Japanese Car News: 50 Years of Corolla, Honda HydroCell, Nissan Rogue Star Wars Edition And More …
Toyota Corolla Back Story
A long time mainstay of Toyota’s product line that has seen 11 generations, the venerable Corolla recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in production. Toyota pulled out all the stops on this birthday bash with a website absolutely full of photos, facts, and fun about the history of Toyota’s first economy car.
In addition to a slew of previously unpublished photographs from the Corolla’s storied history, Toyota also published numerous interviews with the engineers and designers who worked on various iterations of the Corolla. One story in particular stands out: Shiro Sasaki, chief engineer for both the second and third generation Corolla and a member of the design team for the very first, relates the tale of when Toyota first started selling their economy car, the Publica, which was very poorly received at its unveiling. In order to produce a car that any customer would love to drive despite its being targeted to daily drivers and commuters, Toyota made the decision to scrap the Publica design with its tepid 700cc engine and homely looks, instead creating the original Corolla with its more powerful 1100cc engine and more attractive design.
The catch, according to Sasaki, was that Toyota made the decision to change the Publica almost completely and add a larger engine with 75 days to go before it was released for sale. His interview states that this was in no way a minor redesign back in the 1960s, as they didn’t have the computer model designs they have now, and almost all parts designs and vehicle assembly blueprints were hand drawn. All of the work not only had to be redone, but the engineers also had to figure out a way to mount the larger 1100cc engine into the engine compartment that was designed for a 700cc engine. Fortunately for Sasaki and his team, they persevered and had the first Corolla ready to roll onto sales floors across Japan by the deadline.
Sasaki ended his interview with an exhortation to the current design teams to focus on creating Corollas that they themselves would want to drive, and to focus on making driver happiness their number one concern when it comes to keeping the spirit of the Corolla alive for future generations.
Honda’s HydroCell to Lease for Less
Good news for green-energy drivers in California this week, as Honda announced that the lease terms for its new hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered Clarity model will lease for significantly less than anticipated.
Original projections for the cost of the Clarity were in excess of $60,000, and lease payments were expected to come in around $500 per month. The Clarity was anticipated to be a less than ideal option in terms of cost economy for a vehicle that could only be refilled within a handful of locations around L.A. and San Francisco. Fortunately for the environmentally conscious Honda fan, the announcement was made this week that Honda will be offering 36-month leases on the Clarity for $369 per month with a $2500 down payment at signing.
While this pricing is, of course, before taxes, fees, and registration, it is significantly less than the Hyundai Tuscon crossover HFC vehicle at $499 a month with a 12,000 annual miles lease limit. Many experts in the industry believe that Honda decided to lower their price after the new Toyota Mirai was revealed to be available for $349 per month with $2500 down, though Honda is sweetening the deal by offering a generous annual miles limit of 20,000 miles, and up to $15,000 of hydrogen fuel for all lessors. This is a significant drop from the original FCX Clarity that made its debut in California for $600 per month.
Currently, in addition to fuel and a high mileage limit, Honda is also offering 24/7 roadside assistance and 21 days of Avis Luxury Car Rental Service for customers who want to take a longer range trips without having to worry about refueling their HFC vehicle. While the Clarity clocks in at 68 MPe and has a range of 366 miles, having that car rental option means you don’t need to worry about micromanaging your road trip so you can refuel your Clarity.
The 2017 Clarity is expected to be available before the end of the current year at 12 select California locations. It will be interesting to see how well Honda’s claims of range and efficiency hold up with a public stress test on California’s many congested highways. And who knows how long this hydrogen fuel cell project is going to last when the Tesla EV juggernaut really gets going with the release of the Model 3.
Nissan’s Massive Star Wars Publicity Stunt
Unless you have been living under a rock or never watch television, use the internet, you are probably aware the there is a new Star Wars film launching in less than a month, and Nissan is the automaker with all the endorsements. As if the Star Wars themed television and internet ads were not enough, Nissan arrived at the L.A. Auto Show this past week with a scale model TIE Fighter replica as the centerpiece of their display for the new 2017 Nissan Rogue: Rogue One Star Wars Limited Edition.
Nissan is offering this special edition as the name of the new Star Wars epic (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) overlaps with the name of their current crossover. The 21-foot tall space ship is the brainchild of two German Star Wars superfans who created it as a tribute to their favorite science fiction epic. The model was so breathtakingly convincing that Star Wars creator Lucasfilm took notice, and they have used it for several previous promotional events themselves. Lucasfilm has begun to branch out in their endorsement and licensing deals with the current crop of Star Wars films in production, and even designed the badges that adorn the flanks of the limited edition Nissan Rogue, something that their design department has never before created.
As part of Nissan’s promotion for the L.A. Auto Show, the 1.5 ton model TIE Fighter was disassembled and flown overseas from the U.K. and then reassembled by its two German creators, who were also flown in specially just for the occasion.
To sweeten the cross promotion, Nissan also displayed life-size replica costumes from the upcoming Rogue One film that are currently on loan from the production. As if this were not enough, they also had small scale X-Wing, Y-Wing, TIE Striker, and AT-ACT models to give show goers a sneak peek at much of the memorabilia for the upcoming film. The crown jewel though was the gift that is included with the purchase of every Limited Edition Rogue: a life-size replica of a Death Trooper helmet that is exclusive to Rogue buyers. Nissan and Lucasfilm are clearly going all-out for this cross promotion, and the appreciation extended to fans in the design of their autoshow display was both heartwarming and smart marketing on their part. It should come as a surprise to no one that in all likelihood there will be many a geek and nerd driving a Nissan for the next few years.
Mazda’s RT24-P Carries the Kodo Family Resemblance
Debuting at the Rolex 24 in Daytona this coming January, Mazda’s new RT24-P is one of the first race cars created to resemble other production model cars created using Mazda’s soul-of-motion (kodo) style of design. If it catches on, it will be one of the first prototypes ever to connect the appearance of a high end racing machine with a manufacturer’s main production line.
One look at this car, and you can tell it is a close cousin of Mazda’s world-famous Miata / MX-5 / Roadster, though what’s under the body paneling and hood are largely the product of Riley and Multimatic rather than Mazda. The Mk 30 chassis is fused with a 600+ brake horsepower 2.0-liter turbo 4-cylinder engine constructed by AER as a part of the 2015 IMSA program.
Despite the boldness of the design and the obvious resemblance to Mazda’s prior designs, including Kodo and Nagare styles, the engineers still had final say over what the designers concocted on the drawing board. John Doonan, Mazda Motorsports North America’s director, said that all of the design team were terrified that the engineers and aero-experts would not be able to make their designs work and literally send them back to the drawing board. Fortunately for everyone, the DPi-class design was a workable package for everyone, and everyone was very happy with the finished product.
However, despite the aesthetically pleasing appearance of the car and its performance test results, some on the staff are still skeptical of how it will make out when it hits the track. As one staff member joked during a press event for the car, “It’ll never win.” When prompted to explain or defend his statement, he simply replied, “The pretty cars never win.”
Beautiful Acura Precision Cockpit Design
Debuting their Precision concept at the Detroit Auto Show was not the only significant contribution that Acura brought to the table this year. It also demonstrated the intuitive and elegant design of the new Precision touch-based interface for controlling everything from the car’s environment to the engine’s performance and fuel economy. All information for the car flows through dual touch screens, one in instrument cluster and the other on a 12.3” display that rises from the center dash.
What was best about this was the multifunction controls that were located on the steering wheel and by the shifter in the center console for more controlled and intuitive navigation. Best of all, the display color theme changed based on the car’s current mode of operation: White for Snow, Red for Sport, and Orange for Sport Plus.
It also displays possible obstacles, road hazards, pedestrians, and other vehicles via a proximity display feature that appears on the instrument cluster. This makes the new interface ready for autonomous driving systems, and the elegance and simplicity with which it operates makes it a first class choice regardless. Many are looking forward eagerly to see how this interface will be implemented in the decade to come as connected cars become more of a daily reality than the realm of science fiction
