2015 Honda Ex-l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2014 Honda Odyssey gets some tidy tweaks [w/video]

Here in New York, Honda is offering up a refreshed version of its well-liked Odyssey minivan, bringing with it a slew of updates including the segment's first in-car vacuum. It looks to be a neat little feature, one that families will no doubt get a lot of use out of. Kids are spill-machines, after all.
On the outside, the Odyssey gets a revised front end with dark headlamp surrounds, shiny cross-bars in the grille, and an aluminum hood and bumper. We think the blacked-out grille trim looks fine on this charcoal model, but question how smart it will look on models with lighter paint tones. Out back, there are new LED taillamps, and it looks like a new wheel design will be on offer, too.
Other changes for the 2014 Odyssey include some structural reinforcements for improved safety and some new available nannies like lane-departure warning and forward collision warning. Inside, buyers will find new finishes inside the cabin, a redesigned center stack and pushbutton start. Scroll down for the full details in an official video and in Honda's press release, and have a look at new images live from the show floor in the gallery above.

Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.

Fernando Alonso denies giving McLaren a Honda-or-me ultimatum

MONZA, Italy — Fernando Alonso has denied telling McLaren to choose between him and Honda as the Spaniard considers his future with the Formula One team. The two-time world champion also dismissed media speculation that he retired from last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix without there being anything technically wrong with his car's power unit. Some reports this week suggested that Alonso had run out of patience after three years of unreliable and under-powered engines and had told McLaren he would leave if it stayed with Honda. "Absolutely not true," the Spaniard, who won his titles with Renault more than a decade ago, told reporters at the Italian Grand Prix on Thursday. "I have absolutely not decided. More than anything I'm not bigger than a team," added the 36-year-old, who has said he will decide his future in September. His current contract expires at the end of the season. McLaren has sounded out Renault and has also indicated it would support Honda moving to Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso. Honda said after Spa that it could find nothing wrong with Alonso's race engine, but the driver expressed surprise that anyone could suggest he had faked a failure. "It seems people forget that I'm racing here for three years, giving my maximum ... I tried to race with a broken rib in Bahrain," he said, explaining that sensors had started to fail and something had felt wrong. "We retired the car, and they checked the whole engine and it seems everything is fine ... so we will try to fit that engine tomorrow (in the second practice). If it blows up, we will change it," he said. Alonso expects to start Sunday's race at the back of the grid due to penalties for further engine changes. Regarding his future, he said he would start discussing with the team and Honda their expectations for next year and look at what was on the table. "I think we do have now some ingredients to be champions," he said. "I think the team did improve a lot in the last three years ... I think we have the talent in the team, we have the facilities. "We just miss (being) more competitive. We will see what the numbers are saying for next year and after that try to make a decision." Asked whether he thought Honda could be competitive in the short term, he replied: "I think you never know. It could be possible. Why not?" Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video: