Honda is on a mission to redesign its SUV and truck models for the United States, in order to bring in buyers who are willing to pay premiums for rugged, off-road models such as the Ford Bronco or F-150 Raptor.
The 2021 Honda Accord is getting some trim shake-ups, some refinements to the powertrain in its hybrid variant, and some minor styling updates to keep the midsize sedan fresh.
On the styling front, you'll have to really squint to see the differences, which are effectively limited to the Accord's front bumper. The grille is a bit wider, and the accent lines reaching toward either side of the lower fascia from the fog lamps now take slightly different routes. Apart from that, you'd be hard-pressed to notice anything has changed.
In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. This week's news includes Subaru teasing the next-generation Subaru BRZ, the Jaguar XE departing and the XF getting an update, Honda unveiling the new Ridgeline pickup and the Acura NSX suffering from slow sales. This week they talk about driving two vehicles on opposite ends of the spectrum: the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and the Volkswagen Atlas.
The 2021 Honda Ridgeline just received a significant refresh that brought squared-off truck-like styling to Honda's only pickup. Whether or not it's more attractive is in the eye of the beholder, but it certainly looks tougher. According to Motor Trend, that tough look will spread to other models.
The news outlet spoke with Honda's marketing vice president Jay Joseph, who said future Honda crossovers would have a more rugged design. We reached out to Honda, and a representative confirmed that Ridgeline design cues will make their way to Honda's other light-truck models (i.e. crossovers). Though the representative couldn't share timing of redesigns or specificity of which models will be included. So without specifics, here are some of our theories on how the redesigning could pan out.
The 2021 Honda Odyssey is a modern minivan, and as such it's absolutely gigantic. That is obviously not news. And yet, the Odyssey still managed to blow me away with its cargo-carrying ability.
Now, like the various three-row crossovers and SUVs I've luggage tested, I only checked to see how many pieces of luggage from my garage would fit behind the raised third-row seat. The most voluminous crossover I've tested and indeed one of the most voluminous three-row crossovers, period, the Hyundai Palisade, could fit the four biggest suitcases I own. Pretty good, but sorry Palisade, you're about to be crushed.
Look at this! It's the 2021 Honda Ridgeline, and it's fixing exactly what so many folks have complained about since this truck launched for the 2017 model year. Honda has finally made its truck look more like a truck, which (and you'd have never guessed this) is what truck buyers seem to want.
Now, we have had our own misgivings about the Ridgeline's design, but its excellence in categories outside of design have made us more forgiving of its soft, Pilot-like face. Every other midsize truck has a rough-and-tough character about it, and now the Ridgeline can say the same.
WASHINGTON — Honda said on Saturday it has confirmed a 17th U.S. death tied to a faulty Takata air bag inflator.
The Japanese automaker said that after a joint inspection with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), it confirmed a faulty air bag inflator was to blame for the Aug. 20 crash of a 2002 Honda Civic that led to the death of a driver in Mesa, Arizona.
Honda is ending its participation in Formula 1 in order to focus its research and development on fuel cells and battery EV technologies, the company announced. It currently builds the turbocharged hybrid power units for Red Bull Racing, which sits in second place in the F1 constructor standings, along with Red Bull's adjacent team Scuderia AlphaTauri.
Honda said that it achieved its goal of earning victories with three wins last season and two so far in 2020. However, it believes that the auto industry is going through a "once-in-one-hundred-years" period of transition and it has decided to strive for carbon neutrality by 2050. As such, it will funnel its R&D money into green power unit and energy tech like fuel cell and battery EV technology. All the knowledge it amassed in F1, particularly in the areas of energy management and fuel technologies, will be transferred to its new research center.
We just had our first look at the next-generation 2022 Honda Civic hatchback via some patent images, and now CivicXI.com has unearthed even more renderings, this time of the sedan version. As expected, the front portions are about the same, but we're surprised to see how similar the two cars are up until the cargo area. And if the hatchback had some Accord similarites, this one is even closer.
Following this past weekend’s announcement, Honda showed its new battery-powered concept crossover in the flesh at the Beijing Auto Show. We’ve included live photos on the gallery below. [Updated 9/30/2020]
So far, Honda has been careful about keeping the next-generation Civic under wraps. Quite literally in fact, since spy photos of the Civic Type R have featured a well-camouflaged prototype. All that work is out the window now, though, since the folks at CivicXI.com uncovered patent renderings of the 2022 Honda Civic hatchback. And we have reason to believe these images are correct, since they closely match what we've been able to make out from those Civic Type R spy photos.You can also see a couple more angles on their site.
The new Civic's design looks longer and lower. The nose most certainly is longer, and the hood line is nearly horizontal, instead of rising up toward the A-pillars. There's significantly more glass area with a lower window sill and quarter-windows in the rear pillar. The hatch has been lowered at the trailing edge, so there's no longer a split rear window.
Honda traveled to the 2020 edition of the Beijing Auto Show to introduce a design study named SUV E:Concept. Electric and connected, it's a preview of an upcoming production model that's being developed for China.
Details about the concept are spectacularly scarce, but the photos released by the company show a sporty two-door model that blurs the line between a shooting brake and a crossover. Its front end is slanted at an angle we normally associate with 1980s BMWs, and it's dominated by thin, swept-back LED headlights and unusually large air dams. Black trim over the wheel arches and the rocker panels adds a rugged touch to the overall look.
It's Child Passenger Safety Week in the United States. According to the global nonprofit Safe Kids Worldwide, vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and injury for American children and correctly used child car seats can reduce the risk of death by 71%. However, also according to Safety Kids Worldwide, 60% of car seats are not used or installed correctly.
In normal circumstances, you could take your car and car seat to some fire stations or other locations for a certified passenger safety technician to make sure you've install it correctly. While you may be able to find an in-person location that's open, there are a variety of online and virtual opportunities available. Of course, simply reading the instructions can go a long way. So can researching and then buying a seat that is well-engineered to be easy to install. I found Baby Gear Lab's testing and ratings to be particularly useful when shopping for my own infant car seat. I even bought their No. 1 pick, the Chicco KeyFit 30, which you can see in this test.
The 2021 Honda Odyssey has achieved the highest award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Top Safety Pick+. Although the Odyssey is not a new generation for 2021, it does benefit from several changes, including newly standard active-safety features and new LED headlamps that appear across the lineup.
Previously, the 2020 Odyssey performed well in all six crash tests, achieving the highest, Good, score in all six. It's halogen headlamps, however, were rated Marginal and Poor (depending on the version). And its collision-avoidance system had not been tested. The 2021 Odyssey has LED headlamps as standard, and they earned an Acceptable score. Additionally, the Odyssey's collision-avoidance system is now included on all trims, and it earned a Superior rating in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian tests. The Odyssey also received a Good+ score for LATCH ease of use — the best among minivans — although that is not part of the criteria for a TSP+ award.