Industry Report: Honda

Three Concepts, the New Civic, and Hondas Very Own F1 Car Set for Tokyo

Its auto show time again and the press releases are coming fast and furious previewing new concepts and production models set to debut at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show. Honda is going for broke with 23 vehicles on display, not to mention motorcycles, advanced technology and the Japanese automakers F1 and IRL cars. Arguably leading the charge is the new Civic, which is already on lots and streets worldwide, but it is such a dominant model in terms of sales, that it will lead Honda to many more years in the black.

Style wise, a personal favorite is the Sports 4 concept, a good looking, uh, sports sedan, if you didnt figure it out fromthe name. Accord anyone? TSX perhaps? While its too early to speculate how closely a future Accord will follow in the 4s footsteps, but the shape of the window cutouts is very similar to the Accords. Then again, that makes it pretty similar to a lot of sedan greenhouses. Cues that dont resemble the Accord include the sharp, geometric headlamps, super-skylight roof, triangular exhaust tips, chrome-trimmed tail lamps, smooth, curvy body panels that fold ever so delicately into the bumpers and fascia with just a hint of edginess. Its a "FINE!" looking vehicle.

Speaking of  "FINE!", Hondas slogan for the Tokyo show is "feel FINE!", and I, for one, think that they have a "FINE!" collection of vehicles and technology to present to Tokyo show-goers. To go on with my premature speculation about this being an Accord four-runner, never mind the video side view, um, mirrors (remember the Acura TL Concept that debuted in New York?); never mind the super sharp, LED headlamps, and those fully-filled wheel housings; never mind the glass roof; and never mind the flow-through aluminum dash and console, and large, deep-set information screen; this simple, clean shape, with slightly exaggerated wheel-arch flares and smooth trunk and rear bumper is an evolution of both the Accord and the TSX - the latter of which is a European Accord after all.

The new grille is pretty similar to the Civics facelift, if you consider the shape of the cutout and the chrome crossbar, with some added perforated metal in the gap. The door panels look like they were lifted off the TSX, with the cleverly concealed door handles in the back corner of the rear door window similar to those on the European Civic Hatchback.

And despite the technical, space-age look of the interior, the steering wheel hub also follows Civic cues despite the squared off shape, and the gauges dont look too far-fetched, at least not for my tastes.

Speaking of fetching, Hondas W.O.W concept is itself a cute little car, meant to serve the family fetcher as well as its owner. The W.O.W is an experimental vehicle revolving around the idea of catering to our furry, four-legged friends. Dogs can lounge in the dash-mounted pen, with a pullout vent serving their cooling or heating needs, or in a removable floating doghouse just aft of the front seats, but in front of the rear seats. The rear tailgate has uneven-split swing-out barn doors with a cutout in the rear opening that has a very low liftover (or leapover) height for the independent dogs among us. The floors appear to be easy-to-clean hardwood, and the exterior, a very bright, shiny green--perhaps its a color particularly favored by dogs. And in case youre about to send an email to correct me, yes, I know dogs dont see color, but perhaps it is so bright that they can actually spot it in a parking lot.

The third concept on the Honda stand will be the wind-cheating, earth friendly, fuel cell powered FCX. Honda hasnt released any details of the advancements made for this latest generation hydrogen-powered car, but lets hope its engineers are getting the hydrogen storage cells up to levels that will allow for decent range.

Maybe its just how low and streamlined the shape of this car is, but it looks long, really long, and without the perspective of a people around it, its hard to say how large it actually is. Its shape is a definitive tear drop for the top profile, which is just about the most aerodynamic shape achievable for a car, (closely behind cars modeled after fish - see automotive news archive for June 9, 2005: DaimlerChrysler to Invest $40 Billion in North America despite Cutbacks by GM and Ford) with rear fender spoilers leading into a back deck that also looks like it might provide some extra down force.

The interior also looks spacious, and pretty spacey, too, like it might be an interior set left over from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clean, wide-open surfaces in light colors picked out with organic shapes and optical illusion floor surfaces, featuring cradling chairs and integrated unseen technology.

I also really like the living room that the FCX is parked in front of in one of the press photos, with one chair, a stand-up CD player and stand-up speaker with a shiny reflective floor, bare white walls (the future, where white is the new color), and a super-panoramic seamless window, outside of which is parked the FCX, right by its home hydrogen-generation refueling station.

So there you have it, a couple of sneak peeks into the future, one near, one farther down the proverbial road, and a taste of dog mobility. Its hardly the end of the world, and I "feel FINE!"