The question is do you play it safe, or do you swing for the fences. I like to swing."

The U.S. organization will engineer and develop the new-generation Acura NSX sports car, the redesign of the current Civic at the end of this year, the next-generation Accord wagon and Accord coupe

"We’re now a big company. The question is do you play it safe, or do you swing for the fences. I like to swing."

It was a busy week for Honda, the maker announcing three separate recalls impacting 1.7 million vehicles – even as federal safety regulators revealed a new investigation that could eventually lead to the recall of yet another 600,000 Honda minivans and SUVs.

The latest developments put Honda firmly on track towards repeating last year’s dubious achievement as the maker to recall the most vehicles in the U.S. market. Of a total 15.5 million vehicles recalled in 2011, 3.8 million of them carried badges for Honda or its luxury brand Acura. This past week’s recalls alone accounted for nearly 45% of last year’s total.

Even before the latest series of recalls was announced, George Peterson, chief analyst with AutoPacific, Inc., warned that Honda “needs to be worried” about the impact the ongoing series of recalls could have on its traditional reputation for building some of the market’s highest-quality products.

The latest service action involves 266,000 Honda CR-V crossovers produced during the 2002 to 2006 model-years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined that a switch in the driver’s door could melt if it comes into contact with rain or other liquid, leading to an electrical fire.

The problem could occur even if the vehicle is parked – leading the government safety agency to suggest owners should not use the affected vehicles until repairs are made. Honda, however, disputed that warning, claiming a fire is likely only if a large amount of liquid somehow enters the door and comes into contact with the switch.

The maker says it knows of four fires caused by the problem, though it has no reports of crashes or injuries.

Honda says customers can inspect their vehicles and the maker says in most cases it will only need to install a cover to prevent liquids from coming into contact with the switch. Official notice of the recall will go out next month, Honda saying inspections and repairs will be made at no charge to consumers. But the question is what cost the ongoing recalls might have for Honda – beyond the actual price tag for making repairs.

Last week began with word of a recall involving 573,417 Honda Accord and Acura TL sedans due to a potential fire risk. The maker had previously recalled 52,613 vehicles for the same problem.

Several days later, Honda announced it would recall 820,000 Civic compacts and Pilot SUVs due to a problem that could cause their headlights to unexpectedly fail. The maker had already recalled 550,000 vehicles for that same problem earlier in 2012.

Then, on Friday, NHTSA announced it had begun a probe of 577,000 older Honda Odyssey minivans and Pilot SUVs because a shift interlock may fail, allowing a motorist to remove the vehicles’ keys without being shifted into Park. If that happens it may be possible for the vehicles to unexpectedly roll, especially if parked on an incline. At least two injuries have been linked to the problem, one involving a motorist whose leg was crushed.

Honda officials have repeatedly said that quality is a key to maintaining their competitiveness in a crowded American market. And the maker scored the top spot among mainstream brands in the latest J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey which measures “out-of-the-box” quality of vehicles in the market for 60 to 90 days. Nonetheless, company officials have also acknowledged that the steady stream of recalls could be a problem for their reputation. While senior officials were not available to comment on the latest string of safety related actions, Honda’s top American official John Mendel recently told TheDetroitBureau.com that last year’s recall of 3.8 million vehicles “was an incredible challenge.”

That’s all the more so, industry experts warn, as the quality gap between manufacturers closes. While Honda might have been the leading mainstream maker in the 2012 IQS, noted J.D. Power analyst Dave Sargent, key import and domestic players were not far behind.

What’s made the problem worse for Honda has been the poor reception many of its recent products have received – notably the latest-generation Civic, as well as more niche models like the CR-Z and Insight. Honda is counting heavily on the current launch of its all-new Accord to rebuild its image and momentum. The brand’s sales have been on a sharp upswing, however, in part driven by Honda’s overall recovery from the March 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami that left it short of product for most of the rest of last year.

But having safety related recalls land in the headlines at such an aggressive pace could give some buyers pause to consider other options, analysts like Peterson warn.

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/honda-s-...putation-.html

The Honda Aircraft Company has announced that its HA-420 HondaJet business jet is entering production. At a press conference at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) annual meeting and convention in Orlando, Florida, Honda announced that the “world’s most advanced light jet” had passed key testing milestones and is on its way to certification and delivery.


“An assembly line for HondaJet production is in place, major aircraft components including the fuselage and wing have been produced, and we have started assembly of the first customer aircraft,” said Honda Aircraft President and CEO Michimasa Fujino. “Commencing production is the most important milestone in the HondaJet program to date, with only the future Federal Aviation Administration Type Certification and first customer delivery ranking greater in significance.”

HondaJet is Honda’s first commercial aircraft. With a lightweight composite fuselage and reinforced aluminum wings, its distinctive profile comes from its over-the-wing engine-mount configuration for its two GE Honda HF120 turbofan jet engines. This is designed to improve performance and fuel efficiency by reducing aerodynamic drag.

Carrying up to six passengers, the HondaJet has a 12.15-meter (39-ft, 10-in) wingspan and overall length of 12.71 meters (41 ft, 8 in). Its cruising speed is 778 km/h (483 mph, 420 kn) and it has a range of 2,593 km (1,611 mi, 1,400 nmi). Its airframe design reduces cabin noise and ground-detected noise as well as providing more cabin space and greater cargo capacity. In the cockpit, there is a Honda-customized Garmin G3000 next-generation all-glass avionics system with three 14-inch landscape-format displays and dual touch-screen controllers.


The HondaJet has completed crew-seat crash tests, speedbrake testing, ultimate load tests, EASA windshield bird-strike testing, wind tunnel icing tests, night lighting testing, as well as extreme weather tests. Next year, Honda will provide the United States FAA with the latest two in a series of six HondaJets for flight testing.

The HondaJet also sees the introduction of new manufacturing processes for Honda that include making assembly floor instructions available on tablets, an on-site paint mixing system for thinner paint and the ability to paint several planes, and an Automatic Guided Cart (AGC) – a robot cart to pick up and deliver parts. In addition, Honda has begun construction of a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility capable of simultaneously servicing 12 HondaJets, and the installation of HondaJet flight simulators at the Honda Aircraft world headquarters campus in Greensboro, North Carolina.