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You guys don't have a clue how patent works do you? Patents don't cover ideas. 4 wheel steering is just a result of mechanisms. There are many ways the mechanisms are built / work to achieve the 4 wheel steering result. eg just simply switch from clutch packs to torque convertors can work around a patent.
Not to mention Japanese companies participate in patent pools, Honda / Nissan included.
Competition between brands make good business especially since it riles up rabid yet clueless fanbois.
I'm not all that familiar with the patent process, I'm not an engineer, I'm also not implying that it covers ideas though.
I'm just saying, Honda didn't steal Hicas. Other companies had developed and released it prior to Honda or Nissan, and Honda was working on it before Nissan released it.
Honda released the the 4ws Prelude in 1987, based on a 1978 patent, which took years to transcribe into a functional design for a passenger vehicle. Proof the R&D for 4ws began long before Nissan released Hicas in 1985 is all on paper.
If you want to get really technical though, Daimler-Benz was the first company to released a four-wheel steering vehicle. Not Nissan, not Honda.
Both engine configurations are interesting: the 370-horsepower hybrid comes with SH-AWD, which puts the engine's power to the front wheels, and only drives the rears with the electric motor. It's like the new NSX, but in reverse.
i'd only be interested in the 370hp hybrid.. but i have no idea why they decided to put the 310hp on the front wheels and the 60hp from the electric motor to the rear wheels. makes no sense. why not reverse it?
I was hoping that they might got the route of the CLS/A7 instead - it's a more niche-y market but it would have given them a halo sedan and it's not like they are going to sell many of these anyways.
That said, this is an interesting approach to a full size luxury sedan which is attractive enough. (the colour is terrible though).
i'd only be interested in the 370hp hybrid.. but i have no idea why they decided to put the 310hp on the front wheels and the 60hp from the electric motor to the rear wheels. makes no sense. why not reverse it?
so they can keep it exclusively for the NSX and charge a higher premium for that? Like how current gen only the BMW M3's got LSD compared to the other 3 series trims..bad comparison but yeah.
so they can keep it exclusively for the NSX and charge a higher premium for that? Like how current gen only the BMW M3's got LSD compared to the other 3 series trims..bad comparison but yeah.
well i would have thought that the customer base they are targetting for the NSX is probably radically different from the customers they are targetting for the RLX.. but i'm not a businessman so what do i know.
One weird thing about the interior I can't really explain is this funny little trapdoor to view the frame number. It's even labeled "FRAME NUMBER." Is easy frame number access a big selling point in this segment? It looks pretty handy to stash just a little bit of drugs or a couple vials of illegal tiger urine as well.
HEY GAIZ, WANT TO CHECK OUT MY FRAME NUMBER??? I bet you don't know your FRAME NUMBER in your merc, bmw, lexus...........
HEY GAIZ, WANT TO CHECK OUT MY FRAME NUMBER??? I bet you don't know your FRAME NUMBER in your merc, bmw, lexus...........
I've actually seen some other vehicles that have a Frame Number cover on the floor/carpet of the car.. some Hyundai vehicles, namely. Probably a common thing, except some manufacturers don't make it as obvious?