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Honda withdraws LMP2 prototype from Pikes Peak

Things don't always go as planned, especially when it comes to racing. That's the lesson that Honda had to learn the hard way at Pikes Peak this year. Unfortunately that means that the ARX-04b LMP2 prototype won't be running up the mountain in this weekend's Race to the Clouds. Honda was slated to run its new LMP2 prototype at Pikes Peak, but a series of misfortunes meant that the entry had to be withdrawn. The prototype was set back with a series of mechanical difficulties, chief among them a turbocharger failure that inflicted damage on the vehicle's engine. That left Honda with little choice but to withdraw the entry. "We some had some problems that forced us to miss practice on Tuesday and Wednesday," Honda spokesman Eric Mauk confirmed in correspondence with Autoblog. Given that Justin Wilson – despite his extensive experience particularly in open wheels – is considered a rookie at this event, "race rules state that he must practice all three sections of the race course before the race. With just two days of practice left (you can only practice one section a day due to time constraints), we could not do that, so we had to withdraw." It's an unfortunate turn of events for Honda and Wilson, to be sure, but the manufacturer will still be entering a number of other vehicles at Pikes Peak this weekend. Included among them are the electric CR-Z prototype, and the NSX that is serving as pace car for the event. All told, Honda is fielding 13 entries in 11 different classes.

Former Honda CEOs chide current boss about quality

Taking charge of a major corporation will never be without its challenges, and one of those - as Honda CEO Takanobu Ito is finding out - is filling the big shoes of those that came before. Ito's predecessors are apparently not pleased with what he's doing to the company, and are wasting no time in telling him so.
According to Reuters, two former Honda chiefs have recently visited Ito (pictured above with his predecessor Takeo Fukui) to talk to him about the Japanese automaker's quality issues, which they apparently regard as eroding the company's image. Nobuhiko Kawamoto, who served as CEO from 1990-98, reportedly came to Honda headquarters in Tokyo to deliver "stern words" to Ito last month. Kawamoto's immediate successor, Hiroyuki Yoshino, reportedly met with Ito under similar circumstances earlier this year.
Kawamoto and Yoshino are part of a larger group of former Honda executives who are concerned with the declining quality of the company's products under Ito's leadership. Where Honda once focused more on quality, collaborating more closely with parts suppliers,more recently the company has, in the eyes of those former executives at least, shifted its focus to quantity and to new technologies. That's what, the report alleges, has led to Honda recalling so many of its vehicles in recent years.

Honda, Subaru airlifting parts to bypass port labor diputes

It should be abundantly obvious that a vital element in building cars is actually having the components on hand to assemble them. A labor dispute on the West Coast between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and management is not making that quite so easy for some Japanese automakers. Work slowdowns at the ports have pushed Honda and Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries into flying some parts into the country. The two automakers began shipping by airplane late last month to avoid production delays, according to Bloomberg, but it has been an expensive solution. Subaru's chief financial officer said the decision cost around $60 million more per month than sending components by cargo ship. They aren't the only companies dealing with the problem, either. Toyota reportedly stopped overtime assembly at some of its factories here because of the delays in getting parts, according to Bloomberg. The dockworkers have been negotiating on a new contract since May 2014, and the current offer on the table to them has offered a 3 percent raise, according to Bloomberg. Although, the union is reportedly considering another slowdown at 29 ports along the West Coast in the coming days. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Nick Ut / AP Photo Auto News UAW/Unions Honda Subaru Toyota shipping port labor dispute