2014 Honda Accord Ex on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Elon Musk in Reddit AMA; Honda releases annual environmental report

Elon Musk will answer questions in a Reddit AMA tonight. The "Ask Me Anything" event will begin at 9:00 pm EST, and will last one hour. Musk will answer as many reader questions as he can in the allotted amount of time. Reddit's /r/TeslaMotors board is selecting official questions from users to pose to Musk as well. If you have any aching inquiries for the CEO of Tesla and Spacex, you probably don't want to miss this. Read more at Clean Technica, or at Reddit. Powertree Services plans to build solar-powered EV charging at San Francisco apartment buildings. The group will rent parking spaces at apartment buildings and put solar panels on the roof. Tenants with EVs can pay a monthly fee to charge their cars at their own apartments and Powertree Services parking spots around town. It takes the responsibility of building and maintaining the chargers off the building owners, but provides them with some revenue from renting the space to Powertree. Read more at Treehugger. The market for environmentally friendly cars will remain strong despite cheap oil prices, according to IHS Automotive Advisory Services. James Chao, director of the company's Asia-Pacific region, says his clients are still very focused on fuel economy. IHS has predicted green car production to triple by 2020 from 2014 figures. Hyundai and Kia, who are clients of Chao, have new EVs, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles on the way - a seemingly "unfocused" plan that Chao defends. "Especially at times when uncertainty is dominant, it could well be referred to as being prudent," he says. Read more at The Korea Herald. Honda has released its annual North American Environmental Report. In the report, Honda notes environmental progress it has made over the last year in a number of areas. It points out the introduction of the 2014 Accord Hybrid and the FCV Concept. It enumerates reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in transportation, use of its products and even from Honda's suppliers (however, there was a 0.7 percent rise in CO2 emissions during manufacturing due to, or rather "despite a significant increase in production"). Honda is using less water, and producing less waste - only 0.8 kilograms are sent to the landfill per car manufactured. Honda also worked with SolarCity to get solar panels on 1,650 rooftops in the US. Read more on Honda's website. Marco Andretti will race in the Formula E Buenos Aires ePrix.

Honda N Box + has incredible versatility as oddly humorous JDM video shows

We want the Honda N Box +. Strangely enough, this video spot, shot in Japanese and gushing with production values that are a bit foreign to us, makes us want the little Honda even more. You see, we don't need to know Japanese to see that the kei car's 'universal bridge' feature isn't a gimmick - it actually looks extremely convenient - and that the car's multi-space system takes interior functionality to a new level. We don't require a translator to laugh at the gags in this spot, either, though we won't pretend to understand them idiomatically.
But really, the video is worth a watch, if for no better reasons than to enjoy a confusion-based laugh, and to marvel at the tiny car's extremely efficient use of space. We don't expect the N Box + to be offered for sale anywhere near North America, so to get your kicks, you'll have to head below to watch the commercial.

Honda wins Commercial of the Decade, but not for the ad you think [w/VIDEO]

Honda's Commercial of the Decade: "Grrr" - Click above to watch video
The mad men at Adweek recently voted for the Commercial of the Decade (Super Bowl commercials not included) and Honda took top honors over memorable ads from the last ten years by companies like Nike, Budweiser and Sony. That's not a big surprise considering Honda often puts a huge amount of effort into its on-air spots. However, the Japanese automaker didn't win for the commercial you might have expected: "Cog." Though Honda's famous commercial that breaks down a European Accord Tourer into a Rube Goldberg-esque machine was also a finalist, it was beaten by another Honda commercial called "Grrr" that's narrated by Garrison Keillor of all people. You've probably never seen it, but you can after the jump.
Volkswagen also made the list of finalists, but the particular ad chosen out of all the comical VW ads we've seen was unexpected as well. Most surprising carmaker with a commercial in the finals: Saturn. Who knew...