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Japan considering offering free hydrogen cars because $30k incentives apparently not enough

There's no such thing as a free lunch. A free hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, though? It may become a possibility in Japan, says Automotive News. We know the Japanese government is being plenty supportive of hydrogen vehicles since it will provide about $20,000 worth of incentives to prospective customers of the $69,000 vehicle. And with local governments like Toyota City's Aichi prefecture supplying another $10,000, out of pocket costs could reach less than $40,000 for the Toyota hydrogen car. We don't know for sure that the 'free' H2 car will happen, but with Toyota starting sales of its first production FCV next spring (potentially named Mirai), it could happen. That would also spell good news for Honda, which will follow up Toyota's effort for its own hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. The case for the free car is still pretty tenuous. Automotive News, citing the Nihon Keizai business publication, reports that the Japanese government has thrown around the idea of subsidizing the vehicles outright to early adopters just to gain some momentum for this kind of zero-emissions vehicles. Heck, the government would even throw in free fuel for good measure. We'll see about that. To see some of the official hydrogen excitement, click here for a video of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe taking a Toyota fuel cell vehicle for a brisk test drive. Featured Gallery Toyota at 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Toyota Government/Legal Green Honda Toyota Hydrogen Cars incentives h2

Honda names first woman, foreigner to its board of directors

General Motors may have made headlines when it recently appointed the industry's first female CEO, but Honda has long lagged woefully behind the times when it comes to the diversity of its top management. In fact, its entire board has until now been composed entirely of Japanese men, with not a foreigner or a woman in sight. But as Reuters reports, that's all changing with the nominations to its latest board.
The slate of new directors named to Honda's board includes one Hideko Kunii, a gender-equality advocate and engineering professor from the Shibaura Institute of Technology. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Kunii spent the bulk of her career at Japanese electronic imaging company Ricoh. Alongside Kunii, Honda has also named Tomoko Mizoguchi to the board as responsible for the company's South American operations, making him the first foreigner to serve on the company's board of directors. (Well, almost: Mizoguchi was born in Brazil, but of Japanese ancestry.)
The appointments follow the recent switch Honda made in its official language policy from Japanese to English, signaling a shift in outlook for a company that has long stuck to traditional Japanese business models. Honda was the first of the major Japanese automakers to begin manufacturing in the United States, and has long relied on hiring local managers to run its regional operations around the world. It has, however, resisted placing foreigners on its board of directors until now, relying instead on senior male managers promoted from within its ranks to serve on its board. This in comparison to Toyota, which has seven foreigners and one woman on its 68-member board of directors, and Nissan, which has fifteen foreigners (including its chief executive) and one woman on its 58-member board.

Driving the Kia K5 and Mini Cooper JCW GP, plus an interview with Jimmy Chin | Autoblog Podcast #637

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and News Editor Joel Stocksdale. They veer off right away into talking about their dream project garages. Next up is news, including some info on the next Nissan Z car, the Honda Fit being discontinued in the U.S., new Mercedes-Benz EQS details, and some talk about the new, electric GMC Hummer being adapted for the military. Then they talk about driving the new Kia K5 sedan and the Mini Cooper JCW GP, before they opine about the 1966 Pontiac GTO. Autoblog Senior Producer Chris McGraw interviews Oscar-winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin about his collaboration with Ford for the Bronco reveal, and more. Finally, our editors help a listener in the U.K. pick a used vehicle in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #637 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Some thoughts on project cars News Nissan suggests the next-generation Z won't be electrified at launch Fit Is Gone! Honda drops subcompact hatch in U.S. Mercedes-Benz announces the electric EQS will offer over 435 miles of range GMC's electric Hummer could someday serve alongside the Humvee in the U.S. Army Driving the 2021 Kia K5 Driving the 2020 Mini Cooper JCW GP 1966 Pontiac GTO: Love it or hate it? We talk Ford Bronco and other adventures with Oscar-winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: