Preventing from traffic jams with electronics and connected cars

Honda Motor announced the successful development of the world’s first technology to detect the potential for traffic congestion and determine whether the driving pattern of the vehicle is likely to create traffic jams. It's been developed in conjunction with the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo.

Rather than providing information to help the driver avoid existing congestion based on current traffic information, the system monitors the acceleration and deceleration patterns of the vehicle to determine whether the driver’s driving pattern is likely to create traffic congestion. Based on this determination, the system provides the driver with appropriate information, including a color-coded display through the on-board terminal, to encourage smooth driving which will help alleviate the intensity of acceleration and deceleration by trailing vehicles, thereby helping to prevent or minimize the occurrence of vehicle congestion.

The test results demonstrated that the system helped increase the average speed by approximately 23% and improved fuel efficiency by approximately 8% of trailing vehicles.

Read the full story here : http://world.honda.com/news/2012/4120426Traffic-Congestion-Prevent/index.html

Long term update: 2008 Honda Civic LX

Finally time for a 6 month update on our 08 Honda Civic. We've wrangled up a nice 4,000 miles on the Civic in the last 6 months. Here's what we have to report.

With the biggest thing on every one's mind being gas mileage. We're reporting an average of 23-24 MPG with our LX tester. Honda gives a combine rating of 29 for the Civic broken down to 25 City/36 Highway.

Overall performance is adequate from the 1.8 liter 4 cylinder. Honda rates the engine at 140Hp, but it actually feels much much less. Especially on hills. This leaves you in some situations where you feel you can't get out of your own way. The 4 speed automatic trans leaves a lot more to be desired. Tha lack of a manual shift kick over disappointed us as this might have helped a little with the performance.

Ride is ok, a little on the harsh side but not bad. Handling is excellent. Our car was fitted with 16 inch 5 spoke alloys that really set off the refrigerator white paint. Disc brakes all around with ABS keep things under control. One complaint we have is the low ride height. The springs are set so soft that if we had our equipment in the trunk or more than one person in the car when pulling out of the garage, we were greeted with a loud bang and scraping noises from the car bottoming out. Our permanent fleet includes a modified 1999 VW New Beetle that is lowered with a sport suspension that doesn't even come close to doing this.

Moving inside, there is an interior that is very futuristic. It reminds me of some GM concept cars from the late 1980s-early 1990s. The leather interior is supple and comfortable with a nice driving position. The steering wheel is covered in perforated black leather and is more of a squared oval design rather than the typical round circle. It has a very nice feel to it and has the added bonus of thumb controls for the radio, cruise, and blue tooth set up. The instrument cluster is uniquely laid out with the odometer set right above the steering column and the speedo further up near the top of the dash.

It takes a little time to get used to this setup. The speedo does cause a glare at night that drove some of us crazy. To the point we would take another car from the test fleet at night. Round out the interior with MP3 player jacks, Sirius/XM satelite radio, in dash cd, Scan Disc slots, blue tooth, and touch screen navigation and it makes for a very nice in car entertainment package.

I'd be lying if I were to say that I was sad to see the Honda leave us. But it is a nice little car for what it is. Especially with the lightness it leaves on the wallet at the gas pump.

Out of 5 stars we give it 3 and a half.

In the garage: 2008 Mini Cooper, 2008 Honda Civic

We recently picked up our first long term test cars for review. So expect to see much more about both cars in the coming weeks. First is a 2008 Mini Cooper. We opted to test the base Cooper rather than go with the Cooper S that you see tested every where else.

The second long term tester is a 2008 Honda Civic. Both cars will be tested in real world circumstances. To give you a real world idea of how both cars stack up. Look for future updates.

European autos have resale edge over domestics

Recent surveys show that the Detroit Big Three are starting to lose footing on their vehicles resale values. Kelly Blue Book is saying that the top five brands with the best overall predicted resale value are Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, Acura, and Porsche. The rest of the Top Ten are Lexus, Subaru, Toyota, Infiniti, and Audi. Of course, none of these are Big Three domestics. Many of those brands made up the 1o worst picks for resale value for 2008.

Why the big turn? Simple. Over production. The Big Three lean towards overproducing their vehicles. Then they slap on huge discounts and rebates. Those combined with the over abundant supply of Taurus, Impala, and Stratus fleet and rental cars. Helps to absolutely destroy the resale value of those cars.

Volkswagen is the surprise comeback kid on the survey list. They have steadily grown over the last 5 years. Thanks to big boosts in quality, fuel efficiency, European styling, and exceptional value.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Redesigned Honda Fit receives 20,000 orders in 2 weeks

From the looks of what we've read and seen of the new redesigned Honda Fit. It looks like a vast improvement on the previous model. And the buying public has spoken. 20,000 orders for the new car over a period of 2 weeks. The Fit is a very impressive car for its size. And can be customized to quite a quick little ride. I for one look forward to seeing more about this car in the future. We should see the revised Fit sometime in 2008.

TOKYO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said on Friday it had received about 20,000 orders for its remodelled Fit subcompact in the two weeks since its launch in Japan last month, far outpacing a monthly sales target of 12,000 cars.

Honda, Japan's second-biggest automaker, is counting on the second-generation Fit, sold as the Jazz in some markets, to reverse a slide in domestic sales, where popular 660cc minivehicles have eaten into the subcompact segment.

The car, which is roomier and more fuel-efficient than its predecessor, is set to overtake Toyota Motor Corp's Corolla sedan as Japan's best-selling car, excluding minicars. It last claimed the No. 1 spot in September 2006.

Hit by a slump in the overall market, Honda last month lowered its domestic retail sales forecast by 4 percent to 660,000 cars for the business year to the end of March 2008. It expects a rebound to around 700,000 cars next year, with help from the Fit and a beefed-up minivehicle line-up.

Honda is due to launch the new Fit/Jazz in North America, Europe, China and other markets over the next year.

Source: Reuters, autoblog.com