Honda Cars : Honda CR-V line in Ohio starts Tuesday despite Thai floods | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Production of the new all-new 2012 Honda CR-V starts Tuesday in East Liberty, Ohio, despite flooding in Thailand that is causing trouble for suppliers. The new 2012 model will be in showrooms in December.

These new pictures of Honda vehicles damaged by the floods underscore its severity. Hundreds of new vehicles awaiting shipment were swamped. While finished vehicles are not the issue for the Thailand plant, the floods have caused havoc when it comes to parts, mostly when it comes to electronics.

Earlier this month, Honda said:
Due to continued flooding in Thailand, a number of Honda suppliers have been unable to maintain the supply of parts to Honda. As a result, Honda will continue managing the parts supply in North America by taking the following actions:
•Honda will continue temporary production adjustments at all six Honda auto plants in the U.S. and Canada.
•Auto production rates will vary from plant to plant, but some plants will produce at rates above the previously announced 50 percent of the original plan through Nov. 30.
•All plants in the U.S. and Canada are expected to produce at normal levels on Dec. 1 and 2. Production plans after Dec. 2 will be announced in the future.

Source;
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/11/honda-cr-v-line-in-ohio-starts-tuesday-despite-thai-floods/1

Honda Cars : Honda Conducts European Public Research to Perfect Human-Robot Interaction | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

Living with HUMANOID Robots

HONDA CONDUCTS EUROPEAN PUBLIC research to perfect
Human-Robot INTERACTION

A research project will be conducted this week in Linz, Austria, to discover what the ideal interaction between people and humanoid robots ought to be in the future, Honda R&D and Ars Electronica Futurelab announced today. The research, the first of its kind in Europe, will involve members of the public directly interacting with ASIMO, Honda's humanoid robot.

The findings from this and similar research around the world will be integrated into the functionality of future versions ASIMO. It will also help realise a humanoid robot that can interact effortlessly with people in a living environment and take on some the tasks that would help make people's lives easier.

For nearly a quarter of a century Honda has made significant progress towards this goal. The latest generation of this research is Honda's ASIMO, widely regarded as the most advanced humanoid robot. ASIMO, which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative MObility, features functionality including high-level mobility and an ability to give and receive objects.

Satoshi Shigemi, Large Project Leader of ASIMO development, Honda R&D Co., Ltd., said:

"This is an exciting collaboration for us with Ars Electronica Futurelab, which has a long history of investigating human-machine interaction and design. It is a significant milestone in our development of ASIMO and an important piece of human-robot interaction research to examine the diverse levels of robot acceptance and interaction around the world. We've already held research in Japan and in time we will conduct similar research in different cultures and different parts of the world."

He added: "The aim of this research is to better understand what the ideal interaction and communication between people and humanoid robots ought to be in the future. People need to be able to comfortably communicate with the robot so that it can react properly to their commands and carry out their wishes when assistance is needed."

The collaborative research with members of the public visiting the Ars Electronica Center will take place from the 2nd to 8th September 2010 during the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. Leading experts from around the globe in the fields of robotics, futurology and design will gather at the Festival.

Source;
http://www.hondanews.eu/en/news/index.pmode/modul,detail,0,1579-DEFAULT,21,text,1/index.pmode

Honda Cars : Pioneer: Honda Motor Completed Payment For New Share Buy | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Pioneer Corp. (6773.TO) said Tuesday that Honda Motor Co. (7267.TO) has completed payment of around Y2.50 billion for new shares in the electronics company.

Pioneer issued 14.7 million new shares to Honda for Y170 per share. The company said it plans to use the capital to develop new in-vehicle electronics products.

With a 4.5% stake, Honda is now one of the leading shareholders in Pioneer. Sharp Corp. (6753.TO), which holds 9.19%, is the company's largest shareholder.

Pioneer originally announced the share issue plan in April 2009, but postponed it a number of times as it said it wanted to give other potential investors the same offer terms as Honda.

Source;
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100323-700837.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines