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While scanning the Bloomberg site, and YES I read Bloomberg darn it!! Ahem, anyways... I came upon an article about the future of Honda plug in hybrids, knowing about Honda's recent ground breaking for a new battery plant I thought it was an interesting read so I will share it. No, I am not mentioning it only to appear smart because I read Bloomberg... Ok, yes, I am sharing so it makes me look smart... and rich... well, I AM SMART!


 

An article in the new Popular Mechanics got me thinking about that wife swap show on tv, they compared two vehicles that on the surface are completely different in every way. I found myself fascinated by the idea of comparing a Honda Fit against a Ducati HyperMotard S type, kinda like swapping two wives that are totally opposite and watching the outcome! Amoung the biggest suprises is the results of the mountain road driving which btw, was done right upo the road from me here in Glendale. "One might have thought the Italian Stallion would have walked away from the lowly Fit on this road. But at almost every turn heading up the mountain, the Fit filled the bike’s rearview mirror. The handling balance and grip from this Honda is extraordinary for a car in its class. You can fling the Fit hard into the tightest corner, ride the brakes slightly to take the edge off the understeer and then power out to the next turn. It was surprisingly quick, especially on the downhill, where momentum makes up for the lack of engine power. The Fit actually arrived at the bottom of Glendora ahead of the Ducati—its front brakes nearly smoking. Fun? Oh yeah" Rock on Popular Mechanics, Rock On!!!! Read the whole article here, you will love it, sense of humor required though...


 

No, not THE world! Just the part that matters most, the MOTOR SPORTS world! All around the world this weekend whereever Honda was, the racing finished with a Honda in the top four or better! In Japan Honda celebrated 50 years of Road Racing with a 3rd place finish, hard fought up from an 11th place start, with an RC212V ridden by Dani Pedrosa. The Netherlands saw an amazing weekend of activity with both Superbike and Moto Cross racing action. Leon Haslan brought home two podium finishes to continue Honda's strong presence in the Superbike Gran Prix series and the Dutch sands saw Kevin Strijbos earn a fourth place finish in the high flying Moto series. Down to Portugal where the World Trials Sreies had some incredible man/machine vs. nature action that ended with Toni Bou taking the round two victory. In the IndyCar Series there was a suprise win by a.... wait for it... Honda!!!! Kidding folks, yes, I do know that all the cars in the series are powered by Honda, it was a joke!!! This week the series made a stop in Kansas and defending series champ Scott Dixon score his first win of the season. All the down and dirty, and even sandy details can be found over at the Honda Motor Sports home page.


 

To celebrate Earth Day yesterday in a green way, Honda gathered past and present model Insights and their owners at the Honda Center in Anaheim. For one lucky participant in the days activities it was extremely insightful! Richard Wada had attended a Ducks game recently, saw some advertising about the new Insight and stopped by the event to see one in person, while there he and his daughter got the chance to drive one of the demo vehicles Honda had supplied. His 'test drive' was extended to a full time drive when he won the drawing for a brand new 2010 Honda Insight! The Wada family is thrilled as you can imagine and promises to keep everyone posted with the fantastic mileage numbers they expect!
Over 40 Insights were on display, driven in from as far away as New Jersey with many high mileage numbers shared as owners discussed their 'hypermiling' secrets. Hypermiling is a technique that returns the absolute best mileage possible for a particular vehicle, one big believer in the power of hypermiling is Wayne Gerdes who drove his Insight from Illinios to attend. Wayne also runs a website dedicated to the high mileage lifestyle, CleanMpg.com, which is mostly for hybrid owners however has a great number of tips and techniques for normal drivers (like me) to help extend the distance between fill ups. Using his driving styles, wayne recently reported a return of 72.6 MPG with the new Insight! A great day under the crystal blue So. Cal skies was enjoyed by all and many eyes were opened with a new 'Insight' into fuel economy, especially Mr. Wada's!


 

The world of motorsports that is! All over the world this weekend Honda powered vehicle lead the fields and place well, proving once again that there is no other company on the planet involved in racing of all forms like Honda, started in racing and continuing to race! Yes, I will get to the picture in just a moment, I know its not really a racing picture! Over the weekend in Turkey Honda two wheelers took third and fifth in the Moto Cross Gran Prix. More two wheeled action in Qatar as the road racing series saw another strong Honda effort with a fifth place in that countries Gran Prix. Finally, in the toyota (ha ha) Gran Prix of Long Beach, Dario Franchitti, (I told ya I'd get to the picture!) held off a powerful field and made a great team decision with fuel stops to take the checkered! For the record, Danika finished a very strong fourth. We knew a Honda powered car would win, duh, but the win by Dario is particularly cool because he's Italian! Yes, I know he was born in Scotland but his parents are from Italy!!!! AND, hes married to the ever so hot Ashely Judd, dudes GOT to be the coolest!!! Alright, alright.... more of the race coverage here, yes without my personal opinions!


 

This weekend the Honda's screaming thru the streets of Long Beach WONT be driven by kids who think the 4" chrome tips they bolted onto the exhaust make them go faster! No, this weekend Long Beach will see some real Honda speed, Indy Car style! Although still humorously named the toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the only toyotas in sight will be in the spetcator parking area as this racing series is all Honda baby! Unlike most any other form of racing, Indy Car racing is all about the driver, the effeciency of the team and desire; who wants it the most?! Yes, Danika will be there! No, she wont be out of her driving suit like in the recent photo shoot, stop it! Race time is Sunday at 1:15 so check back here tomorrow evening for a full update, in the mean time see the main site here.


 

File this under, 'one of THE MOST COOL THINGS ever!' Honda has just started a campaign to replant areas affected by recent wilfires, at no cost. Just by going to the site and inputing your name you can help replant and help not only the enviroment but also yourself by knowing ya did something good! I COULD say some real cutesy stuff but I'll hold off for a less cool post, instead I will let Honda do the talking.
"Last year alone, 395,000 acres of forest were lost to wildfires. That's why Socal Honda Dealers want to plant a native sapling in your name completely free of charge. Just click on the link below to have one planted, and to learn about all the other ways we can be helpful to our environment."
Click Here, JUST DO IT!!!


 

No, I dont mean the English Beat, although I for one would be happy to hear they are back together and maybe even planning a tour..... Wait, never mind, the Honda Beat is what I refer to! Last seen when it went out of production back in 1996, there is at least a rumor that it may return! Take a good look at the concept drwaing of this little beauty though as it is probably the closest we will get to it here in the States, it will most likely be 'euro-only'. Wind of the cute lil pocket rocket blew thru my friends over at VTEC.net via some french blog, if you can read the language it at least looks like there is more info over there, and if you CAN read it please let me know what it says!


 

With a little over a month of availability under its belt line, reviews are starting to come in on the new Insight and more specifically its astounding mileage capabilities. The writers over at Road & Track seem to have summed it up best by saying "I posted 54.9 mpg on my driving stint. And, later, on a specially devised suburban tour, fully half of our journalist contingent saw results better than 60 mpg, with the best of them in the 70s. Impressive indeed." Read the rest here. Not bad at all when considering how they are mostly devoted to the shrine of toyota they usually prone themselves in front of! Ok, just kidding... ish! The folks at the Edmunds site, 'Inside Line' got some great real world results as well, "we're still impressed by the 51.5-mpg result our 2010 Honda Insight EX achieved." See more of their test results here. Basically, although the window sticker does show the lowest price for a hybrid in America, what it doesnt show is just how good the 'REAL' mileage is!


 

We know Honda can get you were you are going by car, motorcyle, boat and plane already. Now we can add walking to list of transportation from Honda! Since 1999 those crafty and amazing engineers at Honda have been developing a devise that offers assistance to the legs and thereby 'walking' assistance to those with difficulties getting around and proving yet again what an incredible company they are! Heres more:

04/14/2009 - NEW YORK -American Honda Motor Co., Inc. is demonstrating its prototype walking assist devices for the first time in the U.S. The devices will be part of a technical exhibition at the 2009 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress at Detroit's Cobo Center April 20 - 23. Prior to the Detroit event, Honda will demonstrate the devices for selected media in New York. Intended to support walking for the elderly, people with weakened leg muscles the devices are currently being tested in real-world conditions to evaluate their effectiveness

Click thru for the rest of the story, prepare to be amazed... Honda Stride Management Assist

UPDATE: Leave it to the crew at Jalopnik to one up us all, again! Editor Wes got to 'test walk' the devise, we hate him! Ok, not so much hate but envy with malice his cool job! See it here.