2014 Honda Accord Sport on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Google poised to release Apple CarPlay rival this month

Apple and Google. They're the Michigan and Ohio State of the tech world. They're New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, Real Madrid and Barcelona, or whatever sports-based rivalry you want to cook up. Bottom line, if one company expands into a segment, it's only a matter of time before the other follows suit. And now, that rivalry is about to carry over to your car's dashboard.
Unnamed sources are reporting to Automotive News that Google will unveil its very own challenger to Apple's new CarPlay in-car operating system later this month at the Mountain View, CA company's annual developer conference. The system, allegedly called Google Auto Link, will be the first product to come from the Open Automotive Alliance, a partnership between Google, General Motors, Hyundai, Audi, Honda and hardware manufacturer NVIDIA.
The official announcement is expected to be made on either June 25 or 26, at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Expect to hear a lot more about Google Auto Link then.

Analysts say Honda's growing woes in Europe not just the economy

There is no denying that the European auto market is taking its lumps right now - just ask Peugeot - but Honda might be taking this downturn on the chin a little harder than some of the other Japanese automakers doing business on the continent. Automotive News Europe is reporting that things have gotten so bad for Honda that it will be cutting 800 workers from Swindon, England plant that builds the CR-V, Civic and Jazz (a.k.a. Fit). This will be the first time Honda has made such cuts in more than 20 years.
Despite an increase in output last year over 2011 (165,607 units compared to 97,459), the Swindon plant is still running well below its full capacity (250,000/year), and its 66 percent capacity is less than the expected breakeven point of industry analysts (75 to 80 percent). Unlike in the US, however, Honda's new CR-V and Civic aren't selling well, and the similarly sized Nissan Qashqai is outselling the CR-V at a rate of more than five to one. Slow CR-V sales are blamed on a relatively high price and the crossover's conservative styling. On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, the report notes that Nissan continues to experience growth at its UK operations, leading analysts to suggest that Honda can't blame the sour economy for much of its woes.

Acura NSX production delayed

Listeners of the Autoblog Podcast will be familiar with my opinions on the Acura NSX. While I love the idea of Acura building a halo car again, I've routinely joked on-air that the car will never, ever reach production and will continue being teased and previewed ad nauseam. So I'm chuckling at this news: the NSX is being delayed again. To be fair, while it sounds like a big deal – pushing the NSX back from model year 2016 to 2017 – this is a fairly minor delay in the grand scheme. Instead of starting production this fall, as previously announced, the new supercar will start rolling down the line at Honda's Marysville, OH factory in the spring. "Trial production" has already started, Honda says, while briefly acknowledging the delay in the attached press release. While Honda offered no reason for the delay in volume production, Automobile claims it's the fault of the move to fit two turbochargers to the V6, which was made midway through development. Fitting the two iron lungs meant rearranging the six-pot into a longitudinal layout. Here's hoping there are no further delays. Scroll on for a look at Honda's press release, which does its best to gloss over the NSX delay while talking about the company's new Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville. Related Video: Performance Manufacturing Center: Precision Craftsmanship Aug 14, 2015 - CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. The next-generation Acura NSX is produced at the new, dedicated Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio, using domestic and globally sourced parts. With trial production already underway and production start-up scheduled for spring 2016, this world-class manufacturing facility employs groundbreaking techniques in weld, body construction, body painting, final assembly and quality confirmation to ensure the highest levels of precision and craftsmanship. More details on the unique and innovative manufacturing processes at the PMC will be rolled out over the months leading up to the start of production, but the following highlights of the new facility were shared during the 2015 Monterey Automotive Week: Innovative blend of people and technology: throughout the PMC, NSX production is centered around the skills of approximately 100 experienced engineers and technicians building the NSX to precise levels of quality and craftsmanship.