2019 Honda Odyssey Ex-l on 2040-cars

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Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi will share EV components and AI research

TOKYO — Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda say they plan to share components for electric vehicles like batteries and jointly research software for autonomous driving. A third Japanese manufacturer, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., has joined the Nissan-Honda partnership, sharing the view that speed and size are crucial in responding to dramatic changes in the auto industry centered around electrification. A preliminary agreement between Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. was announced in March. After 100 days of talks, executives of the companies evinced a sense of urgency. Japanese automakers dominated the era of gasoline engines in recent decades but have fallen behind formidable new players in green cars like Tesla of the U.S. and ChinaÂ’s BYD. “Companies that donÂ’t adapt to the changes cannot survive,” said Honda Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe. “If we try to do everything on our own, we cannot catch up.” Nissan and Honda will use the same batteries and adopt the same specifications for motors and inverters for EV axles, they said. By coming together in what Mibe and counterpart at Nissan, Makoto Uchida, repeatedly called “making friends” to achieve economies of scale, the companies plan more strategic investments in technology and aim to cut costs by boosting volume. Each company will continue to produce and offer its own model offerings. But they will share resources in areas like components and software development, where “making friends” will be a plus, Mibe and Uchida told reporters. They declined to say whether the friendship will extend to a mutual capital ownership, while noting that wasnÂ’t ruled out. The two companies also agreed to have their model lineups “mutually complement” each other in various global markets, including both internal combustion engine vehicles and EVs. Details on that are being worked out, the companies said. Honda and Nissan will also work together on energy services in Japan. Under ThursdayÂ’s announcements, Mitsubishi will join as a third member. Toyota Motor Corp., JapanÂ’s top automaker, is not part of the three-way collaboration. Although Honda and Nissan have very different corporate cultures, it became clear, as their discussions on working together continued, their engineers and other workers on the ground have a lot in common, Uchida said. “Speed is the most crucial element, considering our size,” he added.

2016: The year we talked about autonomy a bunch | Autoblog Podcast #497

This week on the Autoblog Podcast, Mike Austin and David Gluckman take a look back at one of the biggest topics of 2016: autonomous driving. The thing is, there was a lot of news about autonomous driving, but not much in the way of autonomous cars you can buy. They also talk about what they've been driving lately - there was a good turbocharged compact car and a not-so-good turbocharged compact car. And then we round out the year with a quick Spend My Money. The podcast will take a break next week, but we'll be back in the new year with reports from CES and the 2017 Detroit Auto Show. And we're lining up some fun guests for future recordings. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And please send trivia questions! You'll get the honor of stumping your fellow listeners, and we'll thank you too. Autoblog Podcast #497 Topics and stories we mention 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport 2017 Nissan Sentra SR Turbo 2016 Honda Accord V6 (The sedan, but here's our Quick Spin of the coupe for reference) Autonomous Driving Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 02:40 Rants (metal trim on steering wheels, learn how your car works) - 14:25 Looking back at autonomous driving in 2016 - 21:10 Spend My Money - 31:20 Total Duration: 37:46 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Honda Hyundai Nissan Car Buying Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles nissan sentra

2014 Honda Odyssey sucks it up for our editor

When we heard that the 2014 Honda Odyssey would be getting the world's first in-car vacuum, we had to check this thing out for ourselves. Called HondaVAC, this tidy little sucker was co-developed with Shop-Vac, and it's actually pretty neat. It comes standard on Odyssey's top-trim Touring Elite model and can be fitted with a wide range of attachments all housed in the cargo area. Honda notes that the vacuum hose is long enough to reach surfaces in every part of the Odyssey's cabin, and that it will even run for a full eight minutes after the vehicle is turned off.
Good thing, then, that Honda chose to show off the new 2014 Odyssey here at the New York Auto Show, as Autoblog west coast editor Michael Harley clumsily managed to spill some snacks all over the cargo area (we tried to convince him to give himself a hickey, but he declined on grounds that his wife might not let him attend any more auto shows). Take a look at the video below to see just how well the new minivan cleans up.