honda

Anyone who has ever been on a road trip knows how hard long hours on the road can be on a car, especially the interior. Road trips for me generally include one dropped/knocked-over/exploded beverage, fast food droppings, wrappers, and complimentary toys and and other bits of consumables ground into the car's interior.

A new publication "In Your Car: Road Trip through the American Automobile," chronicles market researcher Kelley Styring's 30-day, 5,800-mile cross-country research study of American drivers and their messes.

Styring, who wrote "In Your Purse: Archaeology of the American Handbag," … Read more

Although maligned as a boring, suburban family hauler, the minivan offers undeniable utility. The new Honda Odyssey rolls out as a very tech-friendly vehicle with new looks that may be hard to take for some. We like the angular styling, but found the rear section, which looks like it's falling off, disconcerting.

Tech highlights are the ultra-wide-screen rear-seat LCD, which includes an HDMI input, the first installation we've seen in a production car, and an advanced voice command system that not only lets you dial phone contacts by name, but also request specific artists and albums from an … Read more

We look at a real swagger wagon from Toyota, find some cool-looking Honda hybrids, sit in a new supercar from McLaren, and drive the lowest tech car we've seen this year.

• SEMA 2010

• Toyota debuts Swagger Wagon Supreme

• Honda CR-Z concepts and special editions

• Sneak peek: McLaren's most lust-worthy supercar

• Aston Martin transponder watch

Rounding the corner leading to Honda's booth at the 2010 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, I was a bit taken aback as I suddenly found myself confronted with the largest gathering of modified CR-Zs I'd ever seen, 12 in total. Heck, considering that the CR-Z has only been available for a handful of months, this was the largest gathering of any CR-Zs I'd ever seen. Most of these examples were built by third parties, but at the center of Honda's presentation was a trio of special compact hybrids built by Honda itself: a 2011 CR-Z equipped … Read more

Correction: We incorrectly reported that the Consumer Reports survey predicted the 2011 Chrysler Town & Country would rank as the least reliable car. In fact, Consumer Reports predicts that the 2011 Audi A6 3.0T will be the least reliable car for that model year. Chrysler brand vehicle are predicted to be the least reliable overall. We have changed the photo at the top of this blog to reflect our correction.

Consumer Reports published predictions for reliability of 2011 vehicle models based on what car owners told it of previous model year performance. Consumer Reports' survey asked 1.3 million … Read more

Today, a Ford press release crossed my desk with an interesting tidbit about the sales figures for its new Ford Fiesta. It turns out that the majority of buyers have chosen the five-door hatchback body style over the more conventional four-door model. Apparently, someone at Ford thought this was newsworthy, but for me, it was sort of a no-brainer: the five-door was always the better car in my eyes. But that got me to thinking, "What is it with Americans and hatchbacks?"

We're big fans of hatchbacks here at CNET Car Tech, particularly those of the hot … Read more

Japan's three largest automakers are making a push to extend their alternative-fuel power train offerings in the next two years.

Toyota Motor will bring two electric and six hybrid-electric models to market in the next 24 months, including a plug-in Toyota Prius. Lexus will move into entry-luxury with the CT 200h hybrid hatchback in 2011.

Nissan Motor will launch the all-electric Nissan Leaf sedan in five markets in December. Infiniti will introduce the M35h hybrid next spring and an all-electric four-seater in late 2012 or early 2013.

Honda Motor engineers are working on a hybrid platform for such large … Read more

Honda threw a big party, spanning five blocks, in Times Square yesterday to celebrate the launch of the all-new CR-Z sport hybrid coupe.

Honda ran 3D footage of the CR-Z on the Times Square HD Spectacolor screen (on Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets). Several CR-Z models were on hand and hip-hop trio, N.E.R.D. played to a crowd of 250,000.

The Honda CR-Z and CR-Z EX sport hybrid coupe went on sale August 24 with a starting price of $19,200.

The CR-Z is powered by a 1.5-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder engine with a six-speed manual … Read more

The much-anticipated 2011 Acadia Denali began production today at the Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant in Lansing, Mich.

The $43,220, crossover SUV sports a Denali chrome honeycomb grille and monochromatic exterior. The new lineup includes two new exterior colors: cyber gray metallic and gray green metallic.

The Acadia will ride on 20-inch two-tone chrome-clad wheels and will feature high-intensity discharge headlamps, chrome interior accents, head-up display, heated and cooled driver and passenger seats, eight-way power driver seat, six standard air bags, and OnStar 9.0.

A preferred package is available on SL models, which includes Bluetooth, body-color moldings, leather-wrapped … Read more