Category: Toyota

The all-new 2017 Honda CR-V is a substantial improvement over the already excellent 2016 CR-V. Looking very similar, the CR-V has been transformed under the skin with better spaciousness, better ride and handling and better performance. Given these changes, CR-V should remain the highest volume Mid-Size Crossover SUV.

The all new Honda CR-V is an impressive compact crossover SUV. A pillar of Honda's product lineup that includes Accord, Civic and Odyssey, the CR-V sells almost 400,000 units per year. The entry crossover SUV category has become the best selling class of vehicle in the United States. Entry crossover SUV sales are higher than mid-size cars. The popularity of the segment, and how good this new CR-V is, has led Honda to add more assembly capacity at its Indiana assembly plant in 2017.

AutoPacific, an automotive specialist research and product planning consultancy, forecasts that trucks, including XSUVs will be about 60% of the market for the foreseeable future. In fact, reading the crystal ball for the next five years, this percentage of the mix may be low.

Cheap and cheerful is gone. The 2016 Honda Civic sedan has raised the bar for a compact car to new levels. After realizing that the 9th generation 2012 Civic was a dud, and quickly adding band-aids for 2013, Honda has gotten very, very serious with the all new 10th generation Civic. In fact, for awhile there the automotive analyst and journalist community was sensing Honda was losing its mojo. After updates to the Accord, the new Pilot, the HR-V and now the New 2016 Honda Civic, it is clear Honda is back. Honda's development name for the new Civic is "EPIC" Civic and it fits. To achieve this "epicness" Honda benchmarked not only the usual suspects, but also the C-Class entries from Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

You might have noticed that Lexus products are getting a bit more expressive as the brand tries to broaden its customer base. A bit more expressive may be an understatement for the new RX350. The now-trademark Lexus spindle grille goes to new lengths in the 2016 Lexus RX350. The gaping snout is so large that it impinges on the approach angle of the crossover SUV. It is gigantic! This is the fourth generation RX350. If you can remember back to 1998, the RX350 was the first premium brand crossover SUV. It started a trend that almost every premium brand has since copied - car-based, unit body, good ride, maneuverable, fuel efficient, quiet, good performance.

The 2016 Ford Explorer marks the 25th anniversary of the vehicle line. When it launched as a 1991 model, the Explorer redefined what a sport utility vehicle should be. 7,000,000 sales later, Ford is launching a nicely updated product. When the 2016 Ford Explorer launches, most people won't be able to tell the difference from the present Explorer. While the vehicle's sheetmetal ahead of the A-Pillar is all new and the liftgate and taillamps are all new, the differences are subtle to the casual observer. So while the change for 2016 is major, its appearance change is minor.

The all new 2014 Toyota Highlander is the highest scoring Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV in AutoPacific’s 2014 Ideal Vehicle Award research. Highlander's designers, planners and engineers knew what consumers wanted and gave it to them.

The all new 2014 Toyota Highlander is the highest scoring Premium Mid-Sized Crossover SUV in AutoPacific’s 2014 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research. The 2014 Toyota Highlander leads its category with thirty-one wins and ties out of fifty attributes. The Highlander also is within one tenth of a rating point with ten other categories. This puts the Highlander at the top with forty-one of fifty satisfaction categories - over 80%.

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.