Reality-Based Engineering: Engineering Post - Honda's Green Philosophy: "We Don't Get The Hummer"

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Engineering Post - Honda's Green Philosophy: "We Don't Get The Hummer"

I like when I can actually write about engineering in the context that I have created with this blog - in this instance, hard design projects that make a product better - and not just aestetics, either...This is a solid article which explains strongly how companies CAN be more than just a capitalist money accumulation device to enrich itself and the richie-rich - they can have a philosophy of design and engineering. Frankly, projects like this would be fun because you've got to push the design limits at the time and start by saying "why not?" The quotes below are stolen from DailyKos' "Bill From Portland Maine". Except for this one which I took directly from the article, which I just love:

Toyota and Nissan have large SUVs to compete with Detroit's big boys. Could Honda ever bring itself to develop a hulking SUV?
We don't get the Hummer, we just don't get it. There would not be a lot of motivation within Honda to develop the Hummer. We would be saying we could make it lighter, we can make it have better fuel economy. But in the end, it's certainly not a Hummer. It's closer to a Pilot. So we're at cross-purposes with a vehicle like a Hummer.

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[Newsweek's] Keith Naughton: Honda worried about gas mileage when gas mileage wasn't cool. Why?
Baker: Everyone at Honda views being in a company as being far more than just turning a profit. It's not that we're poor businessmen, but I think everybody at Honda is fired by the dream of creating great products that are the most efficient in their class.

How difficult was it to engineer the MDX to meet Honda's stringent mileage standards?
I'll never forget it. I was a rookie leading this MDX team. We'd done the research and we had an efficient package. But when we pitched our business plan to the board of directors, Mr. [Koichi] Amemiya, who was in charge of North America, his No. 1 comment was: "It should be more green." I made the mistake of saying, "But sir, nobody cares about the green issues." And he just smiled and said "I know."

Does your research now show that people care about gas mileage?
If you are talking about large SUVs, yes, they are giving some lip service to fuel economy. But that is sort of a "here today, gone tomorrow"-type phenomenon. The point is not that customers demand it or don't demand it, because that's absolutely not the viewpoint of Honda. When you are a philosophy-driven company, you don't ask the customer if they agree with your philosophy.

Toyota talks about every car being a hybrid someday. What do you think is going to be on our highways in 10 and 20 years?
We would love to make 100 percent hybrids. Obviously, there are huge challenges, but it would be a perfect embodiment of the Honda philosophy. In the longer term, you want to move to a carbon-free type of mobility. So we are determined to lead in fuel cells.

But developing an affordable electric-fuel-cell car seems ever elusive. Will we ever get there or are we trying to crack the wrong nut?
We've got fuel cells on the road right now. At Honda that's the equivalent of the moon shot. We absolutely pick that as a challenge. Can we guarantee there will be 32 percent of Hondas that will have fuel cells by 2013? No. But there is a huge commitment to fuel cells.