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Why Toyota's fuel cell play is one big green gamble

Imagine going to the ballet on Saturday evening for an 8 pm performance. The orchestra begins warming up shortly before the show, but it turns out the star performer isn't ready at the appointed time. The orchestra keeps playing, doing its best to keep the audience engaged and, most importantly, in the building. It keeps this up until the star finally shows and is ready to dance ... which turns out to be ten years later. That's a Samuel Beckett play. It's also how many observers, analysts, alt-fuel fans and alt-fuel intenders feel about the arrival of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) – the few of them who are still in the building, that is. Toyota's hydrogen development timeline rivals that of the US space program. In fact, within the halls of Toyota alone, research on FCVs has been going on for nearly 22 years, meaning that one company's development timeline for FCVs rivals that of the US space program – it was 1945 when Werner von Braun's team began re-assembling Germany's World War II V2 rockets and figuring out how to launch them into space and it wasn't until 1969 when a man set landing gear down on that sunlit lunar quarry. The development of the atom bomb only took half as long, and that's if we go all the way back to when Leo Szilard patented the mere idea of it, in 1934. Carmakers didn't give up on hydrogen in spite of the public having given up on carmakers ever making something of it, so there was a good chance that hydrogen criers announcing the mass-market adoption of periodic chart element number two one would eventually be right. Now is that time. And Toyota, not alone in researching FCVs but arguably having done the most to keep FCVs in the news, isn't even going to be first to market. That honor will go to Hyundai, surprising just about everyone at the LA Auto Show with news of a hydrogen fuel cell Tucson going on sale in the spring. The other bit of thunder stolen: while Toyota's talking about trying to get the price of its offering down to something between $50,000 and $100,000, Hyundai is pitching its date with the future at a lease price of $499 per month ($250 more than the lease price of a conventional Tucson), free hydrogen and maintenance, and availability at Enterprise Rent-A-Car if you just want to try it out. We've seen and driven Toyota's offering and we all know its success doesn't depend on cross-shopping, showroom dealing and lease sweeteners.

Acura built just 91 examples of the ILX last month, here's why

The short life of the Acura ILX has been vexed by one glaringly odd standard equipment choice, mediocre reviews, getting outsold by its competition as it posted slower-than-projected sales and a pledge by Honda to upgrade its supposedly upgraded offering. Therefore, when Automotive News reports that just 91 of the Civic-based Acura sedans were manufactured last month - after a string of production months in double-digits - it would be easy to press the button for the alarm bells.
But that would be hasty, because it is actually the 2013 Honda Civic that is crimping the production pipeline of the ILX. The vastly higher sales numbers of the Honda meant that all three North American plants that produce it needed to crank up output to satisfy dealer inventory needs, including the Greenburg, Indiana plant that makes both the Civic and the ILX. As the classic guns-vs-butter Economy 101 lesson taught us - in which making more of one necessarily means making less of the other - well, the Civic is the gun.
Honda prepared for this eventuality by cranking out the Acuras while it got ready for Civic production. The ILX has held steady at about 500 units shy of company projections every month, and the current inventory represents about 90 days worth of sales. That makes Greenburg's ostensibly low numbers in line with the realities of the ILX, and the situation probably won't change much as Acura gets ready for the improved 2014 ILX.

Honda recalls 2.23 million vehicles to replace Takata inflators

The Basics: Honda and Acura will recall 2.23 million vehicles in the US. The affected models are: 2005-2012 Acura RL 2007-2011 Honda CR-V 2007-2016 Acura RDX (early production MY 2016 vehicles only) 2007-2014 Honda Ridgeline 2009-2014 Honda Fit 2009-2014 Acura TL 2010-2014 Honda FCX Clarity 2010-2014 Honda Insight 2010-2013 Acura ZDX 2011-2015 Honda CR-Z 2013-2016 Acura ILX (early production MY 2016 vehicles only) The Problem: These vehicles have Takata's PSDI-5 airbag inflator on the driver's side, and this part could rupture if the airbag deploys. Injuries/Deaths: There are no reported ruptures of the PSDI-5 inflator in Honda or Acura vehicles. However, Takata's exploding components have links to at least 10 deaths worldwide because they can spray shrapnel at occupants. The Fix: Honda and Acura dealers will replace the inflators with parts from an alternative supplier. If You Own One: The repairs will begin this summer. Owners will receive a letter notifying them about the recall within 60 days and will get a second message when the parts are available. The company will prioritize older models in high-humidity regions first because these inflators would be most likely to rupture. More Information: Honda and Acura have now recalled 8.51 million vehicles in the US to replace their driver or passenger side inflators. This latest expansion came in the wake of a driver death from an airbag rupture in a Ford Ranger. Ford and Mazda already enlarged their safety campaigns. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also announced Audi, BMW, Daimler Vans, Mercedes-Benz, Saab, and Volkswagen would have recalls for this issue, too. Statement by American Honda Regarding Nationwide Recall of Certain Takata PSDI-5 Driver Front Airbag Inflators Feb 3, 2016 - TORRANCE, Calif. Approximately 2.23 million Takata PSDI-5 driver front airbag inflators will require replacement in Honda and Acura vehicles in the U.S. No PSDI-5 inflator ruptures have been reported in Honda or Acura vehicles Takata inflators will be replaced with parts from an alternative supplier with repairs beginning in the Summer of 2016 Based on a recent Defect Information Report (16E-005) from the airbag inflator supplier, Takata, Honda will conduct a national recall (16V-061) of approximately 2.23 million Honda and Acura vehicles in the United States to replace, free of charge to vehicle owners, the PSDI-5 Takata driver front airbag inflators installed in those vehicles.