2001 Honda Odyssey Ex Mini Passenger Van 5-door 3.5l Well Maintained Runs Great on 2040-cars

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'Butching up' the 2017 Honda Ridgeline

Honda has announced a number accessories for the Ridgeline at the Chicago Auto Show: black roof rails, cross bars, running boards, and fender flares; a skid plate; a hard tonneau cover; special 18-inch wheels with all-terrain tires; and a towing kit. Most of these items are to be expected, while a few others raise an eyebrow. It appears that Honda is testing the waters to see if there is an audience for a "butched up" Ridgeline. The skid plate, fender flares, and all-terrain tires all move it a step in that direction visually. I'm not absolutely certain, but I don't think these accessories, which have a slight nod towards off-roading, have been offered by Honda in the past. Perhaps an informed reader can clarify that? There's been no word yet as to whether the tire size is larger, but looking at the image, it appears the tire may have a slightly taller sidewall. I believe the factory 18-inch tire offered is a 265/60, so this may be a 265/65 tire. Again, someone at the Chicago show could clarify this. As tepid as this may seem, it's a start. That's the good news. If these items prove successful, they may just push Honda enough to offer a beefed up trim level. Fingers crossed. This concludes my series of Ridgeline reports. I'm hoping to be at the New York Auto Show in March, and the Ridgeline is on my list of vehicles to crawl all over. If I learn of anything new, you can be assured I will report it here. Related Video: Image Credit: Honda Honda Truck open road

Honda Concept B Hybrid production version coming to China in 2016

At the Beijing Motor Show this weekend, Honda took the wraps off of the Concept B Hybrid, a "new-value concept" that will apparently do its level best to get the Japanese automaker back into the entry-level gas-electric game. Powertrain details for the five-door concept hatch are noticeably absent, so we are assuming that what Honda wants with this concept is for us to focus on the looks. Honda says the car's exterior design is "advanced and cool-looking." We like the shape, but think a few changes will do wonders for the production model.
If the busy front end gets turned down a bit in production (it's especially glaring from the front), we can see this becoming a darn good replacement for the Insight at the lower end of the hybrid price spectrum. Sadly, for now, Honda is saying that the mass-production model that uses the Concept B as a foundation will be available "exclusively" on the Chinese market in two years.
Speaking at the Beijing show, Honda president and CEO Takanobu Ito continued to look for ways to green his company's line-up, and said Honda, "will strive to become number one in complying with Chinese CAFE regulations, which are the toughest in the world, and offer a new lifestyle for Chinese customers." Come 2016, that new lifestyle could look like the car you see in the gallery above. Think it's a good one?

Formula One speeds towards radical thousand-horsepower shakeup

The teams, the drivers, the fans, the circuits... few, if any, were satisfied with how Formula One has shaped up since the current regulations took hold last year. But that doesn't mean they aren't working on it. At a recent meeting of the F1 Strategy Group, the leading parties in the sport outlined a new framework that would radically shake up the cars themselves while keeping costs in check. And the biggest change could see the engines producing around 1,000 horsepower. Although a proposal put forth by Ferrari to ditch the current V6 hybrid engines in favor of new twin-turbocharged units was rejected by Honda and Mercedes, the members of the group approved in principal to increase the fuel flow in the existing engines to dramatically boost output. As it stands, the current 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 engines develop around 600 horsepower, with an additional 160 or so kicked in by the electric Energy Recovery System, for a combined output of about 760 hp. What's not clear at the moment is whether the increased fuel flow would necessitate either the return of mid-race refueling (currently banned) or the installation of larger fuel tanks. Red Bull and McLaren also submitted proposals to radically redesign the shape of the cars as well, however a more evolutionary approach was adopted instead. Though far from finalized, the new design would keep the same basic form of the current chassis, but with adjustments to make them more aesthetically pleasing while producing more downforce. Wider tires are also said to be part of the mix. With more power and more grip from the tires and aero, the resulting cars would most certainly end up going much faster than the current ones, which are already starting to nudge the lap records at some of the circuits, many of which were set during the V10 era. The F1 Strategy Group is made up of representatives of the FIA, Formula One Management and six leading teams. The next step will be for the teams' technical directors to iron out how to implement what their bosses have agreed to. If they settle the details fast enough, the revised regulations could be pushed through in time for next season. News Source: AutosportImage Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Motorsports Ferrari Honda Infiniti McLaren Mercedes-Benz F1