2012 Honda Pilot on roads from LA to Phoenix
There is an undeniable feeling of liberation from urban life when one has an opportunity to enjoy vast desert vistas. We recently took the 2012 Honda Pilot on roads from LA to Phoenix and back, enjoying fabulous desert views in comfort and safety.
The 2012 Honda Pilot has received the Cars.com “Family Car of the Year” and we, the Family Car Cousins (Carguy and Wayback), give this 8 passenger SUV two thumbs up.
Wayback notes that Honda includes the Pilot’s scrunchy third row (way back seat) as big enough for 3 passengera in their 8 count. “There’s almost no leg room for the way back seaters!” he exclaims, “I wouldn’t want to be stuck back in the way back seat with two other kids on a long trip. And the way back is just plain too small for adults.”
Note however that Carguy and Wayback are both over 6 feet tall.
The Honda Pilot has a 250 horsepower 3.5 Liter V6 under the hood, a fun DVD entertainment system with wireless headsets in the rear seat, as well as voice recognition navigation system and three-row side curtain airbags.
The Pilot is perfect for family road trips to deserts, as well as to mountains, forests, shorelines, and elsewhere. It will cost your family just over $40K to get into it and gets a combined fuel economy rating of 20 miles per gallon.
Many new models signify a turnaround for the auto industry — and good news for families
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Just as Dickens described, the global automotive industry, which has suffered through the economic apocalypse of recent years, is entering 2012 with a positive outlook and a plan for a much brighter future.
The compact crossover Buick Encore is just one of 47 new or redesigned models due out in 2012.
Over the past three months, automakers have filled two major auto shows — in Los Angeles and Detroit — with many more new and improved models than in previous years. An excellent wrap-up story about last week’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit by New York Times Auto Writer Lawrence Ulrich, points out that the dog days of the auto industry are now in the rear view mirror.
The number of new-models introduced at the 2012 Detroit auto show suggest a growing recovery from a downturn that felled some brands entirely and caused other automakers to scale back new-model development or delay production plans. As consumers return to showrooms in coming years — many by necessity, with the median age of the American car near record highs — they’ll be tempted by an explosion of new models.
Subtracting models lost when brands like Pontiac were shuttered, the industry’s net gain in new models was just four in 2010 and 13 in 2011, according to LMC Automotive, a research firm. Looking ahead, LMC projects a turnaround in which consumers will see net gains of 47 new or redesigned models in 2012, 66 in 2013 and 47 more in 2014.
Ulrich also provides a round-up of all the new models at the Detroit show.
The Family Car attended both the LA and Detroit shows. Click below to view quick video overviews from each show:
2011 Los Angeles International Auto Show
2012 North American International Auto Show
