New power generation: Honda on the cutting edge

Honda Motor Co. President Takanobu Ito shows Honda NSX hybrid concept car, left, and Honda S660 concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show earlier this month.
(Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Photo)

The Tokyo Motor Show may not be the must-see event it once was prior to the global economic meltdown of 2008, but it still packs a wallop when it comes to showcasing new ideas and new technologies.

For Honda Motor Co., while it’s safe to say certain models in the company’s lineup are unqualified successes – the Accord, for example – it’s equally correct to note that others have fallen far short of expectations.

On its stand at the show was the RA271, the car with which Honda first competed in Grand Prix racing in 1964. A few spots down was the latest prototype version of the Honda/Acura NSX, its highly anticipated sports car, which is due to be released in 2015.

By no coincidence, Honda will return to Grand Prix racing that same year as the exclusive engine supplier to the McLaren Formula One team.

 “The regulations in Formula One are going through major changes right now,” Takanobu Ito, Honda’s CEO, said through an interpreter during an exclusive roundtable interview session. “And they are changing in a very encouraging way for a manufacturer like Honda.”

The changes include a move away from the series’ naturally aspirated 2.4-litre V-8 engine to a turbocharged 1.6-litre V-6, as well as greater use of energy recovery technology. The expected specifications for the NSX reveal that Honda is on the same page: the hybrid will rely heavily on a turbocharged V-6 engine and on energy regeneration.

This technology, in a different form, was on display at the company’s R&D facility in Tochigi where journalists got a crack at the forthcoming Acura RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD (super handling all-wheel drive). The next flagship for Honda’s luxury division, which will arrive in Canada in 2014, employs a 3.5-litre V-6 gas engine linked to no fewer than three electric motors – one in the front and one at each rear wheel.

The motors in the back trigger a torque vectoring system that sends power to the outside wheels to help with cornering. While many all-wheel drive cars show a tendency to understeer in such situations (they don’t want to turn when you want them to turn), the RLX hybrid did not. In fact, a few quick laps around one of the test facility’s tracks revealed that the strength of the Acura could be its predictable, smile-inducing handling.

The RLX Sport Hybrid powertrain produces 377 hp, promises superior fuel economy to the non-hybrid version and showcases Honda’s first dual-clutch automatic transmission – so it will be a technological tour de force for the manufacturer. The NSX will also incorporate a hybrid all-wheel drive system, although details have yet to be released.

The SH-AWD system was just one of three hybrid powertrains that Honda has developed and all three were on display in Tochigi. We also sampled the i-MMD (Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive) system that is used in the largely wonderful Honda Accord Hybrid (on sale in Canada) and the Accord Plug-In Hybrid (which we may not receive).

“Hybrids will generate fuel efficiency that internal combustion alone will never give us,” Ito said. “We will see wide adoption of hybrids over the next 10 years.”

Hybrids comprise 40 per cent of the market in Japan, but a smaller percentage in Canada. Hybrids prove most popular when the price is not significantly greater than that for the non-hybrid equivalent, as is the case with the Hybrid Fit in Japan. In Canada, only the next-generation gas-powered Fit will arrive next year.

In parallel with the company’s continued focus on hybrid powertrains is its intention to develop “downsized” turbo engines, more Continuously Variable Transmissions, a smattering of diesels and, in the long term, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

“The hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle is the ultimate expression of personal mobility,” Ito said. “We believe it’s the best in terms of environmental performance. Until [it’s ready], there will be a number of efforts in other areas, including improvements to the internal combustion engine.”

Honda is at the crossroads – some of the car technologies being developed will have a limited shelf life, others may never bear fruit and still others could drive future success for decades.

Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/new-power-generation-honda-on-the-cutting-edge/article15637882/

Fuel Cell Cars Back In The Limelight As GM, Honda Team Up On Mission To Attack Costs

by Joann Muller of www.forbes.com

Less than a decade ago, global automakers touted hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as the best way to reduce oil dependency and clean up the environment. But talk of fuel cells seemed to subside in recent years as other technologies like hybrids, battery-electric vehicles and even ethanol-powered cars grabbed the attention of consumers and government leaders handing out subsidies.

The two biggest hindrances to fuel cells were the costs associated with storing hydrogen on board the vehicle and the lack of hydrogen refueling stations. Plug-in cars, by comparison, are cheaper (although still too expensive for the mass market) and the charging infrastructure is building.

General Motors and Honda Motor say they never stopped working on fuel cell development, however, and now the two carmakers, with 1,200 patents between them, are teaming up to tackle these challenges and try to speed the adoption of fuel cell vehicles by 2020.

“This collaboration builds upon Honda and GM’s strengths as leaders in hydrogen fuel cell technology,” said Dan Akerson, GM chairman and CEO. “We are convinced this is the best way to develop this important technology, which has the potential to help reduce the dependence on petroleum and establish sustainable mobility.”

Takanobu Ito, president and chief executive of Honda Motor said: “Among all zero CO2 emission technologies, fuel cell electric vehicles have a definitive advantage with range and refueling time that is as good as conventional gasoline cars. Honda and GM are eager to accelerate the market penetration of this ultimate clean mobility technology, and I am excited to form this collaboration to fuse our leading fuel cell technologies and create an advanced system that will be both more capable and more affordable.”

The long-term agreement was announced today at a press conference in New York by GM Vice Chairman Stephen J. Girsky and Tetsuo Iwamura, president of American Honda Motor.

By collaborating on development, GM and Honda, already the leaders in fuel cell research, believe they can reduce costs more quickly by sharing expertise, economies of scale and suppliers. “We’re talking about a complete sharing of all our respective intellectual properties on the subject,” said Girsky.

A fuel cell vehicle creates electricity from a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the car’s fuel-cell stack. The only tailpipe emission is water vapor.  But development costs are high because of the extensive use of platinum as a  catalyst and the complexity of onboard storage of hydrogen, which requires expensive, carbon fiber storage tanks.

“Two companies can do more together than the simple sum of our individual efforts,” said Iwamura. “GM’s knowledge of chemical reaction and advanced material is class leading,” he said. “At  Honda, we’re confident in our expertise in the structural design and advanced production process technologies of the fuel cell. With GM and Honda sharing our technical expertise… we believe we can achieve the world’s strongest partnership in the area of fuel cell technology.”

The  two companies will also work together with governments and other stakeholders to try to jump-start a new hydrogen refueling infrastructure, which he said is critical for the long-term viability and consumer acceptance of fuel cell vehicles.

The deal is the latest in a string of alliances created to share the cost of developing fuel cell vehicles.  Toyota Motor and BMW  are working together, as are Daimler AG, Ford Motor and Nissan Motor.

GM and Honda are considered pioneers, ranking first and second in the number of fuel cell patents. Both have been testing fuel cell vehicles on the roads for years. GM’s Project Driveway program, launched in 2007, has accumulated nearly 3 million miles of real-world driving in a fleet of 119 hydrogen-powered vehicles, more than any other automaker.

Honda began leasing of the Honda FCX in 2002 and has deployed 85 units in the U.S. and Japan, including its successor, the FCX Clarity, which was named the 2009 World Green Car. Honda has delivered these vehicles to the hands of customers in the U.S. and collected valuable data concerning real-world use of fuel cell electric vehicles.

As already announced, Honda plans to launch the successor of FCX Clarity in Japan and the United States in 2015, and then in Europe. GM will announce its fuel cell production plans at a later date.

Industry experts say fuel cell technology addresses many of the major challenges facing automobiles today – petroleum dependency, emissions, efficiency, range and refueling times. They can operate on renewable hydrogen made from sources like wind and biomass. The only emission from fuel cell vehicles is water vapor.
The carmakers said fuel cell vehicles can have up to 400 miles driving range, can be refueled in as little as three minutes, and the propulsion technology can be used on small, medium, and large vehicles.

Source;
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2013/07/02/fuel-cell-cars-back-in-the-limelight-as-gm-honda-team-up-on-mission-to-attack-costs/