1994 Honda Prelude on 2040-cars

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Honda opening first new motherland plant in almost 50 years

Despite opening dozens of overseas plants in the past several decades in locations all over the globe, Honda Motor Co. has not expanded its car manufacturing capabilities in its home market of Japan since opening a facility in Sayama back in 1964.
But all of that is set to change this July when Honda opens the doors to a new assembly plant in Yorii, about two hours north of Tokyo. According to Bloomberg, the new facility has a projected annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles. The plant is part of the automaker's reorganization efforts, plans that include scaling back its older Sayama plant and bringing Yorii online with more efficient and innovative technology. There are additional benefits, too, as the Yorii plant is expected to create 3,800 jobs, both on-site and at its suppliers, and boost the local economy as other businesses ramp up to accommodate the influx of new workers.
While the automaker has not released specifics about which models will be produced at Yorii, Honda is expected to consolidate production of models including the Fit, a best-seller in its domestic market.

Andretti Autosport switches to Honda power

The IndyCar grid was split pretty evenly this season between Honda and Chevy power. Thing is, most of the front-running teams have been running Chevrolet engines. Except for Chip Ganassi Racing, the team that fields the likes of Ryan Briscoe, Scott Fixon and Dario Franchitti - but earlier this month Chip Ganassi announced it was switching to Chevy engines too, just like most of the other pack-leading teams.
Honda insisted it didn't need a flagship team to replace Ganassi, but that's exactly what it announced this weekend with the signing of Andetti Autosport. The team run by Michael Andretti won a few IndyCar Series titles under Honda power (in 2004, 2005 and 2007), and two Indy 500 wins (in 2005 and 2007), but switched to the Bowtie two seasons ago, winning the championship last season. But the vast majority of the team's victories - 39 out of 48 race wins - have been powered by Honda, and the two outfits undoubtedly hope they'll return to the winner's circle again with their new multi-year partnership that takes effect next season.

Automakers donating money, vehicles and supplies to Oklahoma tornado relief effort

Judging by the destruction the Oklahoma City area experienced earlier this week, residents are going to need a lot of help in coming months. Fortunately, a number of automakers - including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota - have stepped up to donate money, supplies and vehicles to aid in the recovery and rebuilding processes.
Here's a quick rundown of which automakers have pitched in and what each contributed so far:
Ford Motor Company has donating $250,000 and a Transit Connect to the American Red Cross, and it will match all other donations made to the Red Cross (up to $250,000) using a special URL tied to the latter's website (link here). Additionally, its local Oklahoma dealers have thrown in an extra $150,000 for the United Way and the automaker will be offering an extra $500 toward the purchase of a new Ford vehicle.