2012 Honda Civic Ex Sedan 1,277 Miles Like New Factory Warranty Eco Low Reserve on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Child cobalt miners: Automakers pledge ethical minerals sourcing for EVs

BERLIN - Leading carmakers including Volkswagen and Toyota pledged on Wednesday to uphold ethical and socially responsible standards in their purchases of minerals for an expected boom in electric vehicle production. Demand for minerals such as cobalt, graphite and lithium is forecast to soar in the coming years as governments crack down on vehicle pollution and carmakers step up their investments in electric models. To cover its plans for more than 80 new models by 2025, Volkswagen alone is looking for partners in China, Europe and North America to provide battery cells and related technology worth more than 50 billion euros ($59 billion). Talks with major cobalt producers, including Glencore, at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters last week ended without a deal. More than half of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country racked by political instability and legal opacity, and where child labor is used in mines. On Wednesday, a group of 10 leading passenger-car and truck manufacturers announced an initiative to jointly identify and address ethical, environmental, human and labor rights issues in raw materials sourcing. The partnership dubbed "Drive Sustainability" consists of VW, Toyota Motor Europe, Ford, Daimler, BMW, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars and truckmakers Scania and Volvo. The alliance "will assess the risks posed by the top raw materials (such as mica, cobalt, rubber and leather) in the automotive sector," said Stefan Crets of the CSR Europe business network. "This will allow Drive Sustainability to identify the most impactful activities to pursue" to address issues within the supply chain.Reporting by Andreas Cremer.Related Video: Image Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images Green BMW Ford Honda Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Automakers Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Scania ethics mining

NSX, S660, and a 4-motor CR-Z EV that goes like hell

AutoblogGreen Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Blanco was my road dog while visiting Honda's R&D center in Tochigi. Over the course of a long day of briefings, driving demonstrations, and a variety of strange-flavored candies, we saw quite a lot of what the company is planning for the next generation and beyond. Of course, Sebastian and I see the world through very different eyes. So, while he was busy getting details about the FCV Clarity successor, and asking tough questions about electrification (in other words, the important stuff), I was fixating on a tiny, two-seat sports car that will never come to America. Oh, there was an NSX, too. Honda's pre-Tokyo Motor Show meeting really did have plenty to offer for all kinds of auto enthusiasts, be they focused on fast driving or environmentally friendly powertrains. Seb's attendance let me focus on the stuff that's great for the former, while he wrote up high points of the latter. View 15 Photos S660 I joke about salivating over the S660, but honestly I was at least as excited to take a few laps in Honda's Beat encore, as I was to sample the Acura supercar. Conditions for the test drive weren't ideal, however. Two laps of a four-kilometer banked oval is not exactly nirvana for a 1,800-pound, 63-horsepower roadster. Still, I folded all six feet and five inches of my body behind the tiny wheel determined to wring it out. The immersion of the driving experience was enough to make it feel fast, at least. I shifted up just before redline in first gear with the last quarter of the pit lane rollout lane still in front of me. The 658cc inline-three buzzed like a mad thing behind my ear, vastly more stirring than you'd expect while traveling about 30 miles per hour. The S660 is limited to just around 87 mph, but the immersion of the driving experience (note: I was over the windscreen from the forehead up) was enough to make it feel fast, at least. Even after just a few laps, and precious little steering, I could tell that everything I grew up loving about Honda was in play here. The six-speed manual offered tight, quick throws, the engine seemed happiest over 5,000 rpm, and the car moved over the earth with direct action and a feeling of lightness. Sure proof that you don't need high performance – the S600 runs to 60 mph in about 13 seconds – to build a driver's car. I could have used 200 miles more, and some mountain roads, to really enjoy the roadster (though I would have wanted a hat).

Honda Odyssey hybrid under consideration in Japan, but not US

"Over time you can expect to see broader application of our two motor hybrid system" - Sage Marie The idea of a hybrid minivan is not new, at least in Japan. Toyota sells the Estima - the world's first hybrid minivan, it has been available since 2001 - and the Aphard hybrids there. The US is not immune to the dream - in 2011, Chrysler said it was going to make a hybrid minivan in 2013 (didn't happen) - but there has never been a gas-electric minivan sold from a major automaker in the US. And, despite new rumors of a Honda Odyssey hybrid for Japan, the chances that the US will get one in the near future remain roughly at zero. A new report says Honda is considering a hybrid version of the fifth-generation Odyssey in Japan, and such a gas-electric powertrain could reduce fuel use by up to 50 percent. Honda powertrain assistant large project leader Takashi Shinchi told CarAdvice that the hybrid (not a plug-in version) is "under consideration," given the hybrid minivan competition in Japan. Such consideration is not happening in the US, at least not in any serious way. Sage Marie, senior manager of public relations for Honda North America, told AutoblogGreen, "The only thing the Japanese Odyssey and the US Odyssey have in common is the name. There are no current plans for a US Odyssey hybrid, but I will tell you that over time you can expect to see broader application of our industry-leading two motor hybrid system." The standard, gas-powered 2014 Odyssey gets 22 miles per gallon, combined (19 city and 28 highway). Featured Gallery 2011 Honda Odyssey: Review View 35 Photos News Source: CarAdvice, HondaImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Steven Ewing / AOL Green Honda Hybrid JDM hybrid minivan honda odyssey hybrid