AUTO MANIA: by Dr. Iain Corness [email protected]

Honda fights back

Honda Brio

The floods last year saw an almost complete cessation of Honda’s manufacturing ability in Thailand. Heart-rending photographs of submerged Hondas, all lined up on their way to the crusher, were in every newspaper. There were those who even suggested that Honda would never recover from the disaster.
Well, the doomsayers have certainly been proved wrong. The latest statistics would show that Honda has done more than bounced back, it is now Number 2 in Thailand’s car market after perennial leader Toyota. For those who like reading the numbers, Honda has sold almost 104,000 vehicles in the past six months. This represents a 15 percent market share.
In the eco-car ranks, the Honda Brio is the outstanding model for my money. The Mitsubishi Mirage and the Nissan March, quite frankly, look the same, while the Brio has a fresh snappy look to it.
In the six months of this year, Honda is now offering nine models, six assembled here, three imports from Japan and a choice of three fuel types in some models (E85, Hybrid and CNG).
One measurement of a model’s popularity is the waiting list. The new Civic had 25,000 reservations in the first five months of it becoming available, the Honda City CNG 18,000 reservations in three months and the new CRV enjoying 8,000 reservations in one month.

Electricity and the motor car

1959 Mini

I was always taught that physics was an exact science. What goes up must come down, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, similar magnetic poles repel, pressure is equally distributed in a closed vessel, the speed of light is absolute, e=mc2 and all that kind of stuff. Well, it’s not. If you ever want to disprove physics as a science, then buy a car. They do not obey physical laws.
I have always considered car electrics to be a black art. Take the battery, for example, and I am sure you have all experienced the following. You have a perfectly good battery which is just over 12 months old. In your mind that’s almost brand new. In fact, you can even remember how much you paid for it, so it must be very new. And then one morning it won’t turn the engine over. It worked perfectly yesterday, and now it won’t, or doesn’t want to.
You push start the car and run it for half an hour, as you suppose you must have left the headlights on, or something equally as explicable. Turn it off, and hey presto! It’s as dead as a dodo.
If you are really into masochism, you then borrow your mate’s battery charger and leave it on all night. Triumphantly you remove the cables and jump in. It doesn’t work. Perfectly good one day, completely cactus the next. Explain that one, Mr. Edison.
I haven’t finished with electrics yet. There’s the fuel pump on the original Mini’s, made by Lucas, that company otherwise known as the Prince of Darkness. In a fit of madness, Sir Alec Issigonis decided to put the fuel pump under the floor of the boot.
Now if the pump had been carefully wrapped in its own pump-sized condom, everything would have been fine. But it wasn’t, was it? Puddles, streams, overflowing Pattaya Second Road, or a decent spit, would cause the pump to stop. OK, OK, water in the points, so the electrical pulse doesn’t, or something. Whatever, the end result is that you are stranded.
Actually I have had a life-long hate of fuel pumps. Remember the old MG TCs? The pump was mounted on the right hand side of the scuttle firewall. Whenever it stopped ticking you had to get out, and perform black magic to get it to work. You unscrewed the cap and gently coaxed the points back into flutter mode, then reassembled everything and away you went.
I had another method, which did not require you to stop at the side of the road or unscrew anything. I used to keep a short iron bar down beside the driver’s seat and when the pump stopped pumping, I would lean out with the bar in my hand and beat buggery out of the pump. It would start again, either because I had made the points open and close, or because the pump was so frightened it was trembling. To make it easy, the sides were off the bonnet (‘de rigeur’ in those days, complete with leather straps across the top bonnet panels).
And now they are talking about electric cars. So help me!

What did we learn from the Abu Dhabi GP?

Well we learned that previous year’s Grand Prix at the Abu Dhabi circuit and called “Yawn Marina” turned into “Yes Marina!” with an action-packed Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. More scrapping than any other GP this year, though to be honest, some of it was fairly amateur from what is supposed to be the pinnacle of motor sport’s drivers.
Kimi Raikkonen showed his true nature after winning the GP and when asked what were his emotions, replied “Not much, really.” However, there was the occasional half smile! Sure, Kimi and his “Lotus” lucked into the top step with the demise of Hamilton (McLaren), but he drove well, making the most of his good fortune with a flawless driving exhibition.
Alonso (Ferrari) deserved his second place, with once again an aggressive drive all the way to the flag. He is a deserving World Driver’s Championship contender. His overtaking of Mark Webber (Red Bull) was flawless - and brave!
Sebastian Vettel in the other Red Bull had to start from pit lane after a technical infringement in qualifying but by finishing third showed real class and an ability to ‘read’ the traffic around him at most times, and will also deserve another WDC. The same could not be said for team mate Webber. Yet another woeful start, compounded by needless crashes. His mind was obviously elsewhere. Wombat, they’d say in Australia.
McLaren had a mixed weekend, but reliability is now the quest. Yet another DNF for Hamilton, who was winning by a country mile up to that stage, while Jenson Button could only suggest, “Unfortunately, I didn’t have the pace in the car to take the fight to the leaders today.” I might question the “pace in the car”. Perhaps the problem was lacking “pace in the Jenson”?
Maldonado (Williams) stayed out of trouble, hit no-one and kept his nose clean. He had an issue with the KERS system which stopped him from progressing, but a good result for the 46 million dollar driver! In comparison, team mate Senna managed to get involved in bumper car action all over the circuit. He seems a nice enough chap, but Williams will be looking for a driver with more ability next year, despite his famous surname.
One could not help feeling sorry for the world’s fastest Indian, Narain Karthikeyan in the HRT. Set upon by Rosberg’s Mercedes, and narrowly missing injury as the German sailed over the top of him. Just what was Rosberg thinking? Karthikeyan was on the edge of the circuit and not in his way. Perhaps he was thinking what color he was going to have in Schumacher’s dressing room when he took it over at the end of the year?
The interview on the podium led by David Coulthard became somewhat farcical when Vettel decided to become playful, saying that in the races to come, there could easily be a “F..k” up, forcing Coulthard to hurriedly make an excuse that of course Vettel was having to talk in a second language! Vettel then poured the (non-alcoholic) champagne on Coulthard’s head!
The next race (the new US GP) is being telecast at the most inhospitable time of 2 a.m. for Thailand. However, Jameson’s will stay open for us, as long as we lock the door on the way out. So if your usual viewing spot is closing, come and join us.

There’s Honda motorcycles, Honda cars and now Honda planes

HondaJet

Honda Aircraft Company announced that it has commenced production of the much anticipated HondaJet, the world’s most advanced light jet aircraft. During a press conference at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) annual meeting and convention in Orlando, Florida, the company also highlighted key testing milestones that have been successfully accomplished, enabling the HondaJet to move closer to certification and delivery.
Over the past year, Honda Aircraft has completed various flight, systems and structural tests on HondaJet including crew seat crash tests, speedbrake testing, ultimate load tests, EASA windshield bird strike testing (I hope they defrosted the chicken first), wind tunnel icing tests and night lighting testing.
The company recently further completed the first in a series of remote testing to validate the HondaJet aircraft’s performance under extreme temperatures. Hot-weather flight tests were conducted in Yuma, Arizona, and included critical case tests for both aircraft systems and infrastructure such as hot fuel testing, fuselage structure temperature validation and powerplant and electrical generator cooling.
Honda Aircraft President and CEO Michimasa Fujino said, “An assembly line for HondaJet production is in place, major aircraft components including the fuselage and wings have been produced and we have started assembly of the first customer aircraft. 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. Honda is known for its methodical approach in engineering and processes. To this end, our commitment to deliver the best possible product that will bring new value to aviation remains.”
 

Natter Nosh and Noggin

The car club meets at Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR next to Nova Park. The next meeting is on Monday November 12 at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. A totally informal meeting of like-minded souls to discuss their pet motoring (and motorcycling) loves and hates (plus lies and outright exaggerations). Come along and meet the guys who have a common interest in cars and bikes, and enjoy the Jameson’s specials, washed down with a few beers. A couple of the members were scrutineers at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, so they may have some scuttlebutt about the F1 scene. Always a fun night. Be prepared to laugh a lot at some of the antics of the members (when they were younger)! The Car Club nights are always on the second Monday of the month (not every second Monday)!
 

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I asked what is the significance of the Savoy Hotel to the taxi manufacturing industry in the UK? The answer was simply that any London Black Cab had to be able to drive around the roundabout in the Savoy’s forecourt, which required a less than 25 foot turning circle. Practical people, the Poms ;-))
So to this week. What did the original Fiat 500 have in common with the 1961 Lincoln Continental? Clue: It’s only a quiz, so don’t contemplate suicide over this.
For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected].