Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announces that an agreement has been reached for its consolidated group company Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS) to acquire the US maker of stainless steel outboard motor propellers, Precision Propeller, Inc. (PPI). Operations begin today under the new managerial arrangement that makes PPI a member of the Yamaha Motor group.

The purpose of this acquisition is to strengthen production capacity at PPI and ensure the high quality of the stainless steel propellers it supplies for Yamaha outboard motors. Until now, approximately half of the propellers produced by PPI have been supplied to Yamaha Motor, and making the company a part of the Yamaha Motor group will ensure a stable supply of these important performance parts and thus help strengthen the foundation for continued growth by the Yamaha Motor brand in the outboard motor market.

As part of the acquisition agreement, YMUS establishes a new company under the name Precision Propeller Industries, Inc. (the new PPI) and acquires the corporate assets necessary to carry on the corporate operations of the former PPI under new management.

Concerning the 70 employees of the existing PPI, provisions are made for them to continue to be employed by the new PPI.

Under the Yamaha Motor company medium-term management plan covering the fiscal years 2008 to 2010, strengthening the outboard motor lineup in the mid- to large-size model range and increasing profitability by expanding sales of 4-stroke outboard models have been set as business priorities. The acquisition of PPI is part of these efforts to strengthen product value in Yamaha’s outboard motor business.
Source: Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.

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Lap runs on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany’s Eifel region are often cancelled due to rain. But the wet weather didn’t stop Nissan from taking its X-TRAIL fuel cell vehicle for a spin on the course recently, making Nissan the first automaker to record an FCV lap on the famous race track.

X-TRAIL FCV

Frank Eickholt, member of the Nissan 24 Hours Nürburgring race team and Nordschleife aficionado, skillfully steered the 1.3 million euro prototype through “The Green Hell”- as the course is often referred to - on standard street tires. And although the 20.8 kilometer-long course was consistently wet – making it difficult to drive aggressively - Eickholt was thoroughly impressed with the X-TRAIL FCV which clocked in at 11:58 minutes.

“I was very surprised at just how comfortable it is to drive a fuel cell car. You get in, turn the key and off you go, just like with a normal car,”said Eickholt.

“Although some of the uphill sections were challenging, the speed was still very impressive. If the course hadn’t been so wet, I could have gotten more momentum out of the curves. Thirty to 40 seconds could have been shaved off for sure,”he added.

The five-seater X-TRAIL FCV is a zero-emission electric vehicle that runs in near silence. It is powered by electricity produced on board the vehicle, in a hydrogen fuel cell stack. Electricity is generated following an electro-chemical reaction between hydrogen – which is stored at 700 bar in a purpose-designed high-pressure tank – and oxygen. The only by-product is water vapour.

This electric current is channelled through an inverter to drive a powerful motor in the front of the car. The X-TRAIL FCV, which has been undergoing real-world trials in Japan and California since 2006, has an official top speed of 150 km/h and a range of 500 km. Maximum power is 90kW (120PS) while maximum torque is 280Nm.

It also features the latest in battery technology: a Nissan-designed compact lithium-ion battery with thin laminated cells. The Li-Ion battery is used to start the vehicle and to boost power under acceleration. Kinetic energy created under deceleration is captured and stored in the battery for future use.

Still in the early stages of development, Nissan is currently working to improve durability of the FCV componentry; to find a breakthrough in hydrogen storage systems; and to reduce the cost of the technology. The company hopes to see fuel cell vehicles in series production by 2015.

The X-TRAIL FCV is part of the Nissan Green Program 2010, Nissan’s midterm environmental strategy which is aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from the company’s products and activities around the world, as well as reducing other exhaust emissions and increasing recycling.

Source: Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.

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Honda Motor Co., Ltd. held a ceremony, July 21, 2008, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Super Cub sales which began in August 1958. The ceremony for associates was held at Honda’s Kumamoto Factory where Super Cub is produced in Japan.
“The reason we have been able to continue producing and selling Super Cub for 50 years, which is quite a long time, is because of our customers who enjoy using Super Cub every day,” said Takeo Fukui, president & CEO of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. “I would also like to thank Honda associates who have supported the history of Super Cub. Super Cub has continuously advanced to accommodate the needs and preferences of people throughout the world, and cumulative worldwide production of Cub series motorcycles reached the 60 million-unit milestone in April of this year. Moreover, in this year of the 50th anniversary of Super Cub, a new motorcycle plant has been built at this Kumamoto Factory, and the transfer of motorcycle production to the new plant will be completed within this year. I expect Kumamoto Factory to serve as the global leader of Honda’s motorcycle production operations around the world and to continue providing our customers with products that create new value.”

Since the introduction of the first Super Cub C100 model in 1958, Super Cub has been a long-selling product sold in more than 160 countries* to date, and customers around the world enjoy using Super Cub every day. Production of Super Cub in regions outside of Japan began in 1961 in Taiwan, with production based on component parts sets provided from Japan and was expanded to other countries based on Honda’s commitment to “build products close to the customer.” The Honda Cub series is currently being produced at 16 plants in 15 countries around the world.
* Honda’s internal data

Source: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

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Honda’s low-emission sportscar study model has been revealed at the British International Motor Show, at ExCel, London.

The lightweight roadster design study is a concept showing Honda’s core engineering principals, designing stylish and exciting cars that are also environmentally responsible.

Named the OSM (for Open Study Model), the two-seater joins the confirmed-for-production CR-Z sports hybrid and FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car on the Honda stand at the show.

“We’re trying to show that low emission cars can be attractive,” says Andreas Sittel, Project Leader for OSM. “There is no reason why a car that’s more environmentally friendly can’t look great too - and be sporty and fun to drive.”

The concept for the project was ‘Clean and Dynamic’ - and this direction was followed for both the exterior and interior design, ensuring a joined-up, consistent ‘language’ between the two. One example of this can be seen at the rear of the car, where the body actually extends into the cabin between the seats.

The exterior design is a balance of smooth, rounded curves and sharp lines to provide definition in key areas. The headlights are cleverly integrated into the front end, stretching from the nose to the top of the wheel arches to look more like a part of the original body.

Inside, this uninterrupted, fluid approach is continued, with long sweeping curves extending from both door panels to form a frame for the instrument display. The concept for the dashboard was to avoid creating the traditional block of ‘heavy’ colour and material in front of the driver; in keeping with the clean and lightweight theme. For that reason, the dash is broken into sections, with the most important instruments in direct line-of-sight of the driver.

Key information is displayed in a rounded, enclosed central binnacle, with levels and figures in bright blue on a black background. This matches the trim inside the car, with the seats and door furniture trimmed in a new, gloss-effect blue leather, accompanied by white leather sections, in line with the exterior body colour, a one-off paint called Mystic Pearl.

The driver’s main controls and functions are distributed in an intuitive layout, close at hand on a panel that curves downwards to the right of the driver. A centrally-mounted semi-sequential gear-shift points towards a fun-to-drive transmission, along with paddle shifts either side of the steering wheel. Integrated into the gearshifter itself is a red ignition ‘start’ button, which reinforces the sporty direction of the car.

The Honda OSM was designed by Honda’s R&D facility in Offenbach, Germany. It’s the latest example of the young talent being developed within Honda’s design studios in Europe - following the Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept (Geneva 2007) and the Accord Tourer Concept (Frankfurt 2007).

At present, the Honda OSM is a design study model, and there are no plans for it to enter production.

Source: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

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HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that it will hold a summer event comprising two special exhibitions, ‘Hydrogen Rotary Engine Vehicles’ and ‘Nagare Concept Cars,’ at the Mazda Museum located within Mazda’s global headquarters facility in Hiroshima, Japan. The special exhibitions will run concurrently from July 26 to August 29, 2008.

The ‘Hydrogen Rotary Engine Vehicles’ exhibition will promote the merits of Mazda’s hydrogen rotary engine that is being developed under the company’s long-term vision for technology development, Sustainable Zoom-Zoom. The engine is powered by hydrogen, which Mazda expects will replace oil products as the dominant fuel in the future. The exhibition is intended to provide visitors with a deeper insight into Mazda’s efforts to bring the technology to market.

The exhibition will feature the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE that became the world’s first commercially available hydrogen rotary vehicle in February 2006. Eight RX-8 Hydrogen RE vehicles have been delivered to date and 30 more will be supplied to Norway’s national HyNor (Hydrogen Road of Norway) project from summer 2008. Alongside it will be the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, which gained approval from Japan’s Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) to begin testing on public roads in June 2008, and is scheduled to start commercial leasing by March 2009. Other vehicles on display will be the Mazda HR-X, the first ever hydrogen rotary engine vehicle that debuted at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show, and the Mazda HR-X2, which was built in 1993.

The ‘Nagare Concept Cars’ exhibition will be held concurrently in the entrance hall of the Mazda Museum. It will feature the four concept cars of the Nagare series – Nagare, Ryuga, Hakaze and Taiki – that were displayed at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.

The Nagare (Japanese for ‘flow’) design series has resulted from Mazda’s efforts to express a clear visual brand identity and further evolve its sporty and athletic car design using nature as its inspiration. Nagare design denotes one possible direction for the next generation of Mazda design.

Mazda announced its Sustainable Zoom-Zoom plan in March 2007. It describes the technologies Mazda is developing in response to the issues facing the automotive industry and the drive for design that will captivate customers. One of the targets of the plan is to improve the average fuel economy of Mazda vehicles sold worldwide 30 percent by 2015. Through the special summer events at the Mazda Museum, the company will present its approach to car building that aims to harmonize driving pleasure with environmental and safety performance.

The Mazda Museum is the only automotive industry museum in the Chugoku and Shikoku region of Japan and welcomes an average of 70,000 visitors per year. Permanent attractions include a technical exhibition of the rotary engine, which is mass produced by no other company in the world, and many of the famous cars that have spurred Mazda’s growth. Visitors can also enjoy an up-close look at a working assembly line in an adjoining plant. As a popular destination for elementary and junior high school social studies fieldtrips, as well as the general public, the museum makes a valuable social contribution to the community.

Source: Mazda Motor Corporation

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