Category: Honda

It's easy to like the all new 2016 Jeep Renegade on sale March 1, 2015. It is funky looking in a Jeep sort of way, small but wide, easy to maneuver, easy to get into and out of, easy to see out of. And it its base price is about $5,000 less than its new bigger brother the Jeep Cherokee.

Acura's entry premium compact car is being updated for the 2016 model year. The 2016 Acura ILX is what Acura terms its "Gateway Model" - the entry to the Acura lineup. The strategy for the 2016 Acura ILX is much like Honda implemented for its CR-V compact crossover SUV. Honda termed that a Major Mid-Cycle Change. Similarly, ILX has been freshened and given a better powertrain than before.

It goes like this... Honda invites you to an event that is held locally to review a vehicle that is not scheduled for a meaningful change for a couple of years. What's up? Well, enough that Honda can make a pretty big deal out of it. The top selling sport utility vehicle is Honda's CR-V crossover SUV. The 2015 Honda CR-V looks pretty much like the 2014. Same profile. Same doors. Same window openings. What's the big deal? The front end looks more butch, more SUV-like. It has really cool running lights below the headlamps. Likewise, the rear end looks stronger. The effect is that the CR-V looks a little bigger even though it isn't. Ah, the story is pretty much beneath the skin. Honda calls it a MAJOR minor model change. Clever.

The 2014 Honda CR-V is the highest scoring Mid-Size Crossover SUV in AutoPacific’s 2014 Ideal Vehicle Award research. The CR-V designers, planners and engineers clearly understood their target buyer and developed a vehicle that meets their requirements.

The 2014 Honda Odyssey is the highest rated Minivan in AutoPacific’s 2014 Ideal Vehicle Award research. The Odyssey designers did a great job giving the consumers what they want. In fact, the Odyssey has won AutoPacific's Ideal Vehicle Award in four of the last six years and AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Award in three of those years.

The 2014 Honda Odyssey is the top scoring Minivan in AutoPacific’s 2014 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research. In achieving this level of satisfaction, the 2014 Honda Odyssey wins in eleven categories and ties in eighteen. The Odyssey is also one tenth of a rating point in another six satisfaction categories. The Odyssey is at the top in seventy percent of the satisfaction ratings.

The AutoPacific 2014 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards objectively measure owner satisfaction with 50 separate attributes ranging from interior comfort and convenience to fuel economy and performance. “Vehicles that score highest in the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards are delivering value and satisfaction across a wide range of attributes,” says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific. “The winners perform well in 50 separate categories that objectively measure the ownership experience.” An industry benchmark for measuring how satisfied an owner is with his/her new vehicle, AutoPacific’s VSA are based on the results of responses from over 92,000 new vehicle owners.

Honda Insight Killed A couple of weeks ago, Honda announced the Insight and two-seat Honda CR-Z hybrid were being cancelled in Europe. Following a week or so later, American Honda has announced the latest version of the hybrid Honda Insight has been killed after five years on the market. About time, they were just cluttering up the sales lots of American Honda dealerships with over 200 days of inventory on hand in February, 2014.

Has the 2014 Auto Show Season been a bust so far? Well, with the exception of the all new Ford F-150, there has not been much to justify all the fabricated hoopla at either the North American International Auto Show in Detroit or the Chicago Auto Show. You can almost count the significant new news on one hand. In order of importance to the United States market and their manufacturers

Only 37% of hybrid owners are extremely satisfied with power and acceleration compared with 40% of small car owners. This might be expected since these products are biased toward maximum fuel economy usually at the expense of spirited driving.