Honda hints at next Ridgeline pickup with Baja Race Truck
More than 2,500 exhibitors are crowding into the giant convention center this week to take a look at the latest ideas in automotive customization. Some automakers use the event to introduce accessories or see what customizers can do with their cars. Some
HONDA HINTS AT NEXT RIDGELINE PICKUP
Some will see a race truck. Others will see the next midsize pickup from Honda.
Honda has revealed what it’s calling the Ridgeline Baja Race Truck. It’s an offroader meant for tackling the famous rutted race in Mexico. But it’s also meant to offer a peek at the next Ridgeline pickup. And what a change it will be. The new design has a distinctive new hood and — in the biggest change — it adopts a more traditional pickup design. That means the stylish, high-sided look will be ditched in favor of a traditional box.
With more aggressive looks, Honda hopes to reach deeper into the heart of a revived midsize pickup market.
“The outgoing Ridgeline was something traditional truck drivers had to explain,” says John Mendel, Honda’s executive vice president.
That won’t be the case with the new design, he says.
The next Ridgeline is expected to be shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month.
JAPANESE ECONOMY CAR BECOMES A LOW RIDER
It’s the answer to the question that no one asked: What happens if you take a Japanese economy car and turn it into an East L.A.style low rider?
The result is a diminutive yellow Scion iA, the brand’s new entry-level sedan, sitting outside the convention center here with a chromed chain steering wheel, fancy rims and a big sound system. There’s detailed metal etching around the windows. Oh, and it hops. Scion is showing the car as an example of how its vehicles can be customized. It’s also trying to generate interest in the iA, its first sedan and meant to appeal to young customers just starting out.
Seeing it is a bit of a shock. Low riders are typically huge fullsized American sedans, such as the 1963 to 1965 Chevrolet Impalas or, lately, Lincoln Town Cars.
The car was the brainchild of Eddie Huang, who is behind the TV series Fresh Off The Boat, and was built by Scott Kanemura, president of KMA Industries in Torrance, Calif.
“I’ve always been a fan of the low-rider scene since the 1980s,” Kanemura says.
But the build was difficult, especially having to reconfigure the front struts and add air bags to the suspension that allows the car to do its wild stunts.
KIA TURNS MIDSIZE CAR INTO CONVERTIBLE
If you’re going to cruise along Biscayne Bay, this is the car for it.
Kia is showing a customized version of its Optima sedan that looks right out of a Florida tourism brochure. It’s one of the most attractive cars on display.
Kia offficials say they aren’t contemplating a convertible version of its popular midsize car. So you can’t buy the droptop, but it is aimed at showing how imagination and custom parts can create a whole new kind of car.
It’s called the A1A Optima, named for the A1A highway that runs along Florida beaches.
Basically, it’s a new Optima — the latest model just went on sale — that has been turned into a convertible. The rear doors are now hinged from the back, and it has abundant, splendid white upholstery.