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2017 Honda Ridgeline: A sleeper or a snooze?

Ah, yes... "Baby Steps," an expression that describes gradual improvements in what preceded. Overused for sure, but it clearly describes Honda's approach to the 2017 Ridgeline. Now that the news embargo is over we will be seeing a slew of preliminary road tests. Time to dig a little deeper, examine Honda's thinking and to see where Honda might go with this new truck. Honda set a number of goals with the new Ridgeline: 1) Sell more trucks. 2) Appeal to current Ridgeline owners who are ready to trade for a new truck. 3) Sell more trucks. 4) Expand their market share by attracting new buyers who hated the styling of the old Ridgeline. 5) Sell more trucks. 6) Convince skeptics that the Ridgeline is indeed capable of doing truck tasks. 7) Sell more trucks. My take is that this new Ridgeline is about 80 percent there; as the saying goes, "Close but no cigar." I'm really curious as to how this truck might evolve. There have been rumors that a regular cab model with a long bed may be in the works. Will we see it? Who knows — but by having such a model available, it would go a long way in terms of convincing (some) critics who say it's nothing but a "Pilot with a bed." Then there's the "youth market." Honda has gone on record saying they're not interested in courting them; a huge mistake in my opinion. Hopefully they'l re-think that and offer a legit off-road model with all the requisite goodies like more ground clearance, 2-speed transfer case, skid plates, tow hooks, larger all-terrain tires —5 of them, meaning no temp spare tire! It doesn't have to be a rock-crawler, but at least give it more capability to be considered an alternative to the 4x4 competition. Another area that needs to be re-thought is that Honda is offering seven trim levels. That's crazy. Most of them are so close to one another that it makes decision-making difficult. Cut it back to three of four trim levels, max. Makes life much easier. But yes, I think this truck, even as it stands, will be a sleeper in its segment and will do reasonably well in terms of sales. I think truck customers have seen and gotten used to the old Ridgeline, and have found — for what it was intended to do, it's really a pretty good truck. This new one certainly builds upon that — and it's no longer ugly. That's all good in my book. Related Video: Image Credit: Honda Honda Truck open road

Recharge Wrap-up: Honda Legend Sport Hybrid launching in Japan; driving cross-country on chicken fat

Honda will begin sales in Japan of the Legend Sport Hybrid SH-AWD in January. The Legend is Japan's answer to the Acura RLX Sport Hybrid sold in the US. Up front, the new flagship sedan uses a 3.5-liter V6 with cylinder deactivation and a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission with integrated electric motor. In the rear, a dual electric motor unit supplies power to the wheels. The three electric motors are also used for generating electricity during deceleration. The car has three drive modes, including EV Drive, Hybrid Drive and Engine Drive. The result is a fuel economy rating of 40 mpg, according to the JC08 cycle. Read more at Green Car Congress or in Honda's press release below. While Jay Leno explains how marketing early electric cars toward women caused them to lose out to internal combustion, the same can't be said about the current era of EVs. Leno says that early EVs, like Leno's beloved Baker, appealed to women because they were quiet, clean, and didn't require cranking to start them. This led to accessorization marketed toward women, causing men - who had more buying power than women at the time - to shy away from EVs. This time around, though, EVs target a broader audience in a different culture from the early 20th century. See Leno explain the early EV culture while driving his Baker Electric in the video below and read more at Hybrid Cars. GKN's two-speed eAxle allows EVs to make the most of both acceleration and top speed. Single-speed transmissions must sacrifice top speed for acceleration, or vice versa. In addition to improving performance at all speeds and increasing range, the GKN's eAxle also performs well in terms of NVH, providing seamless shifts and low gear noise. In order to package the eAxle in the BMW i8, the unit is just 12.8 inches by 22.1 inches by 12.3 inches and weighs 60 pounds. Read more at Green Car Congress. An alternative fuels researcher at Middle Tennessee State University will drive a truck powered by chicken fat biodiesel across the country. Professor Cliff Ricketts is driving a converted 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit pickup from Key West, FL to Seattle, WA to demonstrate the viability of chicken fat as a fuel. Ricketts admits, though, that the truck's exhaust stack is loud and smells like French fries. Read more at Domestic Fuel. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Honda gives itself room to delay FCV hydrogen car until June 2017

In a new press release issued to discuss vehicles on display at the Geneva Motor Show, Honda said something a bit curious about its upcoming hydrogen car. The release reads: "The FCV Concept previews an all-new fuel cell road car that is scheduled to go on sale in Japan in the first half of 2016, and subsequently in the USA and Europe within the following 12 months." The last official word was that Honda said the car would arrive in Japan in March 2016, with US and European roll-out some time after that. The new announcement gives the company some wiggle room to adjust that timeline, since 12 months after the first half of 2016 could, theoretically, be at late as June 30, 2017. So, we asked Honda North America's senior environment and safety specialist Angie Nucci if this means that the FCV will be delayed at all. She said she doesn't have additional details for the next-gen FCV availability, "other than March 2016 in Japan and then the US and Europe after. It's the same timing that we discussed in LA." In other words, we might be reading too much into this. But it's worth noting in case the timeline does slip (again). Related Video: Featured Gallery Honda FCV Concept: Detroit 2015 View 17 Photos News Source: HondaImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Sebastian Blanco / AOL Green Honda Hydrogen Cars delay fcv