Day one of the 2013 North American International Auto Show has come to a close, and it is time for a quick rest before day two gets fired up with another round of rollouts, debuts, and premieres. Here is a gallery of the bedazzlement that the opening day offered from automakers such as Jeep, Chevrolet, Lincoln, Volkswagen, Hyundai, MINI, Bentley, Honda, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Infiniti, and Maserati.
I seem to be taking delivery of a lot of trucks here lately but I don’t mind one bit as I reside in the No. 1 truck market in the world (AKA Texas). Texans use pickups for much more than just work vehicles. For many families these are the only vehicle as they have become that utilitarian. And manufacturers have broadened the choices across the pickup lines to meet individual needs of as many buyers as they possibly can. Down here you would think it is the Texas version of the “New Deal” paraphrased to “a pickup in every garage.”…
Despite loads of other successes through the years, Matthew Broderick will forever be tied to the iconic role of Ferris Bueller. And unlike some actors with hits from that same era (John Cusack in Better Off Dead, Val Kilmer in Real Genius), Broderick has never backed away from the enduring love of all things Bueller. So when I saw the teaser late last week that he would be appearing in a Super Bowl ad based around Ferris Bueller, I was intrigued. Now that the full commercial has been release … I just HAD to share!
It wasn’t broke, so why did Honda (try to) fix it? That is a question many have had for Honda after they released the 2012 Civic earlier this year. As with the rest of the model lineup, the sporty Si was made over for 2012, enhancing a low, sleek athletic appearance with a long windshield rake, one that raises some criticism due to the design and construction challenges because of it. Honda continues to employ the split-level instrument panel in the new model and as such some folks will continue to admire it while others are polarized away from that…
The CR-Z from Honda was a bit of a surprise for me: A surprise it took Honda so long to come out with a modern version of its popular little car; a surprise it came out as a hybrid; and a surprise that I found myself a little disappointed by the whole thing. As a modern CR-X, it has gained a bit of size and heft and as a hybrid it comes up a bit short on gas mileage. The new CR-Z gets worse fuel economy (highway and averaged) than quite a few gasoline-only cars currently in the Honda fleet…
Honda showed off a new Civic that they say is still in concept form and Hyundai rolls out its new Veloster three-door coupe and teased the crowds with the Curb concept.
Since the advent of the web there have been sites like ‘Santa Trackers’ and ‘Naughty or Nice’ tests that would tell you about your behavior based on answering some questions. And since these were aimed at kids they would never ask anything that would allow a truly evil path. But what would happen if someone were to analyze your Facebook history for the past year? If you head to Honda’s Facebook site, you can start the ‘NaughtyOrNice-a-Tron’, which will dig through everything you’ve done on Facebook this year and then spit out an answer about how you have behaved. It…
Bold would be an adequate way to describe some of Honda’s design choices in recent years. Ridgeline? Bold. Element? Bold. Civic? You guessed it – bold. Honda took a giant leap of faith when redesigning their popular small vehicle lineup a short while back, but that is what the automaker has been doing well over the past couple of decades – taking giant leaps of faith followed by success of nearly all of those choices. As energy prices soared ever higher, droves of consumers headed down the model lines to units they probably once sought to intimidate from behind the…
“But, what are they?” As if to corner the market on producing the most polarizing vehicles for the 2010 model year, Honda and its luxury division Acura have each released a new vehicle that almost forces consumers to scratch their heads faster than the heartbreak of psoriasis. No definitive term has surfaced yet to identify the niche segment the new Accord Crosstour from Honda and ZDX from Acura occupy yet automotive history has seen similar units before. When I first gazed my attention to these marriages of sedan and crossover utility vehicle I was served with an image circa 1981-82…
I am going to wrap a pair of vehicles into this Grinding Gears entry. As we head down the 2010 highway I need to do a bit of housekeeping left over from the last decade. This time around I offer a coupe from across the Atlantic and a hybrid from across the Pacific.
The newest Honda Pilot is something of a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Honda dubs it a crossover utility vehicle due to its not having a ladder frame architecture supporting the unit, but I feel this is about as close to a true SUV as one can get. Last year, Honda introduced us to a completely made over Pilot, one that offers eight-passenger functionality without sacrificing ability and agility. The new model is larger inside and out, boasts a stronger, more fuel efficient powertrain, is more stable on the road and offers all the latest comfort and convenience amenities as well…
The onslaught of SUVs in the 1990s and crossover utility type vehicles of the new millennium have kept minivan sales numbers from returning to those of their glory days – but automakers are still makin’ ’em and folks are still buyin’ ’em. There aren’t quite as many players in the minivan game anymore mind you, but one who held firm to delivering a quality product over the years has been Honda. Because of that, the Honda Odyssey minivan has had a target on its back almost since its inception.
What better way to celebrate 25 years of manufacturing cars in America than with an all-new version of your best-selling model. Honda North America did just that.
While Honda lists the “CR” designation of the S2000 CR as referring to this new version as a “club racer” edition, I kind of thought it would also fit the bill as “Corvette reduced.” The new Honda produces about half the power of the Corvette from half the number of engine cylinders, costs about half the price of a Corvette and is about half the comfort and convenience as the Chevy roadster.