Honda tagged posts

Honda is going to reveal the redesigned 3rd generation Pilot SUV in tomorrow’s Chicago auto show, and it released the official images just half an hour ago.

We will wait for the official press release to get more detailed specs. However at this moment, judging from the images, we have one discovery in the new Pilot: it will probably has the same 9-speed automatic transmission, which is also firstly introduced into the 2016 Acura MDX. This is concluded from the omission of the transmission shifter, which is replaced by the push selection buttons.

Enjoy the below gallery and check back tomorrow for our latest coverage.

Honda does has a racing root. It even puts its auto racing enthusiasm into products such as the Civic, and produce the Civic Type R. But before we drilling down to the details, let me tell you a sad news (maybe some folks have already known): historically speaking Honda has never sold the Civic Type R in US market in the past, and we heard that this is also true for the upcoming generation too. However, fellow US readers please do not give up hope: because we have also heard that Acura is building a ILX Type S with 300+hp for us!

Contrary to some people’s intuition, the Civic Type R is not just a Civic with high-output engine...

US Auto Sales: Key Factors

For an automobile consumer, the key factors that affect the decision to purchase a new vehicle is:

1. How easy he/she can get access to the funding (auto loan)
2. How old is his/her current car
3. How good is the new car model

The below chart is sourced from WSJ.

For factor #1, it looks like financial institutions have lowered the bar for approving car loans. According to the credit-monitoring firm Experian, now 20.4% of all auto loans are sub-prime loans, which is granted to borrowers in the lowest credit score range. Banks are even providing longer term loans. Get this, the average long term loan now reaches 5.5 years...

Today, Honda released one official image of the facelifted 2015 model year CR-V crossover.

This is how the 2015 CR-V looks:

And this is  the current 2014 model year CR-V, notice the difference in the front grille, headlight housing and the fog lights.

Detail specs of the 2015 CR-V will be released on 09/30/2014 and goes on sale the next day (Oct. 1st).

When talking about the Accord outside of US market, please pay attention that it usually means a different car. For example the 8th-gen Honda Accord in Japan and Europe is actually the Acura TSX in US.

The foreign-market Accord also has another name in China: it is called the Honda Spirior. Last month, Honda revealed the redesigned 2015 Spirior. The higher-level Si trim, can be consider to be the equivalent to the Acura TLX 2.4 8-DCT.

The Spirior has the same wheelbase as the TLX, and the Si trim comes with the same 2.4L direct-injection 4-cylinder engine as in the TLX and also the Honda-developed 8-speed DCT. The 2...