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2018 Honda Odyssey bests Pacifica, Sienna in minivan crash, LATCH tests

Honda has a lot to be proud of following the latest round of passenger small-overlap crash testing by the IIHS. The safety organization tested the 2018 Honda Odyssey, 2018 Chrysler Pacifica and 2018 Toyota Sienna, and the Odyssey managed the best rating of "Good." The Pacifica followed behind with an "Acceptable" rating, and the Sienna brought up the rear with just a "Marginal." Both the Pacifica and Sienna lost points because the structure around the passengers collapsed to differing extents, leading to parts of the structure intruding into the passenger compartment. The Pacifica didn't intrude enough to harm passengers, with each injury area still having a Good rating, but the Sienna's structure intruded far enough to potentially harm the leg and foot areas, leading to an Acceptable rating in those specific areas. In addition to the small overlap crash test, the IIHS evaluated all three minivans for LATCH child seat anchor ease of use. Once again, the Odyssey aced the test with a Good+ rating, which is awarded for both ease of use and offering multiple anchor point options. The Pacifica and Sienna swap the crash test ratings, with a Marginal for the Chrysler and an Acceptable for the Sienna. The Odyssey and Pacifica can both brag that they're Top Safety Picks, and they'd get Top Safety Pick+ awards if they weren't hampered by headlights that only get Acceptable ratings. The Toyota Sienna fails to earn the regular Top Safety Pick award because both small overlap tests yielded results that were too low. Only one other minivan tested by IIHS has the Top Safety Pick rating, and that's the Kia Sedona. It earns an Acceptable rating in LATCH usability, and its headlights actually earned a Good rating. It hasn't undergone passenger-side small overlap crash testing yet. If it fares well, it could get bumped up to a Top Safety Pick+ rating. Related Video: Image Credit: IIHS Chrysler Honda Toyota Safety Minivan/Van consumer toyota sienna chrysler pacifica IIHS Top Safety Pick

Tougher than steel: Wood pulp could make lighter auto parts

KYOTO, Japan — The global push among carmakers to make ever lighter vehicles is leading some auto suppliers in Japan to turn to what seems like an unlikely steel substitute — wood pulp. Japanese researchers and auto component makers say a material made from wood pulp weighs just one-fifth of steel and can be five times stronger. The material - cellulose nanofibers — could become a viable alternative to steel in the decades ahead, they say, although it faces competition from carbon-based materials, and remains a long way from being commercially viable.> Related: Jay Leno drives the Renew cannabis car — hemp you can't dent Reducing the weight of a vehicle will be critical as manufacturers move to bring electric cars into the mainstream. Batteries are an expensive but vital component, so a reduction in car weight will mean fewer batteries will be needed to power the vehicle, saving on costs. "Lightweighting is a constant issue for us," said Masanori Matsushiro, a project manager overseeing body design at Toyota. "But we also have to resolve the issue of high manufacturing costs before we see an increased use of new, lighter-weight materials in mass-volume cars."A NEW PROCESS Researchers at Kyoto University and major parts suppliers such as Denso Corp, Toyota's biggest supplier, and DaikyoNishikawa Corp, are working with plastics incorporated with cellulose nanofibers — made by breaking down wood pulp fibers into several hundredths of a micron (one thousandth of a millimeter). Cellulose nanofibers have been used in a variety of products ranging from ink to transparent displays, but their potential use in cars has been enabled by the "Kyoto Process," under which chemically treated wood fibers are kneaded into plastics while simultaneously being broken down into nanofibers, slashing the cost of production to roughly one-fifth that of other processes. "This is the lowest-cost, highest-performance application for cellulose nanofibers, and that's why we're focusing on its use in auto and aircraft parts," Kyoto University Professor Hiroaki Yano, who is leading the research, told Reuters in an interview. The university, along with auto parts suppliers, are currently developing a prototype car using cellulose nanofiber-based parts to be completed in 2020.

Toyota Land Cruiser, GMC Sierra and the long-term fleet | Autoblog Podcast #558

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. They talk about driving a pair of short-term test cars, the Toyota Land Cruiser and GMC Sierra AT4, as well as two of Autoblog's long-term test cars, the 2018 Kia Stinger GT and 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. Following the test fleet talk is a discussion of a new program from Lyft and the Chinese-market Ford Territory. And of course everything is wrapped up with yet another Spend My Money segment in which we Autoblog editors help a reader choose a car to buy.Autoblog Podcast #558 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 Rundown Short-term cars: Toyota Land Cruiser and GMC Sierra AT4 Long-term cars: Kia Stinger GT and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Lyft subscription program Ford Territory Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Podcasts Chrysler GMC Kia Toyota toyota land cruiser chrysler pacifica chrysler pacifica hybrid kia stinger gt