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In the continuing success story of the Japanese car company, Honda, they announced recently that they will be showing off four new concept vehicles at the Tokyo Auto Saloon 2007. This is just what anyone who knows how Honda approaches such motor shows would expect. For years, they have dazzled the public with completely cool concept cars. And this year will not be an exception to the kind of hype that is generated by Honda’s new concept vehicles which includes 3 cars and a scooter.
All of the said vehicles were developed by the Honda Access Corporation, a fully owned subsidiary of the automotive giant which manufactures high performance Honda parts and other aftermarket products.
On display will not only be these concept vehicles but also customized versions of some of the cars that Honda has in the market today. Also included are genuine Honda accessories which vary from entertainment systems to navigation devices which are offered as treats for Honda lovers.
The concept vehicles that will be displayed are the Forza 2-seater scooter, the Fit Daily Active, the Stream Hyper Sport and the Stream Exclusive. All of which carries the same philosophy infused into it by Honda’s engineers – make the vehicle more personal. They also carry technological treats for the users, giving them an enjoyable and comfy ride, whether it be on a scooter (Forza), a small car (Fit Daily Active), or a minivan (Stream Hyper Sport and Stream Exclusive).
The Fit Daily Active concept vehicle, for example, is loaded with features aimed at the youth of today, not lacking in gaming and communications features. It also comes with an entertainment system good enough for all age levels. The Stream Hyper Sport minivan is also loaded with technological features, offering mobile communication compatible with the AVN driving information system it has. When it comes to entertainment systems, the vehicle offers each passenger a personalized audio and visual entertainment package. The Stream Exclusive, on the other hand, boasts of a luxurious interior and jaw dropping design of the exterior while still offering the premium in audio and video experience with its 17 inch-wide screen and awesome audio system to back it up.
The Forza 2-seater concept scooter from Honda is really one of a kind; it is something everybody would like to have. You can carry around on it the portable AVN entertainment system which the Fit Daily Active also sports. It also has information-related functions which can be very much considered to be an essential to safe city driving. Driver and passenger communication is made possible by the advanced inter-communication system that comes with the vehicle. Music likewise can be shared by both the driver and passenger thanks to the front and rear speakers.
All these and more will be displayed by Honda at the Tokyo Auto Saloon this year. Another year for this forward thinking company to show to the public what they can do and what they can offer us.
Image taken on 2009-10-23 14:02:30 by Danny Choo.
Produced by Audi in 1998 the TT is a sports car that goes back all the way to 1994 when the main idea was developed at the Audi design Center in California. The name of a car came to be because of the successful of NSU and DKW in the British “tourist trophy” — During that time the vehicle was introduced as a concept model because it had a futuristic design, uninterrupted lines and one simply not the car you would see on a daily basis.
Even though the concept for this vehicle was put together in the US it is currently being produced in Hungary and it is available as a 2+2 coupe or as they two-seater roadster. There have been two generations of this vehicle, the second was obviously an improvement from the previous one.
Audi TT first-generation
The first vehicle in this line was launched as a coupe in 1998 and one year later (1999) was launched as a roadster, the only difference between the actual version and the concept vehicle an improved bumper and an additional quarterlight window. This first-generation TT was based on the Volkswagen group A4 platform which featured a 1.8L turbo engine and a 3.2L for the VR6 version.
This first generation was available in four transmission speeds, a five and six speed manual, a six speed automatic and a six speed DSG. When it comes to the wheelbase it featured 95.4 inch wheels and the Quattro version had a slightly bigger size at 95.6 inches. When it comes to fuel capacity it was a will in 55L.
Audi TT second-generation
First shown in 2006 at the Tokyo motor show the second-generation TT featured a shooting brake two door hatchback body style, this design impressed many enthusiasts who desired a futuristic yet stylish sports vehicle. The second-generation TT was constructed of aluminum in the front and steel in the back in order to increase its stability.
This version was available in front or four-wheel drive, it is based on the Volkswagen group A5 platform and is also available as a 2.0L turbo and as a 3.2L for the VR6 version; it featured a six speed manual transmission and was also available as a six speed DSG. The wheelbase increased by a couple of inches from its predecessor (first generation), it went from a max of 95.6 inches all the way to 97.2 inches.
In addition, there have been other models for those who look for performance and also for those who prefer fuels such as diesel (European market) and pay attention to the mileage per gallon which is currently at 44.4 for the coupe variant according to Audi.
Image taken on 2004-07-04 15:27:26 by fo.ol.
Judo is a term that refers to the modern version of the Japanese martial art and combat sport. The name, which means “gentle way”, evolved in late nineteenth century Japan, and martial arts experts agree that it’s most prominent feature lies primarily on its competitive element, and its objectives or main goals are to throw your opponent to the ground, immobilize him/her with a clutching or grappling maneuver, and/or pressing an opponent into submission by employing a choke or locking an elbow. The player’s hand and feet move by striking or thrusting an opponent, along with other weapons; however these are only done in a pre-arranged manner, and are disallowed in official judo competitions or free practice, randori.
This martial art form evolved from the art of jiujitsu, referring to a system of hand-to-hand combat. In feudal Japan, the bushi or Samurai were given credit for developing jujutsu, although during the heyday of the Samurai it was referred to as Yoroi kumi-uchi. This early form involved a grappling maneuver, with both opponents fully clad in traditional Japanese armor. As the sport spread throughout the Western world and rapidly began to grow in popularity, it became part of sporting circles, leading to its inclusion as an official Olympic sport in the 1964 Tokyo Games. With the entry of judo as an official Olympic sport, more emphasis was placed into its more physical and competitive aspects, which according to purists and critics, was made at the expense of its moral, intellectual and spiritual foundations.
Over the past century, the official rules of judo competitions have dramatically changed. Initially, the sport of Kodokan Judo was viewed as a form of jujutsu and official competitions were usually held in the older jujutsu style. According to early participants, the competition in those days was tremendously rough, which at times cost some of the players their lives. Competition among different jiujitsu schools was a common sight, and the Kodokan participated in many such challenge matches. The sport’s practitioners are called judoka, or judo player. In its early years however, only those ranked 4th Dan or higher were called judoka, but present rules have already been modified. According to sports historians, the suffix -ka, when added to a noun, refers to an individual who is known to possess the expertise or full knowledge of that subject. Today however, the term “judoka” universally refers to any participant or player, irrespective of whether he or she has any particular level of expertise implied.
Playing this ancient sport involves doing a wide array of falls, throws, rolls, chokes, hold-downs, strikes and joint-locks. Experts however point out that main focus of this combat sport is on throwing (nagezawa) and groundwork (ne-waza). The throws are classified into two sets of techniques, and these could either be done through using the standing techniques (tachi-waza), or by using the sacrifice techniques (te-waza).
Honda’s first small car for India, the Jazz, will make its first public appearance at the Tokyo Motor show in October this year. Expected to be launched in a finely tuned form in India to take advantage of the taxation structure, the product is most likely to come strapped with a diesel engine.
The new Honda Jazz is built to take on Swift and Getz. Masahiro Takedagawa, chairman and CEO of Honda Siel Cars India, has already implied that the company’s small cars would be positioned to fit into the lower excise duty bracket. Small cars with a certain specification of engine capacity and length attract lower tax of 16 percent as against 24 percent for bigger cars, as per the excise duty structure. The Jazz might come with a 1.5-litre diesel engine in order to draw excise benefits. Honda is traditionally known for pricing its product on the higher side. But auto analysts say that the Japanese manufacturer will have to change its stand as it treads into the compact segment.
PriceWaterhouse partner Abdul Majeed said that the B and the B+ segment cars do not give high margin. But according to him, to be able to make money in these segments, any auto maker would have to price its products aggressively to catch big volumes.
The Jazz is likely to sport a price tag of Rs 4.6-5.6 lakh to draw big volumes in the segment, given the competition from Getz and Swift. While Jazz will hit the Indian roads in 2009, another small car from the Honda stable, which is designed for the Indian market, will be launched in the country from that time on. This model would be launched one level lower in the B-segment and would rival with the likes of Hyundai Santro, Tata Indica and Maruti Wagon R.
The company’s second Indian car plant, which is coming up at Takapura in Rajasthan, would manufacture the next generation Jazz. The initial capacity of plant would reach 60,000 vehicles which will be more than tripled to 2 lakh units over time. Moreover, Honda’s second small car for India is also expected to be manufactured in the Takapura plant after its capacity is reinvented.
About Honda
Honda is well known for its diverse line up of quality automobiles and car parts under Honda such as Honda S2000 parts and Acura name plates, and for its motorcycles, ATVs, power products, marine engines, and personal watercraft.
The Toyota Prius is such an iconic car that many people believe Toyota was the first company to come out with production hybrids. It was not. Honda was the first, but miscalculated the market and missed out on a huge opportunity. The announcement that the company will be introducing a hybrid sports car, the CR-Z, to the US market in the fall of 2010 is an effort to right that wrong.
The CR-Z is nothing less than a full frontal assault on the hybrid market in the United States. The car is a two-seater that is rumored to incorporate an integrated motor assist system that incorporates a 1.3 liter engine. The CR-Z, which stands for Compact Renaissance Zero, gets its sportiness from both the design and the fact that it is expected to be very light weight.
The initial prototype of the vehicle was shown at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show. It incorporates a longer nose with sleek, banked styling that runs to a higher end, flat rear. If I had to compare it to any other car, it looks like a revved up Honda Insight although with very distinct lines. You can look up images online from the show to see it.
The real beauty of the CR-Z is found in an area that is rarely available in a new, revolutionary sporty car. Yes, I am talking about the price. All indications are Honda is trying to bring this car in to wipe up the market. The proposed retail price is a paltry $20,000. This is the equivalent of a Prius, but with much better lines and performance. Well, at least we think better performance. Honda has released no information on just how sporty the performance will be. Still, one has to imagine it will be better than your average hybrid.
The age of hybrids is in full bloom. The Honda CR-Z seems to fill a niche that has demand these days. With a price in the $20,000 range, it may be a huge hit.
Vision One has done it again by teaming up with HABU.TV in the U.S. to bring real American TV programming to Asia! “We are very excited about our new IPTV for Asia called HABU.TV (which has a catchy phrase to it as well Hook A Brotha Up with some TV!) that we just rolled-out. We are offering over 250 channels of premium programming directly from the U.S. with 100 hours DVR included to enable time shifting for the Expats and Military Communities in Asia”. It certainly sounds good to me! Being away from home for extended periods of time used to mean that you had to settle for whatever local cable/satellite service was available in your host country, which is very different from U.S. programming.
“Most Asian countries’ movie and entertainment channels have old programming that most Americans have already seen or are a season behind on TV series programming. The sports channels are usually heavy on soccer and local sports…not the big 3 like NFL, NBA, or MLB. Not to mention they have absolutely no college football. Yeah, the American communities were pretty starved for programming to say the least.” Not anymore! With all your favorites like NBC, ABC, HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Fox, as well as all the sporting events and PPV, you can see why they are pretty excited at Vision One! Founded in 1998 by Mr. Clay Cook, entrepreneur, and businessman who has resided in Okinawa for the last 21 years has been rated “Best Internet and VoIP (IP Phone) Provider on Okinawa” by their constituents, the U.S. Military community on Okinawa. There is no secret to their success. They are a first-level agency for all the leading major communication carriers here in Japan such as NTT, KDDI, OCN, SoftBank, YahooBB, TeleVelocity, SkyPerfecTV, and now HABU.TV/IPTV on Okinawa. There are many Expats and American military stationed and living in Asia. We are marketing heavy in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Manila, and Bangkok for the Expat communities and Korea and Japan for the heavy U.S. Military presence.
Vision One doesn’t just do IPTV in Okinawa, Internet or VoIP, they are also a leading provider of Satellite TV (AFN and SkyPerfecTV) sales and services on Okinawa. “We do many things here,” says Clay. “Thru our other division, we also provide financial planning and investment consultancy services like payday loans for the U.S. Military here in Okinawa; as well as corporate marketing consultancy and brokerage services for companies seeking to do business with the U.S Military or Japanese government here.” Indeed this is seen by just visiting their website that Vision One is truly diversified and has their “business antennae peaked” for optimum performance! You can visit Vision One at www.v1global.com, www.habu.tv, www.televelocity.com or call 81-98-921-0002 to inquire about any of their many services.
Manufactured by the highly renowned and prestigious German automaker Audi, the TT version has been quite a hit ever since it became available on the market. The Audi TT is classified as a sports vehicle and it is available as a two seater roadster or a 2+2 coupe. The development of this high-quality vehicle goes back to 1994 and the main concepts were brainstormed at the Audi design Center in California.
One year later (1995) the Audi TT was featured at the Frankfurt auto show as a concept car and amazingly enough after being thoroughly reviewed the project was given a green light in order to start the production, most of the design and the original concept remained intact which is something very rare among concept vehicles. At the moment there have been two generations developed, let’s take a look at them.
First-generation:
This original vehicle was launched as a coupe in 1998 and the two seater roadster version was introduced to the market one year later (1999) — the engine feature in this generation was a 1.8L Turbo I4, 3.2L VR6, the transmission configuration is available as a five speed manual or automatic as well as a six speed automatic or DSG.
The first few TT’s gained media coverage and were put on the spot light because of high-speed accidents in Europe, accidents which ended up in fatalities occurred at speeds in excess of 110 mph, this trigger a recall of both versions within this generation in order to improve the handling of very high speeds.
Second-generation:
As it is expected from later generations the Audi TT (8J) features a beautiful and refined design which was first unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo motor show as a concept vehicle, the body style shown was a two door hatchback. Later on the 2006 Audi announced second-generation which is built with aluminum at the front and steel in the rear, this was done in order to improve the balance and handling of this performance vehicle, it is also available in front or all-wheel-drive.
According to its design performance and features the second-generation vehicle entered the car and driver magazine 10 best list for 2000 and 2001 — it was awarded several other prices and titles as well.
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