The Fast and Furious franchise has featured some amazing cars, and the bright pink Honda S2000 from 2 Fast 2 Furious is one of the most iconic. Doug DeMuro recently had the opportunity to check it out.
Cue up Semisonic, it's closing time for the current-generation Honda Civic. It sure had a good run, though, as it managed to get back all the mojo that had been lost with its underwhelming and barely competitive predecessor. Available in sedan, hatchback and now-discontinued coupe body styles, along with the Civic Si and Civic Type R performance models, Honda's definitive compact car returned to its status as a segment leader.
That's still the case for the 2021 Honda Civic despite the fact that it's about to be replaced. It remains spacious for the segment and boasts a clever, functional interior. The driving experience is refined with nicely balanced ride and handling, while the available turbocharged engine upgrade provides class-leading acceleration and fuel economy. There's also the matter of Honda's low ownership costs and high retained value. Now, the Civic does show its age with its frustrating infotainment and safety technologies, as well as its interior's materials quality and design (especially compared to the Mazda3 and Nissan Sentra). We also never warmed to the busy, vent-riddled styling (the Honda Insight hybrid manages to be much prettier despite sharing the same bones). Though we know very little about the next-generation Civic, we do expect these issues to be addressed.
Honda Access wastes no time in releasing genuine accessories for the all-new N-One, even though the kei car is not on sale yet in Japan.
There isn't much to discuss on the surface here, but news that Honda is preparing its second electric car is of great interest to us. The company's first EV — the Honda E — is not sold in America, and based on how Honda is framing this car, it won't be sold in the U.S. either.
Honda's teaser image is a preview of a concept car that will be fully revealed at the Beijing Motor Show. Honda says it indicates "the direction of the future mass-production model of the Honda brand's first EV to be introduced in China." The teaser is posted to Honda's global news site, but not its North American site, suggesting even further that this car isn't meant for us.
The 2021 Honda Passport is arriving at U.S. dealerships and the company has announced pricing will begin at $32,590.
The Honda Passport enters its third year as the brand's midsize two-row SUV entrant. For 2021, the Passport sees prices climb by a few hundred dollars, but the base trim at least has additional content for the extra money.
Prices rise by $625 for the base Passport Sport. The 2WD Sport is now $33,710 (including $1,120 destination charge, which is an increase of $25 over 2020), while the Passport Sport with 4WD is $35,710. From there, the next step is the Passport EX-L, where prices inch up by $225. The EX-L 2WD is $37,730, with the 4WD version again carrying a $2,000 upcharge at $39,730.
After detailing the Type R Limited Edition, Honda has released pricing information for the 2021 Civic Hatchback. It's not making any major changes to the model, but it's slightly increasing prices across the board.
The lineup consists of four trim levels: LX, Sport, EX, and Sport Touring. That's down from five in 2020, because the EX-L model which was positioned one notch below the range-topping trim is not coming back for 2021. Pricing starts at $22,000 before a $955 destination charge enters the equation, meaning putting a Civic Hatchback in your driveway will cost at least $22,955. For context, the 2020 model started at $21,650 before Honda added a $930 destination charge, so it was priced at $22,580.
Honda confirmed the Hunter Cub CT125 it introduced in March 2020 will be sold in the United States, where it will be called the Trail 125. It's an evolution of the Super Cub C125 upgraded to comfortably wander off the pavement.
Part of the brand's MiniMoto range, the Trail 125 is built around a strengthened version of the Super Cub's chassis. It benefits from more ground clearance, beefier tires, a model-specific suspension, a bigger fuel tank that unlocks more riding range, and skid plates to protect the engine from expensive encounters with boulders. Honda also positioned the air intake higher to ensure the engine doesn't suck in water, and it added an upswept exhaust that gives the Trail 125 the low-end and mid-range power it needs to soldier on when the going gets tough.
Honda and GM are moving ever closer together. The two automotive goliaths signed a memorandum of understanding today toward establishing an alliance in North America. Earlier this year, it was announced that Honda would be borrowing GM's EV technology to build two electric cars sold under the Honda name in the U.S. Today's move looks like it has the potential to cement the two companies even closer.
As of now, the proposed alliance would have the two collaborating on electric powertrain tech, internal combustion engines, vehicle platforms, connected services (infotainment technology), purchasing and general R&D. Honda and GM would collaborate in certain vehicle segments, already expressing intentions to share common vehicle platforms.
Pricing for the 2021 Honda Civic Type R has been announced, and that includes the Limited Edition model that was revealed back in March. The Phoenix Yellow hot hatch carries a large price premium of $6,500 over the base model for a total of $44,950.
You do get a number of special features for the extra money. The Limited Edition is an exclusive model, with just 600 coming to the United States. It's the only model to get the Phoenix Yellow paint color, a throwback to past Type R models. It also features lightweight forged BBS wheels that save a total of 18 pounds, and other little bits have been removed to save a further 28 pounds from the body. It's also the version that recently set a lap record at Suzuka in Japan.
The 2021 Honda Civic Type R is arriving at dealerships and the company has announced U.S. pricing will start at $37,495.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — We quite liked the Honda Odyssey when we first drove the current generation back in 2017. It offers a ton of space, of course, but it makes that space especially usable with multi-directional sliding seats, good ergonomics and tech that makes it easy to see into and be heard in the rear seats. For 2021, Honda's not messing too much with a winning formula, giving us the same great, convenient, usable, drivable space with a nip here, a tuck there and a new bit of tech that may not seem like much on paper, but can make a big difference in livability if you find yourself regularly commuting in traffic.
The 2021 Odyssey gets updated exterior styling including a new look to the front bumper and grille. We like the straightforward, more uniformly horizontal and overall less busy look to the nose of the Odyssey. All trims now get LED headlights, and LED foglights are available. The trim on the tailgate is tweaked to match the look of the new face. There are also new wheel options.
Honda has unveiled its 2020 Civic Type R Pace Car which will lead the NTT IndyCar Series field at this weekend's Bommarito Automotive Group race weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis, Missouri.
NEW YORK — Honda Motor Co has agreed to pay $85 million (64.7 million pounds) to settle an investigation by most U.S. states into its use of defective Takata airbag inflators in its vehicles, according to a consent order made public on Tuesday.
The state probes are connected with the ongoing recalls of tens of millions of vehicles equipped with potentially defective Takata inflators that were sold by Honda and other major auto manufacturers over the past 20 years.