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Honda's Uni-Cub hacked to be a boombox and a personal guide

Honda has a history of developing technology that strays from its famous car and motorcycle lines. A few years ago, the company added to that legacy of gadgets that aren't cars by introducing the Uni-Cub personal mobility device. It was more or less a Segway that did away with the whole standing thing, meaning that riders simply had to sit down and lean in whatever direction they wanted to go. That's all well and good, but Honda wanted to see what else the device could be used for, so the company updated the mobility chair to allow other people to code applications for it. Then Honda hosted a hack-a-thon for people to come out and see what they could do with it. Based on the video above, it seems plenty of people have ideas for the little wheeled wonder. One team developed the perfect party companion by attaching a speaker to the Uni-Cub and creating an app that would let people upload tracks to a playlist from their phone. And since the Uni-Cub is mobile, it can bring the tunes to wherever the people are. All it needs now are some cup holders. Another team developed a way to get people around new, confusing office buildings by turning the Uni-Cub into a guide. Upon entering a building, a person can request a Uni-Cub to come pick them up and then hop on to take a ride to their destination. The Uni-Cub can then return to its home base, and, if the person programs it ahead of time, can return on its own to take the user back to the entrance. Of course this would mean no more excuses to showing up late to a meeting. None of these ideas are planned for any sort of production, but they certainly are interesting. That said, our favorite Uni-Cub application remains the video for OK Go's "I Won't Let You Down". You should probably just go watch that one again. Related Video: Image Credit: Honda Auto News Green Honda Technology Videos personal mobility honda uni-cub

Honda reports $2.3 billion profit despite pandemic

TOKYO — Japanese automaker Honda reported Friday that its profit rose 23% in the last quarter, despite a pandemic that has slammed businesses around the world. Tokyo-based Honda said its July-September profit was 240.9 billion yen ($2.3 billion), up from 196.5 billion yen a year earlier, as the auto market recovered in some parts of the world. Honda said it carried out aggressive cost cuts that involved a “fundamental review” of its operations. The situation was also improving from earlier this year, when lockdowns and other problems related to COVID-19 caused disruptions of some production and an inventory crunch. Quarterly sales slipped to 3.65 trillion yen ($35 billion) from 3.73 trillion yen the same period a year earlier. Honda warned that uncertainty remains amid rising COVID-19 cases. But the company stressed it was managing to cling to profitability. Reflecting that upbeat mood, Honda raised its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March 2021 to 390 billion yen ($3.8 billion) from an earlier projection for 165 billion yen ($1.6 billion). The latest forecast is still lower than the 455.7 billion yen profit Honda booked in the previous fiscal year. Honda sold slightly more vehicles in the quarter through September at 1.25 million vehicles, compared to 1.24 million vehicles in the same period of 2019. But it sold fewer motorcycles at nearly 4.5 million motorcycles, down from nearly 5.1 million. Kohei Takeuchi, a senior Honda manager, said much of the damage to sales likely came from the pandemic, though he hesitated to blame the entire decline on the pandemic. Executive Vice President Seiji Kuraishi told reporters Honda is bullish on shifting its lineup to ecological models to keep up with the global efforts to curb carbon emissions and global warming. Also Friday, Toyota raised its full year fiscal forecasts to a 1.4 trillion yen ($13.5 billion) profit, after reporting results that appear to show a gradual but sure recovery. Its profit fell 11% in the last quarter. Nissan reports financial results next week. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Acura Honda

Honda invests $25m on hot-weather testing facility in Mojave

Situated in the Mojave Desert near Cantil, CA, the Honda Proving Center of California is a 4,255-acre facility incorporating a 7.5-mile high-speed oval and a 4.5-mile road course. The location also has a series of off-road routes for testing trucks, dirt bikes, and the like. It first opened in 1990 but ceased functioning twenty years later, after which we saw it listed for sale online. Honda evidently had a change of heart, and is now setting about refurbishing the facility and putting it back into active duty. Backed by an investment of $25 million, the warm-weather proving ground is set to reopen next April. Exact details of the renovation plan have not been announced, but the existing features are set to be refurbished and some new ones added to the site. Honda currently undertakes most of its vehicle testing in America at the Transportation Research Center located near its plants in East Liberty and Marysville, OH. It also operates to major proving grounds back home in Japan in Takasu and Tochigi, and a dedicated motorcycle R&D center with its own test track in Asaka. It also owns the Motegi complex, complete with road course and oval speedway, near its main facility in Tochigi. Related Video: Honda to Enhance California Proving Center in 2016 $25 million investment will renovate the warm weather testing facility Dec 8, 2015 - TORRANCE, Calif. Driven by the expanding responsibility for developing new automotive and power sports products in America and the related need for performance testing, Honda will invest $25 million to renovate the Honda Proving Center of California (HPCC) in the Mojave Desert near Cantil, California. The proving center, which was in operation from 1990 through 2010, is scheduled to reopen in April 2016. The 4,255-acre warm weather testing facility features a 7.5-mile high speed oval track and a 4.5-mile winding road course that will be completely refurbished. The renovations also will include the addition of some new vehicle test road enhancements to the property. "As we continue to accelerate our growth in the U.S. market with a competitive line up of cars and trucks designed and developed in the U.S., we are reinvesting in HPCC to create a world-class test facility," said John Mendel, executive vice president of the Automobile Division of American Honda Motor, Co., Inc.