Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Honda Pilot

When the new 2009 Honda Pilot turned up as a concept at the Detroit Auto Show in January, most observers were decidedly underwhelmed. Unlike many other recent crossovers, notably the GM Lambdas, Honda chose to go with a decidedly more utilitarian look for the second-generation Pilot. As Honda officials explained when we gathered for a preview drive of the 2009 Pilot, they wanted to retain the "Utility" in CUV and a big part of that involved maximizing the useful interior volume within the Pilot's relatively modest exterior dimensions. That means a boxy shape that provides room for up to eight (at least as defined by the seat-belts) inside.

While the Pilot won't be challenging the Buick Enclave or Mazda CX-9 for style points, it isn't too painful on the eyes. It's more a case of being almost invisible. The greenhouse is actually strongly reminiscent of the first generation Jeep Liberty, only longer. In spite of the rather barn like shape, it's actually more aerodynamic than the original Pilot, resulting in substantially less wind noise. In fact, the Pilot has a whole range of improvements that reduce noise, which we'll explore a bit later. There are also some things that might be considered a step backwards. Read on after the jump to learn about our first drive in the new Pilot.


Photos Copyright © 2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

We all remember our first car, and some of us have managed to hang on to that car for years. While we all have some kind of impression left on us by our inagural vehicles, Clarence Curtiss' story is far better than any yarn we could spin. The 1929 Ford Model A shown above was purchased by a 15-year-old Curtiss for $10 in 1938, and he's had it ever since. The most charming part is that Curtiss and his future wife Dorothy carved their initials into the steering wheel shortly after he'd bought the car, and they went on to be married for 56 years. To this day, you can see the characters scratched into the bakelite.

Though the A is unrestored and has racked up 200,000 miles, it's not entirely original. Way back in his teenage days, a Hudson Terraplane's powerplant found it way under the front bodywork. It seems that the A just didn't have enough speed to satisfy a young Mr. Curtiss. The Terraplane engine fixed matters, enabling the speedometer needle to twist itself deep to the right. Curtiss, who eventually owned Curtiss-Ryan Honda, still takes the Model A to car shows, and it's just one of the roughly 25 cars he owns.

Thanks for the tip, Matt

[Source: NY Times]

The good news is that GM posted a profit of $62 million, which is the company's second consecutive quarterly profit. The bad news is that the $62 million represents a 90% decline in profits from the first quarter of 2006, which were $602 million. There is a silver lining: the drop is due to losses at GMAC Financial Services, and not the automotive business. In fact, automotive operations improved and GM had record vehicle sales worldwide.

GMAC's profit issues stem from the subprime lending market for residential mortgages. GM still owns 49% of GMAC, with the other 51% purchased by a private equity group last year. The recent -- and ongoing -- implosion of that market doesn't bode well for GMAC's numbers for the rest of the year.

As for GM, automotive revenue was down by $700 million, but GM sold 3% more cars worldwide. The average transaction price per vehicle rose as well, by $1,000. However, due to GM's efforts to cut back on small margin fleet sales and reduce incentives, production was cut by 192,000 units in North America. While the company lost $85 million on core operations this quarter, 2006 Q1's adjusted loss was $251 million. Analysts and GM are disappointed by the numbers, especially because new products have just been launched that were expected to fare better in the marketplace. All parties are looking to the upcoming labor negotiations with the UAW to see what GM can achieve toward its goal of cutting annual costs by $9 billion this year.

[Source: Breitbart]