OF all the automobile manufacturers who participated in the 40th Tokyo Motor Show at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, Honda Motors Corp. can be said to be the epitome of mobility design. From gasoline-powered cars, to alternative fuel automobiles, motorcycles, jet aircraft, even a bipedal robot called Asimo, Honda has the single distinction of being the company that develops dreams of fast but elegant products for movement.

This year, Honda tagged itself with “HECT” or Honda Earth Conscious Technology. The battle cry seems aimed at “creating a harmony between the ‘global environment’ and the ‘fun of cars,’ a goal they seemed to have achieved in their presentation at the Motor Show. At the center rear of it’s booth, Honda created a “concept zone” where all the dreams that may yet become reality are displayed.

The Boss bares it all Honda Motors Corp. president Takeo Fukui with the CR-Z

New models based on the next evolution in environment-friendly power sources were highlighted in the concept zone. The CR-Z (a design study model) is a lightweight sports car that is equipped with an “i-VTEC” engine that has three stages of valve control, low rotation, high rotation and cylinder idle supported by an integrated motor assist unit or IMA. This offers a compact hybrid gives a torque-full drive even on low-rotation range and still achieves superb fuel economy.

The “FCX Concept” on the other hand, is a next generation total fuel-cell vehicle that does not depend on fossil fuel totally. It is equipped with a “V Flow” FC Stack, the same compact, lightweight stack on the Puyo to resolve the water management issues. This has been a major hitch of Honda’s R&D in the past when developing the fuel-cell technology for mobility projects.

Together with the shorter length made possible by synchronizing the motor and the gearbox, Honda has created a fluid body design that is low to the ground and has a short nose. The FCX motor’s maximum output is 15 kW better than the original FCX, and rotation has been improved to 1,500 rpm giving it a torquier drive throughout the range. The FCX is envisioned to be a base car for a mass production scheduled for 2008 in Japan and the United States. But before that, it will be premiering the market model at this month’s Los Angeles Auto Show. Honda Motors Corp. president Takeo Fukui says they are expecting an early commercialization of market models based on this technology.

Next-generation fuel-cell vehicle The FCX Concept

Fukui adds, “Honda considers environmental issues to be one of its top management priorities, and is working aggressively to be the environmental top-runner in the field.” He adds “Honda is bringing original concepts and ideas to explore all possibilities to accelerate the reduction of CO2 emissions on a global scale.”

Now, we go into the Puyo. The vehicle is a “cute, near future fuel-cell urban-commuter vehicle. It is 2,800-mm long, 1,650-mm wide and 1,650-mm tall, with a wheelbase of 1,850 mm—small enough to fit in our country’s typical mass-housing structures garage.

Its body is luminescent, seats four passengers very comfortably, looks like a charming house pet and the real zinger is its body is made out of a silicon gel that feels like some weird kind of skin when touched. In fact, once felt, one cannot help but keep stroking it like a favorite cat or dog.

The Puyo is also capable of making a 360-degree fixed-point rotation (in English, a full-circle turn while at a standstill), making this urban commuter a true symbol of Honda’s point on the relationship between “environment and automobiles” and “people and automobiles.”

Now, while both FCX Concept and Puyo will probably be entering the market far apart in time from each other, these two share Honda’s proprietary compact, lightweight “FC” stack, a technology that may very well be the basis for future nongasoline-powered vehicles.

With these in the pipeline, Honda may well be blazing the path to a mobility future we have only seen in science-fiction movies. What with its fuel-cell research, its breaking in to the aircraft industry, and its development of truly humanoid robots, Isaac Asimov may just have been one of Honda’s main dreamers.

THERE’S no stopping Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. (NMPI) in its quest to give the best to its clients as it re-established its presence in the high-end van segment and inaugurated its newly refurbished dealership in the south.

DO you know that the body of the first ever Toyota vehicle was made of wood?

Did anybody tell you that the founder of Toyota never thought of becoming a carmaker?

Driving fun-healthy Earth

OF all the automobile manufacturers who participated in the 40th Tokyo Motor Show at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, Honda Motors Corp. can be said to be the epitome of mobility design.

Eyes on the Road: Beware of the unlighted streets of Metro Manila

THE absence of streetlights at nighttime is being noticed by thousands of commuters these days.

Majority of these streets lights are switched off by around seven or eight in the evening to the detriment of the motorists who often have to brighten their headlights in order to negotiate tricky and unlighted roads.

Full Tank: Speaking of spa

NO play and all work make the mind dull.

I guess everybody believes that or God doesn’t make rainbows and rainy days anymore.

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THE Mercedes-Benz C-Class has always positioned itself as direct competition to the BMW 3-Series or 3er, the Audi A4 and the Volvo S40. Its combination of civility and controlled aggression has always put itself on a par or even better than the aforementioned vehicles.

BusinessMirror takes close second in Honda Media Challenge

THE 2007 edition of the Honda Media Challenge got off to a fiery start with a new autokhana format, which combined the autocross and gymkhana disciplines, requiring both speed and precision driving from media participants, last weekend at the FTI Complex in Taguig City.

Promoting the after-market industry

THE growth of the motoring industry has already given birth to a lot of business opportunities in the local market, and one of these is the so-called after-market parts.