Honda's Ferris Bueller themed Super Bowl ad was one of the most talked about ads that nobody can remember the actual point of. (It's for the CR-V.) Half of those talking about it say it's an abomination to a movie they hold dear. The other half think it's pretty fun (especially when he's in the parade).
How close is this new Honda spot to the original? The folks at AkooTV (???) have answered that by stitching together the Honda ad and Ferris Bueller's Day off for a scene-by-scene comparison.
While this video is in good fun, it's possible it'll set of the alarms at YouTube's copyright protection department and get taken down. Watch it while it's here.
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Categories: Honda,Miscellaneous,Videos
In case you haven't been following the case of Heather Peters vs Honda, here's the breakdown: Peters owns a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid that, like all of these cars, is not getting the advertised mileage. Peters, an attorney, opted out of the class action suit and instead filed her own suit against Honda in small claims court. Small claims court in this case would give Peters -- and future Civic owners who sue Honda -- a higher payout than the class action suit. (The class-action suit will settle for between $100 and $200 per person and a $1,000 credit towards a new car purchase -- lawyers will take home about $9,000,000.)
But lawyers aren't allowed in small claims court. Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnham agreed with Peteres and said that "Honda was aware...by the time Peters bought her car there were problems with its living up to its advertised mileage," and awarded her $9,867.
Peters has set up a website, dontsettlewithHonda.org, to try and convince the other 200,000 2006 Civic Hybrid buyers to opt out of the class action and go to small claims court. It's a move that could cost Honda up to $2 billion.
But that's where this gets murky. Courts don't like settling the same case over and over and over again, that's why class action suits exist. And if Honda appeals this decision -- something they will HAVE to do to stop this from setting precedent -- it will go to a real court with real lawyers and a real judge. That case, when it comes, will be much harder to win.
Categories: Auto Industry,Honda
After a brief teaser last week, Honda has released "Matthew's Day Off," their Ferris Bueller knockoff of a commercial that's headed to the Super Bowl. This extended version is two and a half minutes of Matthew Broderick playing around L.A. in a 2012 Honda CR-V reliving some of the greatest scenes of the iconic '80s flick.
Can Broderick, now in his 50's, still pull off the same carefree charm? More importantly, is jumping a CR-V as cool as a Ferrari?
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Categories: Honda,Videos
Including an $810 destination fee, the 2012 Honda Crosstour EX with a 2.4-liter i-VTEC motor will cost you $28,495. The 2012 Honda Crosstour (remember, it's not Accord Crosstour anymore) starts at $30,340.
The new motor, announced late in 2011, makes 192 horsepower and returns 2 more mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway than the 271 horsepower 3.5-liter V6. In the Honda Accord SE the 2.4-liter I4 only makes 177 horsepower.
When we tested the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour in 2WD EX-L trim we managed a 0-60 run of 7.5 seconds, a quarter mile time of 15.5 @ 91.3 and combined fuel economy of 18.5 mpg.
Categories: Hatchbacks,Honda
Honda's commitment to the entry-level B-Spec racing series is admirable. Along with Mazda, they're spearheading the development of what should be an affordable(ish) series to enter and a competitive series to watch.
Now, Honda has announced their line of "manufacturer-approved suspension components." For $2,800 you'll get coil-over shocks, camber bolts, braided stainless brake lines, an air filter, front and rear race springs, a cat-back exhaust, front brake pads and an A/C delete belt. The kits will be available on 2/1/2012 through HPD.
"A cornerstone of our grassroots motorsports marketing initiative has been to establish a connection between Honda's passenger cars and the racing cars that evolve from these models. The B-Spec category provides a relatively low-cost means for the prospective racer to enter the sport, and the Honda FIt offers a natural point of entry. These are inexpensive, great-handling cars that should provide both excellent competition and help grow the sport at the entry level," said HPD General Manager Marc Sours in a statement.
You'll still have to provide your own Honda fit, competition cage, racing seats, harness and other safety equipment.
Related: Testing the 2011 Mazda 2 and 2010 Honda Fit B-Spec Racecars.
Categories: Honda,Motorsports
Honda showed off its Accord Coupe Concept, which is likely an indication of how the ninth-generation Accord sedan will look when it's unveiled at the New York Auto Show later this year. With sharper styling and the addition of a CVT and plug-in hybrid variant, this new Accord should be a brisk seller when it hits showrooms this fall.
Alistair dishes the details after the jump.
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Categories: Detroit Auto Show,Honda,Videos
If you're at all suspicious about Honda's seriousness about bringing the NSX back to life, consider this: Honda's CEO, Takanobu Ito, who presided over the reveal of the NSX concept, took a moment to recall his first big project at Honda.
He worked on the team that developed the all-aluminum chassis of the very first NSX, a job he called the most important project of his life at that point. He even pulled up a shot of the team in front of their big project. It was a nice reminder that the top executive at Honda is still very much an enthusiast. Hopefully his influence rubs off on more than just the NSX.
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Categories: Auto Industry,Detroit Auto Show,Honda
This car might be called the Accord Coupe Concept, but -- following Honda's tradition -- it looks to us like a very near-production model with 20-inch wheels, big brakes and some minor styling gratuities.
More importantly, it represents the basic shape of the ninth-generation Accord, which will offer new powertrains and technologies and will be built in America.
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Categories: Detroit Auto Show,Honda
This was a tough year for Asian Automakers. The Toyota unintended acceleration / recall thing was still settling down and then there was the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan and then came the flooding in Thailand. The water there is finally receding (take a look at the Honda lot flooded) and the Thai people, as well as the industries impacted, are now able to take a more accurate look at the devastation.
Honda is making the destruction of these 1,055 cars very public to ease fears that flood damaged cars could be sold to unsuspecting buyers.
View the rest of the photos at MSNBC.
Categories: Auto Industry,Honda,Miscellaneous
Honda has just announced big news for the 2012 Accord Crosstour; a new, smaller engine!
Right now, the 3,887-pound Crosstour is powered only by the 271-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 hooked up to a five-speed automatic. This combination is good for 18 mpg city and 27 mpg highway. Starting next month, however, the Crosstour will be available with a 192-horsepower (at 7,000 rpm) 2.4-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder that returns 21 mpg city and 29 mpg highway. Like the V6, it is only available with the five-speed automatic and unlike the V6, it is only available in front-wheel drive. Pricing was not announced but will certainly be lower than the EX's $30,340 price tag.
Standard features for the Crosstour were also updated and now include an automatic-dimming rear-view mirror, rearview-mirror backup display camera, automatic headlights, Bluetooth and USB input.
The front-drive, V6 powered Crosstour hit 60 in 7.2 seconds in our full test and completed the quarter mile in 15.5 seconds @ 91.3 mph.
Categories: Honda
The AP is reporting that Honda has confirmed to dealers that they will upgrade the new Honda Civic before the end of 2012.
The message was delivered to Honda dealers antsy over the fact that the Civic no longer receives a "Recommended Buy" rating by Consumer Reports. American Honda President Tetsui Iwamura said that Honda needs to improve the driveability but revealed little detail. American Honda Executive Vice president John Mendel said "It's about how do we get two or three laps ahead of the competition." If we were him we'd be more worried with simply catching up.
Despite the Consumer Reports rating and the overall response to the car, it is still selling well and edged out the Corolla and Cruze in November where Honda moved 17,133 Civics.
(AP)
Categories: Honda
"On the whole, the 2012 Honda CR-V's cabin is undoubtedly an improvement over last year...For the moment, the 2012 Honda CR-V is one of the best four-cylinder models in the compact SUV class. With this redesign, Honda has addressed its middling fuel economy and noticeable road noise while preserving the packaging owners like and the level of quality they expect." - 2012 Honda CR-V Full Test and Video
But at what cost? Not as much as you'd expect, actually. Only $181 more per vehicle on average.
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Categories: Crossovers,Honda
The 2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists have just been announced and there are few surprises.
A group of 50 automotive journalists have voted on cars which are "all new or substantially changed" and have narrowed it down to three cars and three "trucks." The finalists are...
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Categories: BMW,Detroit Auto Show,Ford,Honda,Hyundai,Land Rover,Volkswagen
What you see above is the Honda Accord Coupe Concept from 2007 which was shown at that year's Detroit Auto Show. With it came an announcement from American Honda that said "the coupe demonstrates the styling direction" that the new Accord would follow.
And as you all know, it pretty much looked like this but with production wheels, exhaust and taillights. Now Honda has announced that the 2013 Honda Accord coupe will bow at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, the press release reads, "a concept vehicle revealing the styling direction of the next-generation Honda Accord Coupe will debut at the 2012 North American International Auto Show January 10."
Judging by what we saw in 2007, what we saw with the recent Civic concept and what we saw with the CR-V concept, whatever it is we see in Detroit next month will be the 2013 Honda Accord.
We'll know soon enough whether the 9th generation Accord has learned from the mistakes made by the Civic.
Categories: Coupes,Detroit Auto Show,Honda
Everything comes in a box in Tokyo. Press kits, our lunch, the Starbucks latte and scone we ordered at the train station this morning, and certainly, personal transportation.
There are good reasons for this: One, boxes are inherently tidy, orderly, law-abiding and stylish. Two, twelve million people live in this city, and boxes are more space-efficient to sardine into garages. Three, the government-subsidized kei car class places stringest limitations on a car's physical footprint, so a box-shaped vehicle ensures maximum interior space.
Any manufacturer that's serious about doing business in Japan has at least one box-shaped vehicle on its stand. This year the Honda N Box and Daihatsu FC ShoCase concept get our best-in-show awards in the box category.
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Categories: Concept Vehicles,Daihatsu,Honda,Minivans,Tokyo Motor Show
Honda said very little about the electric RC-E concept and it didn't need to. Just look at it, who cares what it's powered by.
According to Honda, the RC-E is "an EV version of a super sports bike that pursues the joy of riding. A powerful and smooth ride unique to an EV model is achieved with the 250cc-class compact body."
That's it. No specs, no promises, nothing. Just a great design that makes you pray that somehow Honda can make it work. If it could, there might be a whole new generation of riders who see electric bikes as the coolest thing since their iPhones.
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Categories: Electric Vehicles,Honda,Motorcycles,Tokyo Motor Show
The Honda AC-X concept received a pretty quiet introduction here in Tokyo. Honda officials won't give many details about it other than to say it has the new, plug-in, two-mode series/parallel hybrid drivetrain (one 2.0-liter inline-4 engine, two electric motors, a simplified transmission and a Li-ion battery pack) that we briefly sampled on the access roads outside Twin Ring Motegi.
The concept is roughly the same size as the current U.S.-market Honda Accord, and the next generation of Honda's family sedan is all but certain to come in a plug-in version.
But the AC-X looks too artsy and strange to be a preview of the next-gen Accord coming in (spring 2012)... Then again, the last three generations of the Accord have been very conservative. So maybe it's time for another crazy, mid-'90s-ish Accord. And we do like the back end of this car.
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Categories: Concept Vehicles,Honda,Hybrids,Sedans,Tokyo Motor Show
Can't say we've been dreaming of an all-electric Honda roadster, but EVs are in fashion right now, at least on the concept car circuit, and so the company unveiled the EV-ster in Tokyo. At first, it seems like a far-fetched little thing -- an EV roadster that uses carbon materials to keep weight down and improve range (100 miles claimed) and performance (0-60 in a claimed 5.0 seconds).
But during his roundtable discussion with North American journalists today, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito said that Honda is looking to put a little more fun in its lineup, but with an eye toward the environment, and so a car like the EV-ster is a possibility for production. "Maybe it's an idea that we do a very small pure EV sports car," he said.
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Categories: Concept Vehicles,Convertibles,Electric Vehicles,Honda,Tokyo Motor Show
During a journalists' roundtable today with Honda CEO Takanobu Ito at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show, the obvious highlight was the very last question. One of our colleagues asked Ito-san something like, well, Honda used to be known for its iconic affordable sports cars (CRX, Prelude, Integra), and now you've introduced all this new engine and transmission technology, so isn't there room for an affordable sports car that isn't a hybrid or an EV, a car that just uses a simple internal combustion engine?
CEO Ito's answer: "I completely agree with you. We have to prepare such a kind of car."
So there you go. Apparently, probably, hopefully, there is something with two doors that's better than the Civic Si, not at all like the CR-Z, and less expensive than the reborn NSX in the works. Who knows if it will be called Integra or Prelude, but really, what's in a name so long as the car is good to drive?
Ito wouldn't comment when we inquired about the reports that another NSX concept will debut in Detroit this January. Actually, he chuckled over that one and said, "Stay tuned."
Categories: Acura,Honda,Sports Cars,Tokyo Motor Show
Another Honda Accord? Nope. Just the future of the Acura brand in the body of an Accord.
The most important bit of tech here is version 2.0 of the SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive) system. Driveshafts are so yesterday's news with Electric SH-AWD, or E SH-AWD if you like. Instead, you have a pair of rear, 20kW electric motors -- one for each wheel. At low speeds (perhaps up to 30-40 km/h, though Honda hasn't decided the threshold), these motors can drive this prototype on their own, so it's a rear-wheel-drive EV experience.
Up front, there's a direct-injected 3.5-liter V6 engine; it's the same architecture used in today's cars, but now it has a D.I. and benefits from various friction reduction measures -- helping it to "over 310 hp" and a flatter, longer-lasting torque curve. There's also another electric motor up front. This one is rated at 30kW and drives the front wheels. And when you floor the throttle, you have the engine and all three electric motors working to move the car down the road. Of course, there's a lithium-ion battery pack in this car, but the engineers won't tell us how big.
Oh, and we should mention that the front electric motor is built into a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and this DCT isn't just a specialized hybrid transmission, say the Honda engineers. It could be, and no doubt will be offered in Acuras with regular old internal combustion engines.
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Categories: Acura,Future Vehicles,Honda,Sedans,Sports Cars,Tokyo Motor Show
