2009 Honda Element Ex Cruise Control Roof Rack 50k Mi Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Honda rolls out new N-Box Slash kei car in Japan

Honda may not compete with the likes of the expanding Fiat 500 and contracting Mini families in the North American or European markets, but back home in Japan it has a whole series of retro hatchbacks, grouped together as part of its N series. And now there is one more. Called the N-Box Slash (or N/ for short), the boxy but stylish new hatch is built to fit into Japan's rigid Kei car class, which means a tiny footprint no longer than 11 feet long and five feet wide. That makes it even smaller than the already-diminutive Smart Forfour or Renault Twingo, but into that compact form, Honda has fit five doors and four seats under a tall roof. In fact those front seats even fold flat and flush with the rear ones to make for as big a bed as you could possibly fit inside its compact dimensions. Technical details remain scarce, but power likely comes from the same 600cc three-cylinder engine - turbocharged or not, driving the front wheels or all four - as the rest of the N series, which already includes the N-One, N-Box, N-Box+ and N-WGN. Feel free to read the original Japanese or Google-translated press releases below, just don't expect it or any of its stablemates to show up in a North American showroom any time soon. 2014.11.27 ???????N-BOX SLASH(?????? ?????)????????????? Honda??12?22?(?)???????????N??????1?5?????????N-BOX SLASH(?????? ?????)?????????11?27?(?)?Honda????????????????? N-BOX SLASH?????????????N??????????????????????????????????????????????"???????"?"??????"??????????????????????????????????????????5???????????????Honda?????????? ???????????????N???????????????????? ?????????????????????? http://www.honda.co.jp/Nboxslash/new/ ?1 ?N??????????????????????????????????????Honda??????????????M?M(????????/???????)?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????N??????1?????N-BOX(??????)???2?????N-BOX +(?????????)???3?????N-ONE(????)???4?????N-WGN(?????)? ?????????????? ?????????? 0120-112010(???????)?????????? ### (translated) 2014.11.27 Preceding publish new mini passenger car "N-BOX SLASH (NTT box slash)" in the home page Honda is, December 22 (Monday) to have plans to release "N" series ? 1 information about the fifth installment of the new mini-car "N-BOX SLASH (NTT box slash)", November 27 ( I was preceded published in Honda's home page on the tree).

James Glickenhaus' SCG 003 undisguised in street and track form

For James Glickenhaus buying a factory-made supercar isn't good enough; he wants to develop his own. Following up on the Ferrari Enzo-based P4/5 and later the P4/5 Competition, Glickenhaus' latest project is appropriately called the 003, and he's finally displaying it in road trim. These first undisguised photos of the SCG 003S show off a supercar with a front end reminiscent of a Ferrari Enzo. However, the rear evokes the look of a modern endurance racer with a fin running along the spine. A wing at the back connects it all together, and the massive diffuser should keep things planted too. Development of the 003 has been going for over a year by Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, but the company has set quite a challenge for itself to get just right. Glickenhaus wants his latest project to be a true racecar for the street. That idea gets thrown around a lot, but it might be true in this case. In motorsports trim, the SCG 003C (pictured inset) packs a mid-mounted Honda Performance Development twin-turbocharged V6, but the engine sits in a detachable rear subframe. When the time comes for the road, the car converts to the SCG 003S and allegedly swaps in a twin-turbo W12. It makes the vehicle the best of both worlds – at least in theory. SCG reportedly plans to show the 003 at the Geneva Motor Show, so we should get a better look then. Glickenhaus also wants to take the car racing in the 24-hour events at the Nurburgring and Spa later this year.

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.