Honda's Predictive Cruise Control

Honda is set to introduce the world’s first predictive cruise control system known as Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (i-ACC), capable of foreseeing and automatically reacting to other vehicles ‘cutting-in’ to the equipped vehicle’s lane.

Based on extensive real-world research of typical European driving styles, Honda’s Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (i-ACC) uses a camera and radar to sense the position of other vehicles on the road. It then applies an algorithm to predict the likelihood of vehicles in neighboring lanes cutting-in by evaluating relations between multiple vehicles, enabling the equipped vehicle to react quickly, safely and comfortably.

i-ACC will make its debut this year on the new European CR-V, building upon the traditional Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system. Traditional ACC systems keep a preselected longitudinal velocity, which is only reduced for maintaining a safe distance to a car in front. However, if a vehicle cuts-in from a neighboring lane, the traditional ACC system reacts later thus requiring stronger braking.

The new i-ACC system is able to compute the likelihood of a cut-in up to five seconds before it occurs, and is therefore designed to react very smoothly so as not to startle the driver, who might not yet be aware of the imminent cut-in. In this case the system applies just a mild brake initially, with an icon appearing on the driver display, informing the driver why a slow-down occurs. It then proceeds to apply a stronger brake to adapt the velocity to keep a safe distance. Dr. Kleinehagenbrock, responsible for i-ACC at Honda R&D Europe (in Germany) GmbH says, "i-ACC takes cruise control systems to a whole new level, offering what we call ‘predictive safety.’"

The real question is if this technology has application in an American market. Do you think American's use cruise control differently than our European counterparts? Would you find this technology helpful? 

You can read more about this technology here.

Honda Fit, Accord and CR-V Named Best Family Cars for 2015

The parenting experts and car experts at Parents magazine and Edmonds.com picked the 10 best family cars and there are 3 Hondas on list: Honda Fit, Honda Accord and Honda CR-V. These three family friendly Honda vehicles earned the top crashworthiness ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  The experts we also impressed that each vehicle is equipped with a standard rearview camera.  These three models were selected out of hundreds of models because they excel in the key areas of safety, convenience features, performance and value.

The Accord was recognized as one of the top sedans for families for the third straight year.

The 2015 CR-V was recognized as one of the best crossovers for families.

The spacious, fuel-efficient and versatile 2015 Honda Fit was chosen as one of the best budget cars on the annual list.

The full list will be featured in the July 2015 issue of Parents magazine available on June 9th.

In Head-to-head Comparison of Small SUVs Honda Wins

The head-to-head challenge in the Compact SUV Challenge was triple sponsored by Cars.com, USA Today and MotorWeek.  The rules of the challenge: find the best compact SUV for a modest price ($28,000) that's about $5000 less than the average new-car price today, and with a budget friendly EPA mileage rating of at least 26 mpg in combined city-highway driving.

Three days of testing included: A 100-mile drive in and around Baltimore mixing city traffic, rural roads and interstate to judge real-world fuel economy.  A day for the experts to judge all seven SUVs over the same route back-to-back.  A day for the family judges to evaluate and then to drive each on the same route back-to-back.

The winner?  Chosen by a panel of experts--including a family who's actually shopping for a small SUV--the Honda CR-V was selected the winner in all around appeal of its combination of feature and driving feel.

Notable features at this price: All-wheel drive, heated seats, moon roof, remote key.

What the judges liked: Creature comforts: "Love the easy-to-fold seats and low load floor," said Brian Robinson, producer of PBS MotorWeek. "A lot of extra features for the money," said Fred Meier, auto editor at USA Today. The CR-V's continuously variable automatic transmission behaved enough like a conventional automatic that Meier noted, "It could fool you. Nissan and Subaru could learn a thing or two."

Bottom line: "The best blend of good interior room, excellent visibility and a surprisingly rewarding driving experience ... power it to the top of my scorecard," said Bill Jackson, assistant managing editor of Cars.com.

Read the entire article on USA Today.

Looking to buy a new or used car by July 31, 2015?  Get an extra $100 off here.  This offer may be combined with any other discount or sale.

10 Cars That Go Over 200,000 Miles | 5 Are Hondas

For its June issue, Consumer Report ran an assessment of vehicles that are most likely to turn over 200,000 miles.  

As the USA Today put it, "With the average amount paid for a new car now firmly above $30,000, it makes sense to hold on to a vehicle as long as possible in order to squeeze every usable mile out of it before it needs to be traded in. But when it come to the long-mileage derby, the car you choose can make a big difference on whether you'll hit the magic 200,000-mile mark."

So which cars will get you to 200,000? Five are Hondas.  Five are Toyotas.  No other cars or brands made the list. 

The most trustworthy Hondas: 

Honda Odyssey

Honda Pilot

Honda Accord sedan

Honda CRV

and, of course, the Honda Civic. 

Read the rest of USA Today's article here.

Don't Mind Us...

...we're just winning more awards!

The Honda CR-V has won Motor Trend Sport/Utility of the Year for 2015.

The CR-V claims the title with a long list of vehicle enhancements for 2015, including its improved fuel economy and uncompromising driving dynamics, thanks to the inclusion of Honda's Earth Dreams Technology™ power train, the launch of an all-new Touring trim, the debut of Honda Sensing™ safety and driver assistive technologies, and the CR-V's excellent value for money paradigm.

Motor Trend editor-in-chief Ed Loh, said, "The 2015 Honda CR-V impressed our judges with its extensive list of delightful design and thoughtful engineering improvements. Our editors were especially impressed by Honda's responsive and efficient continuously-variable transmission and sophisticated safety systems – particularly the smart and seamlessly integrated Lane Keeping Assist system. Efficient, practical, and a joy to drive; the 2015 Honda CR-V does virtually everything well."

"It is an honor to receive such a prestigious award from the expert staff at Motor Trend," said Jeff Conrad, SVP & General Manager of Honda Division, American Honda Motor Co, Inc. "Our engineers, planners, and dealers work hard to deliver class leading products to our customers, and it's extremely rewarding to be recognized for that hard work. This award from Motor Trend reaffirms for us that we're meeting that goal."

Priced from $23,320, the CR-V is offered with:

• Honda Earth Dreams Technology™ 
• 185-horsepower, 2.4-liter direct-injected four-cylinder engine
• CVT (continuously variable transmission)
• either front- or all-wheel drive
• EPA-estimated 27 mpg city/34 mpg highway/ 29 mpg combined for front-wheel-drive models, and 26/33/28-mpg for all-wheel drive (best-in-class fuel economy!)

The 2015 CR-V is expected to receive a Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and its official safety ratings will be released later this year. The 2015 CR-V is manufactured exclusively for the North American market at Honda plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico using domestic and globally sourced parts.

The recognition from Motor Trend validates the sales success of the Honda CR-V, which sold more than 300,000 units last year, and is on track to do the same in 2014. CR-V's strong sales performance has been a consistent triumph for the Honda brand since the vehicle's introduction, leading CR-V to become the best-selling SUV in the industry over the past decade.

Okay, now that we're done apple-polishing, go take your own test drive of the CR-V at Ken Garff Honda of Orem.  We'll even let you start with a virtual test drive here.

Off-Roading with Sugar

Sugar and I packed up and went on a little camping trip with some friends over Memorial Day weekend. Under normal circumstances, neither Sugar nor I would head off into the wilderness to get a dirt under our nails, but sometimes you just need a good adventure.

As far as I knew, we were going to a nice little town a couple of hours away for what promised to be practically-backyard-camping.

I was a little misled.

By the way, the trunk on my Accord is humongous.  I don't know how I keep forgetting that...but I was pleasantly shocked at how much gear I manged to get in there: a tent, two camp chairs, cooler, sleeping bag, air mattress, the kitchen sink... you get the idea. Who needs an SUV?  (Okay, I wouldn't turn down the new Honda CRV or the feisty, new Crosstour...but I digress.)

So off we went—Sugar, the fella, and I—into the woods to get our camp on. Getting to the site wasn't that bad.  By the time we got there, we were just a little dusty and bug-spattered.  Nothing too terrible.  But the next morning we decided to drive up the canyon to take a few pictures of a lake we'd heard about.  The "end of paved road" sign gave me a mild case of heart failure, but the fella is a good driver, so we pressed on (me trying not to think of how many things could go wrong far, far from cell service).

As we bucked and banged our way past truck after 4-wheel drive truck, I was a little bit proud of how Sugar handled herself.  We got some funny looks, for sure, but we never got stuck!  The fella took his car (*cough* not-a-Honda!) into the hills the very next weekend and complained rather loudly about how much he missed Sugar!  That's right... the guy who once called my girl boring is suddenly a fan!  Still, let's just say I'm glad this month is tire month at the Ken Garff Honda of Orem dealership because we were the only 4-door sedan braving the places we went and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need an alignment.

Spring Fling

by Andrea Harris

I cheated on Sugar.  Scandalous, I know!  She was having her cosmetic surgery after this winter’s little mishap and I needed something else to drive in her absence.  My favorite guy at Ken Garff Honda of Orem, Wendell Wood, kindly set me up with a brand new Honda CR-V for the week. Don’t tell, but I was nervous.  Is that weird?  While I cut my driving teeth bombing around many a parking lot in my dad’s huge, red pickup truck, I think of myself as an almost exclusively small car person.  I like the way I connect with the road and the car just feels like an extension of my body. (Not that I’ve given it any thought... ever.)  Honestly, I feel like I’m just floating around loose in anything much bigger than my Accord, so when Wendell handed me the keys to a mid-size SUV I tried to not have a stroke.  

I shouldn’t have worried. The CR-V handled like a car and I mean that as a compliment.  I didn’t feel like I was hogging the road at all.  Even better?  When I got into the labyrinth of the underground parking at my work, my new, silver best friend handled the 90 degree turns it takes to squeeze into the mirco stalls with surprising ease. I loved (LOOOVED!) the rear view cameras, too.  It made backing out against the behemoth SUV who had parked opposite me a breeze.  I could see exactly where I was in relation to everything in my path.  Frankly, it was one of my favorite features.  ( Shhh...I may or may not have backed into a parked trailer or pile of rebar or two in my time.)  And while I don’t have kids, I live in a condo complex FULL of kids who love playing the parking lot.  Every spring, I worry that one of those kids is going to zip behind me on a scooter in the .25 seconds I’m looking the other way. So, the feature that I enjoyed as a luxury for the week is literally a lifesaver.  I’ll say it outloud, I was falling in like pretty hard.

But the CR-V wasn’t just a pleasure to drive. The morning I’d come to pick Sterling (What? I’m just a girl who likes to name her rides...) up Wendell had shown me the a few of his bells and whistles.  In about 1 minute, we had linked my phone to the car stereo so that I could stream Pandora, iTunes, or even make a quick phone call.  The only downside was my uber-awkward chick music (**cough** Alanis Morissette? Who put that in my iTunes?!) blasting from the stereo once we got the blue-tooths talking.  Wendell was nice enough to pretend he didn’t notice and frankly, I was too busy getting good and drunk on that new car smell to switch songs.

The deluxe features didn’t end there, though. “Hey,” Wendell said, pointing to a green button by the steering wheel, “Push that.  It’s your Econ button. It’ll take a little away a from your power, but it gives you great fuel economy.  You won’t even notice.”  He was right. I didn’t notice a thing. I don’t know how much more giddy-up Sterling had compared to Sugar, but I’m lucky I didn’t get pulled over!  It drove so smoothly that I really had to pay attention to the speedometer. Driving to work every morning, I found myself zooming right along.  I can’t imagine what would happen if I turned off the Econ feature.  I had a wild urge to turn it off and completely turn him loose, but I resisted.  

I wasn’t the only one in digging my new ride.  I was actually stopped by a guy in parking lot who started asking all about the newest CR-V features.  When I showed him all the new perks, he looked a little disappointed when he had to go back to his older model, you guessed it, CR-V.  This is a vehicle with a fan base!   

Honestly, if I could justify it, I’d get one in a heartbeat. Mentally I added the Honda CR-V to my “cars-that-are-way-cooler-than-a-mini-van-but-just-as-practical” list.  It would have comfortably fit a couple of carseats, a stroller, groceries, 2x4s for that new fence project, and a happy couple in the front seat.  In short, Sterling was the perfect fling that really made me want to settle down so I could spend the rest of my life getting great fuel economy and vacuuming graham cracker crumbs.    

Cute Culture Chick Honda Test Drive

Blogger #2 from our #HondaTestDrive is Nicole Bullock, who chose to drive a 2013 Honda CRV.

As luck had it, it was Nicole's birthday this week.  So she and a bunch of friends, piled in the CRV for a birthday lunch.  

After a couple of days of test driving, Nicole wrote a blog post about the CRV.  

Nicole is a funny, funny lady.  So she wrapped up her week with this post...

*****

Breaking up is hard to do.  Especially when you're in love.  John Mayer has a song I love called "Split Screen Sadness," which is about breaking up (even when you know you're good together in so many ways).

Last night was my final night of my week with the 2013 Honda CRV EXL that was lent to me by Ken Garff Honda of Orem.  I needed to go up to Bountiful to borrow some snow pants for my daughter's winter campout for school, so I figured it was a good time to take a nice long drive by myself.  

You can read the rest of her post here.  So. Funny!

*****

We're sorry that Nicole had to break up with her CRV, but happy that she had so much fun with her Honda.