Honda Shogo is an electric ride-on toy made for kids in hospitals
Honda has revealed a new electric ride-on toy called the Shogo. It's more than just a plaything like the ride-on toys parents can pick up for children at the store. Instead, it's a ride-on toy specifically designed to bring a bit of happiness to very sick and hospitalized children. Honda engineers designed Shogo to reduce the stress and anxiety for kids and families during a hospital stay.
There's very little for children to do while they're too ill to leave the hospital but well enough to get out of the bed and move around. Typically, the best the kid can hope for while stuck in the hospital is a small playroom or video game console. Shogo gives the children something else to do with a ride-on toy powered by batteries that allows them to cruise through the halls of the hospital.
Currently, Shogo is being used at Children's Health of Orange County. Engineers designed the toy to be as easy as possible to operate and to accommodate children with different needs. It was also designed to be easy to get in and out of. On the rear, it has a metal rack system designed to hold various pumps and medical devices some children need while they're in the hospital.
Shogo is a Japanese word that means "soaring into the future." The toy was built for kids ages four through nine. It has controls for managing power, stopping, and starting the vehicle. It also has an adjustable speed between 1 and 5 MPH; children don't have access to the speed control, which is instead under the control of a caregiver.
Designers specifically built Shogo without doors to make it easy for children to get in and out. It has a central seating arrangement and steering controls designed to be usable by children. Vehicle surfaces were designed with material that can be easily cleaned and sterilized, which is critical in a hospital setting to prevent the spread of infection.
The vehicle can carry more than the driver. It has a toy bin under the hood, cupholders, and a horn with different sound options. One of the coolest features of the vehicle is that it has a customizable license plate slot that displays the child's name using it. It is unclear exactly how much ride time the vehicle has per charge or how long it takes to recharge it. If the battery does go dead, caregivers can push it manually.
Honda EV Plans
Honda engineers say Shogo aligns with the automaker's electric vehicle aspirations. Honda expects to have 40-percent of its overall sales accounted for by EVs by 2030. By 2040, Honda wants to sell only electric vehicles. The automaker has the Honda Prologue, coming in 2024, which is its first volume battery-powered electric vehicle.
Very little is known about the Honda Prologue at this time. We know it will be a fully electric SUV with a driving range on par with Honda's current SUVs. That's quite a bold statement considering the Honda Passport has a driving range of 410 miles. That would seem to imply Honda has plans for its electric vehicle to drive considerably further than other EVs on the market per charge. Right now, one of the electric vehicles with the longest driving range is the Tesla Model S, which is able to go 373 miles per charge.
Exactly how far the Prologue can drive per charge remains to be seen, but it will be a surprise if it can beat Tesla. Most likely, the vehicle will have a driving range somewhere in the high 200 to the mid-300-mile range.
Sad to See Honda's Current Vehicles Go
I understand why automakers are making the change to offering only electric vehicles. Much of it has to do with government mandates worldwide, particularly in the US. There's certainly a possibility that in a few years when we have a new president in the White House, the fully electric vehicle transition might be delayed. Most car guys and gals know that electric vehicles can offer more performance than traditional combustion-powered vehicles.
Performance aside, many automotive fans aren't looking forward to the day where combustion engines disappear. I will miss vehicles like the 2023 Civic Type R that Honda teased back in October. The car is expected to go official sometime next year, and development was still underway in October.
Honda is developing the car at the famed Nüburgring to refine the handling and performance. Most details in the car are a mystery, including power, performance, and pricing. Whatever those numbers are, the Civic Type R is likely to be difficult to come by. The current generation Type R is hard to find, and often those lucky enough to get their hands on one have to pay more than MSRP.