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2016 Honda Pilot earns IIHS Top Safety Pick+ score

The 2016 Honda Pilot earned a Top Safety Pick+ rating after tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The crossover scored the agency's top Good score in all five evaluations, including the often tricky small-overlap frontal crash. The latest results give the 2016 Pilot the highest possible results from both NCAP and IIHS. In the small-overlap frontal crash, there were only four inches of intrusion in the passenger compartment, and the airbags did their job of protecting the dummy's head. Sensors showed a low risk of significant injuries. In comparison, the IIHS gave the 2015 Pilot Good scores in four tests, but the CUV had a Poor rating, the agency's lowest, in the small-overlap test. The optional Honda Sensing suite of safety functions put the Pilot over the top for the + score, and the tech earned a superior rating from the IIHS. The system combines a windshield-mounted camera and radar behind the grille and is available on the EX trim and above. It includes collision mitigating braking, a forward collision warning, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and road departure mitigation. Related Video: All-new 2016 Honda Pilot Earns a 2015 TOP SAFETY PICK+ Rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Aug 21, 2015 - TORRANCE, Calif. 2016 Pilot offers the most comprehensive set of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies ever available on a Honda vehicle Available Honda Sensing™ suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies combines camera and radar systems to help detect vehicles, pedestrians and roadway markings Honda's aims to reduce collisions, injuries and fatalities involving its vehicles, using Honda Sensing™ technology The fully redesigned 2016 Honda Pilot (automobiles.honda.com/pilot/) has received a 2015 TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) when equipped with optional front crash prevention, bringing Honda one step closer to fulfilling the company's goal to be the first three-row mainstream SUV with the highest available U.S. government (NCAP) and IIHS safety ratings. This IIHS distinction includes a top rating of GOOD in five IIHS crash test modes including a top score of GOOD in the Insurance Institute's stringent small overlap frontal crash test.

Can Fernando Alonso win Indy? Here's why and why maybe not

SPEEDWAY, IN – The month of May has been a joy ride for Fernando Alonso at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The two-time Formula 1 champion came to Indy having never turned left in a race car without also turning right. But he acquired such a feel for Indy's 2 1/2 -mile rectangle during a month of practice and qualifying that he's considered a strong contender to win the 101st Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, rookie or not. "You're not trying to bring somebody on who has very little experience driving very high-performance cars," said 2003 Indy 500 winner Gil deFerran, who this month has helped Alonso learn the nuances that make the speedway such a tough place to conquer. "I suppose it would be a little bit different if you were dealing with a younger, much less experienced person." Driving a McLaren Honda from the potent Andretti Autosport team, Alonso was consistently near the top of the speed charts in practice, he qualified fifth fastest at 231.300 mph, and he handled runs in heavy traffic like a driver who'd done it many times before. But those were the prelims. The race is another creature. "The car felt the best (it has) in the last two weeks. I was making some moves, taking some different lines. I am extremely happy." Other drivers say the speedway looks different on race day when the crowd, expected to top 300,000, fills the grandstands and makes an already narrow track seem even tighter. The three-wide rolling start is something Alonso has never experienced, and he will see the green flag from the middle of the second row between Takuma Sato and J.R. Hildebrand. And the space he'll be given by his competitors in the first 180 laps may disappear In the last 20 when it's every driver for themselves. Can a rookie like Alonso win this race? Absolutely, as Andretti driver Alexander Rossi showed last year when his team used a fuel-mileage strategy to win in his first taste of Indy. We're talking about Fernando Alonso here, who easily could show his rookie stripes to the rest of the field most of the day. His best lap in Friday's final practice, 226.608, was fifth fastest in the field and, more important, he said the car felt comfortable in heavy traffic. "The car felt the best (it has) in the last two weeks," Alonso said. "I was making some moves, taking some different lines.

Recharge Wrap-up: Honda releases "Green Dealer" Guide, Tesla's China president steps down

Honda has released its "Green Dealer" Guide to the public. The guide, which is used to outline ways for Honda and Acura dealerships to be more environmentally responsible can also help other businesses take the same steps to green up their practices, save energy and even save money in the process. The guide, which ranks dealers based on a points system, provides incentive to dealerships to implement the environmentally practices, but it also helps Honda assert itself as a leader for green business. Read more at Automotive News or in the press release below. Nissan Leaf owners in the UK love their car, and aren't looking back at their fossil-fueled past. According to a survey by Nissan, 93 percent use the EV as their main family vehicle. 89 percent report saving money driving, 64 percent prefer it to driving a conventionally powered car and 95 percent would recommend the car to a friend. Most said they wouldn't go back to a gas or diesel car. One owner even gave up his Aston Martin for a second Leaf so he and his wife wouldn't argue over who got to drive the EV to work each day. That's love. Read more at Next Green Car and at Hybrid Cars. Renault has outlined its future sustainable mobility plans, including two pieces of technology going into production cars soon. Renault will put a smaller, more efficient electric motor into production, as well as a three-cylinder dual-fuel gasoline/liquid petroleum gas engine. The HYDIVU prototype will help Renault research mild hybrid technology for light commercial vehicles. The VELUD project will look into making the last mile of urban deliveries more sustainable. Renault is also testing a two-cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine for small vehicle platforms. Read more in the press release below. Tesla's China president has resigned. Veronica Wu had been in charge of the company's operations in China for the past nine months, and with her leaving the company, Tom Zhu will step into the role. Jochen Siebert of Shanghai-based JSC Automotive Consulting says that, "Tesla counts on China as one of their main drivers of growth after California, and it might have been more difficult than they thought." Tesla states it is still "confident in the Chinese market," where it has sold the Model S since April. Read more at Bloomberg.