battery pack. The idea is to have the machine help lift up your legs as you walk, with the target audience being people who have had an injury, like a stroke. The WAD sits outside your clothes and can help someone walk for about an hour from a 22.2V-1Ah lithium-ion battery. You can see more in the video above.