2013 Honda Civic on 2040-cars

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Honda launches new JDM Odyssey, Mugen chips in [w/video]

Honda has just released its new Odyssey minivan for the Japanese Domestic Market, and it has plenty of style and room for up to eight people. Honda factory tuning company Mugen will also offer performance and styling parts for the fifth-generation minivan.
The Odyssey is offered in B and G trim with a 173-horsepower, 2.4-liter I-VTEC four-cylinder mated to a continuously variable transmission with optional paddle shifters and seven 'speeds.' The more upscale Odyssey Absolute features sportier styling, and but all models are available in either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
The interior follows a "modern suite" design concept inspired by luxury hotels, with wood trim and comfortable-looking seats. Additionally, customers can choose between models with a lift-up second-row seat or a lift-up front passenger seat. Honda highlights the Odyssey's low floor height and high ceiling, which accentuates the spacious interior. The low floor also endows the minivan with a step height of 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) at the rear sliding door to afford easy entry.

NHTSA gives okay for three automakers to skirt tire-related recalls

BMW, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz are all going to avoid small recalls, after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued petitions for "findings of inconsequential noncompliance" to the three manufacturers, according to Tire Business. Basically, the petitions allow the brands to avoid recalls for some very, very minor issues.
BMW had tire placards on 364 X6 M CUVs that stated the car could only handle four passengers, when in reality it had room for three in the back. Actual plausibility of fitting three real humans in the slope-roofed Bimmer aside, the Munich-based manufacturer argued it was inconsequential, as the placards were correct regardless of the number of passengers.
Honda's case focused on 212 2011 and 2012 Acura TSX sedans equipped with 18-inch wheels. The TPMS systems on these cars were set for 17-inch wheels, rather than the larger hoops, but even with the lower settings, the tires maintain adequate load capacity.

Honda exclusive to McLaren at least until 2017

Next year Honda will return to Formula One after a seven-year absence, bringing the first Japanese automaker to compete in the top-tier racing series back into the fold. But though it started in 1964 much as it ended in 2008, running its own team (much like Ferrari and Mercedes do today), its new F1 program will see it revert to engine-supplier status (like Renault did when it sold its team to Lotus).
The arrangement will be exclusive to McLaren for the 2015 Formula One World Championship. But what fans and insiders alike have been wondering is how it might expand after that. Well, now we have at least part of the answer.
According to the F1 business insiders at Pitpass, Honda motorsport chief Yasuhisa Arai told a group of journalists at this past weekend's race in Shanghai that the deal with McLaren will be exclusive not only in 2015, but also in 2016. In other words, it won't be until 2017 at the earliest before Honda might begin supplying engines to any other teams, if at all.