Have you seen ASIMO? Honda's humanoid robot is constantly improving and they just came out with an upgrade that makes the little guy oh so helpful. He can perform the duties of receptionist, museum guide and deliver your coffee or various office supplies. Helpful, cute and almost a little, hmm..., what's the word I'm looking for, a little creepy. I'm not sure we're ready for an automomous robot yet. Yep, I know they're coming, but it's still weird. That's just one Honda project.
Honda came out with their HondaJet this past summer, with a debut at Oshkosh, it performs very well and in true Honda fashion, gets super mileage.
They make generators, lawnmowers, snowblowers, it's a long list.
Honda makes every sort of self propelled vehicle, cars, ATVs, marine engines and of course motorcycles. Is it any wonder Honda would be introducing many of the cutting edge technologies in their motorcycles when they have the corporate financial wherewithal and engineering talent to do all of these other things?
What other motorcycle manufacturer could afford to experiment with their lineup the way Honda can? Fuel cells? Sure. Hybrids? Why not? Electric? Of course. V twins, V fours, V fives, singles, twins, inline fours, flat six, what else do they have up their sleeve? Natural gas? Yep. Diesel? Maybe. Think about it, who else is this diverse? Developments in one area transfer to others, they have a hybrid snowblower, for Pete's sake!
This, of course, lends more weight to the idea that experimenting with small displacement motorcycles in the U.S. would be less risky for Honda than anyone else. Set up a few dealers and see what happens. What's to lose when there is so much to possibly gain?
Yamaha, to their great credit, introduced some neat concepts at Tokyo, electrics and hybrids and mile long scooters but Honda is still King Kong in the motorcycle arena, especially when you look at all of the sales in Asia. Just keep your eye on these guys, there's no telling what will come out of their doors next.
doug says
the round engine concept in a motorcycle & other small applications seems to have huge potential.
todd says
Honda definitely hates the diesel, that’s why they’re changing it. At least that’s the spin they’re putting on it. It looks like they’re creating an Accord with a low compression (quiet,yet less efficient) diesel with variable nozzle turbo (more efficient, broader power band)… anyway, there’s a cute little jingle about hating things enough to make them better. Check it out if your browser is up to the task.
http://www.honda.co.uk/change/
aaron says
don’t forget F1! the most dominant F1 car ever was honda engined…and the future is looking good for honda in the most competitive F1 field ever!