2014 Honda Odyssey Ex-l, 7-seat, Leather Interior, Dual A/c, Heated Seat, Power. on 2040-cars

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Honda promises all-new Ridgeline within two years

Despite an aging design and low sales, Honda has remained committed to its Ridgeline pickup truck. Now, in its first official confirmation of a next-gen Ridgeline, Honda has released a teaser sketch (click to enlarge) of the new truck and promised a debut within two years, as previously reported.
The sketch shows the direction that Honda is planning for its new truck, which appears to ditch the single-piece body in favor of a more conventional pickup truck design. Even with the new design, it's not clear if Honda will move away from the Ridgeline's car-based platform shared with the Odyssey, Pilot and Accord. Sales of the Ridgeline dipped to below 10,000 units in 2011 but have increased steadily over the last two years (including 29 percent so far in 2013) with slightly more than 16,000 units on the year.
As for the current Ridgeline, Honda will wind down production at the Lincoln, AL assembly plant sometime during the middle of next year. The press release for the announcement is posted below.

1991 Acura NSX Luggage Test: Will a Motocompacto fit in the trunk?

I know I know, the wait has been killing you. From the second the Honda Motocompacto electric scooter/suitcase was introduced, you've desperately been begging the universe to answer the following question: "Will the Honda Motocompacto fit in the trunk of a 1991 Acura NSX?" Believe me, the suspense was killing me, too. Well, rest assured, your answer is finally here.  I stumbled upon old friend Tyson Hugie and his predictably pristine 1991 Acura NSX at Radwood Socal two weekends ago. While chatting about my/his old Acura TSX finding a new home with a collector in North Carolina, a gentleman on a Honda Motocompacto whizzed by and finally pulled up to a stop among the small group of people gathered around the NSX and an Integra Type R. We initially thought it had been brought by the Honda PR rep who was attending Radwood (he did in fact have one in his trunk, an Acura 2.3 CL), but it actually belonged to the person riding it. Patrick Vidal had only just got his Motocompacto the previous Monday, but had already put it to work as his last-mile transport. He says it fits behind his seat in his Toyota MR2 Spyder, as if this story couldn't get more rad. As I stood there with Tyson and Patrick chatting about life with Honda's latest creation, I started staring at the back end of Honda's finest creation. Then I looked back at the Motocompacto ... and back again at the NSX.  "Um, do you think that would fit in the NSX's trunk?" I asked, turning to Tyson. "Oh, that's happening," he quickly replied. We asked Patrick if he'd be game, and no shocker, he was. Tyson cleared out the trunk and Patrick started the process of transforming the Motocompacto from a scooter into luggage.  The transformation is certainly not a seamless process. There's lots of steps, and Patrick said that he's still getting the hang of remembering all the bits and pieces. Again, though, he'd only had the thing for five days.  Initially, I doubted the Motocompacto would fit, but as it got smaller and NSX trunk got emptier, I got a lot more confident. "OK, let's do this," said Mr. Luggage Test, rubbing his hands together.  Officially, the 1991 Acura NSX was listed as having 5 cubic-feet of trunk volume. That's actually the same as my 1998 BMW Z3's trunk, but when you're talking about such a small amount, the shape of the space really matters and in this case, the NSX trunk is basically a big rectangular cavity with a protrusion from the engine bay.  OK, let's get to the bags.

Honda, Top Gear working on 130-mph lawn mower

We're not even sure they've got a blade of Kentucky Bluegrass to cut, but the folks at Top Gear have gone ahead and started building what will become, if they're successful, the world's fastest lawn mower. Actually, it appears Top Gear is not doing much of the design and assembly work at all, instead having solicited help from experts at Honda and Team Dynamics, which oversees the automaker's touring car efforts.
What the three are working on is a riding lawnmower with a 110-hp engine that can reach 60 miles per hour in four seconds and trim turf at speeds up to 130 mph. If they succeed, such a maximum velocity would put them well ahead of the current record for the world's fastest lawnmower, which is 96.529 mph set by Bobby Cleveland and his Snapper race mower at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September of 2010. Top Gear hasn't said whether or not it will officially go after Cleveland's record, but the build will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Top Gear magazine and is scheduled to be completed by June 17, so we may learn what this maniacal mower's true purpose is then.
According to TG's report on how the build is going, as well as the video of it being fired up (literally) for the first time below, there aren't many actual mower parts left on this machine. What started out as a Honda HF2620 mower now sports wheels and tires from a racing quad, a back axle from a go-kart, a steering rack from a Morris Minor and a 1000cc engine from a Honda VTR1000F sport bike. All that remains from the original mower are the pedals and body panels; even the steel cutting deck has been replaced with a lighter fiberglass version. And blades? This mower will be bladeless, instead using two electric motors to spin lengths of brake cable like a weed whacker.