2017 Honda Pilot Ex-l on 2040-cars

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NYIAS: 2017 Honda Ridgeline marketing screwup

While checking out all the cars and trucks during the press days of the NYIAS I noticed that the Ridgeline was MIA at the Honda truck display on the lower level. Yes, it was on display at the Honda car display up on the main level — but this is a truck, not a car. Now critics of the Ridgeline will disagree with me here I'm sure, saying the Ridgeline was displayed exactly where it belongs: with Honda "cars." I beg to differ, obviously. There should have been several Ridgelines on display, and showing the various trim lines — and it should have been at both Honda displays. The one they did have on display was the high-zoot Black Edition, similar to the one pictured above. I spoke with Honda reps at both their car and truck displays about this, and their response was that the vehicle is not yet on sale. Duh... The last Ridgeline suffered from abandonment from Honda's marketing department, almost from the get-go; the result being dismal sales. If this new Ridgeline is to have any chance of succeeding, it needs to be plastered EVERYWHERE — and especially everywhere at one of the biggest auto shows on the planet. Truck buyers need to see it, touch it, sit in it, in all trim levels, and experience it as much as possible. What better place to do that than at the NYIAS? Yeah, it's not on sale yet, but it will be in a few short months. You blew it Honda. Big time. Again. Related Video:

Honda delays JDM Legend over quality concerns

Honda has been having some quality issues lately, to say the least. Most of those have revolved around the airbags supplied by Takata, but not exclusively. The new Fit Hybrid, for example, has been subject to five consecutive recalls in the year since it launched. And now the Japanese automaker is reportedly delaying the launch of its new Legend sedan. The Legend, for those unfamiliar, is what Honda calls the Acura RLX in the Japanese Domestic Market – a model that has been subject to a handful of recalls in the United States, affecting components ranging from headlights to seatbelts to suspension bolts. Such quality control issues have prompted Honda to delay the introduction of its flagship sedan in its home market, pushing its arrival in Japanese showrooms back from the fall (when the model was revealed) initially to January 22 and now to February 20, according to the report from Bloomberg. The extra time is earmarked the give Honda engineers the opportunity to look into potential problems with the vehicle's radar safety system and its advanced hybrid powertrain, before introducing it to the local market. Hopefully further recalls can be avoided once deliveries have commenced.

2014 Honda Grom motorcycle is a 125cc-shot of awesome [w/video]

My very first turn at the handlebars of a motorcycle came courtesy of an MSF Honda CB125. Despite the fact that it wore a very stern sticker on the tank warning all who rode that it was for instructional purposes only and not for legal sale, I wanted nothing more than to ride it past the cones of my license test and straight home. There was just something about the lightweight, low-power machine that just felt right. Now Honda is giving American buyers the chance to take home something similar. Meet the Grom. Yes, it's basically a sexed-up scooter, but that's fine by me.
There's a fuel-injected 125cc single pushing the fat-tired bike around, and a four-speed gearbox handles shifting duty.The smallish 12-inch wheels give the Grom a bit of a goofball appearance, but the handsome bodywork and gold forks help offset the look. Something tells me this joker is more fun than should be legal. Check out a fun video of the bike in action by scrolling down, and while you're there, you'll find a full press release on all of the new Honda powersports models, including the Grom. You can also head over to the Honda consumer site for more information. The bike will land in showrooms this August with an MSRP of $2,999.