2011 Honda Cr-z Ex Hatchback 2-door 1.5l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

In Honda Super Bowl ad, Ridgeline teaches sheep to sing

Honda hopes that its Super Bowl ad's combination of a classic Queen song and an adorable premise are enough to get customers excited about the 2017 Ridgeline. The 60-second spot for the new pickup airs during the game's third quarter, and the commercial is sure to leave Somebody to Love stuck in your head. The spot titled A New Truck to Love stars a sheep rancher who likes to listen to Freddie Mercury while hauling animals to the field. He even uses the truck's bed-mounted stereo to enjoy some tunes while at work. The sheep apparently like Queen's songs because they start singing along when their owner is away. This is the one of the better auto ads for Super Bowl 50 that we've seen yet. A look at the truck's capabilities would be nice, but at least the commercial's premise is highly enjoyable. Plus, it's hard not to enjoy Queen. Honda's spot could be a popular one during this year's game. Innovative 2017 Honda Ridgeline Pickup Leads the Flock in New Super Bowl Commercial Feb 1, 2016 60-second commercial features music by Queen, performed by some unlikely and unforgettable co-stars Directed by Bryan Buckley, creator of more than 40 Super Bowl ads Extensive multiplatform campaign to support launch of new TV spot Consumers can enter to win a first drive of new Honda truck at "Camp Ridgeline" Honda today offered a sneak peek of the brand's commercial for Super Bowl 50 starring the highly innovative 2017 Honda Ridgeline pickup, a wily herding dog and a flock of sheep singing a classic Queen song, "Somebody to Love." Fans tuning in to Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, Feb. 7, will see the 60-second spot, "A New Truck to Love," during the third quarter, but the entertaining commercial is now available for viewing in its entirety on Honda's YouTube channel (http://honda.us/BigGameCommercial). Directed by Oscar-nominated director Bryan Buckley — dubbed "King of the Super Bowl" for his role in bringing to life more than 40 commercials for the big game — the new Honda commercial imagines how a rancher might use one of Ridgeline's available features, the industry's very first factory truck-bed audio system, enabling music to play outside the truck. This poses the question, "What if his sheep learned how to sing?" with the commercial showing the sheep being dropped off by the new Ridgeline and then performing the classic Queen hit after the rancher departs. The spot signals not only Honda's return to the Super Bowl, but the return of the all-new Ridgeline to market.

Honda thumbs nose at fleet sales, claims it leads in key vehicle segments

Fleet sales are a way of life in the automotive industry. There are many non-retail customers that need vehicles, but going too far can reduce brand image and vehicle resale value. While some of its competitors have fleet sale that account for up to 20 or 30 of overall sales, Honda is bragging that it has the lowest fleet sales of all mainstream automakers for the first five months of 2013.
After calculating new-car registration data from R.L. Polk, Honda says that just two percent of its sales through went to fleet customers compared to an industry average of 19 percent. Even though this means Honda leaves plenty of sales on the table each month, it also claims to have the highest resale value and lowest cost of ownership among its competitors. In terms of retail sales, Honda says that the Civic, Accord, CR-V and Odyssey all lead their respective segments, and it breaks down/brags about its retail sales success in the press release, which is posted below.

Honda is first Japanese carmaker to be a net-exporter from US

Over the last decade or so, many foreign automakers have challenged the idea of what defines an "American car," but Honda took things a step further last year by exporting more cars out of the US than it imported in. Reuters is reporting that in 2013, a total of 108,705 Honda and Acura models were exported from the US with only 88,357 being shipped in. This gives Honda a net exporter status here, and makes it the first of such among the major Japanese automakers.
Honda's US imports have been dropping over the last five years while its exports have been steadily increasing. In 2008, the report indicates that Honda shipped 187,000 vehicles to the US and exported only 20,000, and even by 2012 Honda still favored imports with 136,000 imports and 74,000 exports. The article says that US-made Honda and Acura vehicles were exported to 50 countries with most ending up in Mexico, but the big news is that the Honda's US production set a record in 2013 with 1.3 million units built.