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Red Bull F1 denied access to Honda engines

There are four engine manufacturers in Formula 1: Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Renault. Infiniti Red Bull Racing ended its marriage to Renault, got to the altar with Mercedes and then Mercedes backed out, couldn't even agree on a pre-nup with Ferrari, and Honda flat-out said, "No." At the moment that has left the four-time World Champions without an engine for next year, owner Dieter Mateschitz threatening to take his two teams and four cars out of the sport, and F1 honcho Bernie Ecclestone threatening to sue Mateschitz if he does. The Japanese company had turned down the idea because after a first year with some poor performances and a few public sour notes, it wants to get McLaren's cars running properly before it expands its operation. Now it seems some behind-the-scenes action of late has opened up channels between Red Bull and Honda, and the two are at least talking. Honda, though, still says such a deal is highly unlikely at best, and Red Bull says it will have something to say when something is done. It appears that McLaren chief Ron Dennis, however, has vetoed the idea. Ecclestone says Honda made a deal with the FIA that would allow Honda to supply two teams in its second year, but Honda gave Dennis veto rights over who the second team would be. For the same reason that Mercedes backed out and Ferrari only wanted to sell Red Bull year-old engines, Ecclestone says Dennis might view Red Bull as a competitor and doesn't want to risk two more cars getting in front of his own. If that's the case and Red Bull is going to remain in the sport, it might need to hit the flower shop and book a trip to Renault headquarters. Soon. Related Video:

Toyota tops Kelley Blue Book's Resale Value Awards

Kelley Blue Book announced its annual Best Resale Value Award winners, and we weren't too surprised to see the list dominated by Japanese automakers - mainly Toyota and Honda. KBB hands out the awards based on the projected residual value of mostly all 2013 model year vehicles, and Toyota skated home with a number of awards including 10 of the 22 overall categories and having five of its products in the top 10 for models with best resale value. KBB's Best Resale Value Awards were announced in the same week as the ALG Residual Value Awards, and there were many similarities between both lists, especially when it came to Toyota.
To come up with its winners, KBB measures depreciation over the first five years of ownership, and looks for the cars it expects to hold its value the best after this time; on average, the report says the 2013 model year vehicles will lose 61.8 percent of its value in five years. Of the 22 categories, 15 slots were filled by Toyota, Honda and Nissan products, while the Camaro and Porsche (Cayenne and Panamera) each took home a pair of awards. If Toyota has anything to be upset about in this list of cars, it's that categories for Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car and Electric Vehicle went to the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Volt, respectively.
The overall top 10 models for the best resale value in 2013 are, in alphabetical order:

Honda demonstrates driverless valet parking system with special Fit EVs

There are many challenges that will need to be sorted out before full autonomous driving becomes a reality, but automakers are taking small steps toward this advancement with semi-autonomous technologies. Nissan, Toyota and Ford have already revealed various automated driving systems, and now Honda is getting into the game with an automatic valet parking system that was unveiled recently at the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) World Congress in Tokyo.
Unlike Ford's recently demonstrated self-parking Focus, which is fully operational on its own, Honda's new system requires input from the parking lot via cameras. Combining information provided by the car's rearview camera as well as cameras positioned around the parking lot, drivers are able to drop their car off at a central location, and using a touchscreen display, the car can park itself and return when the driver is ready to leave. The benefit of this is that multiple cars can be parked at the same time and no additional sensors (other than a backup camera) are needed for the car, but the downside is that it can only operate on properly equipped parking lots. According to Honda's demonstration, this system can be practical by 2020.
Honda also showed off some semi-autonomous driving and non-contact electric vehicle recharging technologies at the ITS World Congress, although information is limited and there are no demonstrations available. Scroll down to read more about Honda's latest tech, including a video demonstration of the automatic valet parking system.