2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan on 2040-cars

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The Civic goes hybrid, driving the Nissan Z Nismo and more | Autoblog Podcast #833

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They discuss the refreshed 2025 Honda Civic and its new hybrid powertrain, a possible Ford Maverick sport truck, rumblings of a new Mitsubishi Delica, the continued growth of hybrid sales, the UAW's loss in Mercedes' Alabama plant, the VW ID.7 being delayed, Tesla Semi news and the BYD Shark headed to Mexico. They chat about Formula 1 for a moment before hopping into the reviews section. Zac's been driving the new 2024 Nissan Z Nismo, and Greg's been spending a bunch of time in the long-term 2024 Mazda CX-90 PHEV. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #833 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid refresh Maverick sport truck on the way? Is Mitsubishi bringing a new Delica to North America? Hybrid sales are booming The UAW loses in Mercedes vote Volkswagen ID.7 delayed in North America Tesla Semi picks up more steam BYD Shark is headed to Mexico as a mid-size pickup Formula 1 catch-up Cars we're driving: 2024 Nissan Z Nismo 2024 Mazda CX-90 PHEV Long-Termer Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Government/Legal Green Motorsports Podcasts Ford Honda Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mitsubishi Nissan Toyota Volkswagen Truck Crossover Hatchback SUV Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Sedan Podcasts

Recharge Wrap-up: Charging in Iceland, Smart "For" campaign, Honda open sources Smart Home

Iceland's EV charging network is expanding by 200 units. A subsidiary of Northern Lights Energy called EVEN is providing and installing the rapid chargers, which it hopes to have installed by the end of the year. EVEN's Gisli Gislasson says, "We couldn't wait for the government and decided to do our part in this." Iceland's government hopes to have 10 percent of the cars on its road powered by sustainable fuels by 2020. Read more at Iceland Review. Argonne National Laboratory is working to create universal charging for electric vehicles. Through its new Electric Vehicle Interoperability Center, the group is studying ways to standardize charging so any type of electric vehicle in any country can charge at any charging station. Additionally, the research is working on ways to better integrate electric cars to a smart grid, to the point where EVs could even act as part of the grid, charging when they need it and providing electricity during peak hours. Go to Phys.org for more details. Smart has launched its "For" campaign in Europe. The maker of the tiny city cars is reaching out to the public through updated branding, ads through various channels and social media engagement to get people thinking about Smart in fresh ways. The campaign emphasizes the "For" idea, as in "For challenging the status quo," "For loving the city," etc. Also as part of the campaign, Smart will be embarking on a Europe-wide roadshow to 15 different cities, where the public can learn more about the cars – particularly the Fortwo and Forfour models – and even arrange a test drive. Read more in the press release below. Honda is publicly sharing plans associated with its Smart Home project. The project, which goes beyond cars and into the home to look for ways to live efficiently and reduce CO2 emissions, involves sustainable energy and heating and cooling methods, smart lighting, sustainable building materials and waste management, passive design and, of course, vehicle charging. Now, technical details such as architectural plans, mechanical drawings, furniture specs and CAD data will be open-source and publicly available for any interested parties. Check out the Honda Smart Home website to learn more, or to start downloading the plans yourself. "FOR" brand campaign: smart: More than just a car Functionality, innovation and joie de vivre – these are the brand values that make smart so unique. smart sees itself as a future-oriented, visionary brand that stands for a great idea.

Honda's Uni-Cub hacked to be a boombox and a personal guide

Honda has a history of developing technology that strays from its famous car and motorcycle lines. A few years ago, the company added to that legacy of gadgets that aren't cars by introducing the Uni-Cub personal mobility device. It was more or less a Segway that did away with the whole standing thing, meaning that riders simply had to sit down and lean in whatever direction they wanted to go. That's all well and good, but Honda wanted to see what else the device could be used for, so the company updated the mobility chair to allow other people to code applications for it. Then Honda hosted a hack-a-thon for people to come out and see what they could do with it. Based on the video above, it seems plenty of people have ideas for the little wheeled wonder. One team developed the perfect party companion by attaching a speaker to the Uni-Cub and creating an app that would let people upload tracks to a playlist from their phone. And since the Uni-Cub is mobile, it can bring the tunes to wherever the people are. All it needs now are some cup holders. Another team developed a way to get people around new, confusing office buildings by turning the Uni-Cub into a guide. Upon entering a building, a person can request a Uni-Cub to come pick them up and then hop on to take a ride to their destination. The Uni-Cub can then return to its home base, and, if the person programs it ahead of time, can return on its own to take the user back to the entrance. Of course this would mean no more excuses to showing up late to a meeting. None of these ideas are planned for any sort of production, but they certainly are interesting. That said, our favorite Uni-Cub application remains the video for OK Go's "I Won't Let You Down". You should probably just go watch that one again. Related Video: Image Credit: Honda Auto News Green Honda Technology Videos personal mobility honda uni-cub