Pilot

Have you ever wondered where your Honda came from? Honda has a number of manufacturing facilities across the country that all specialize in particular areas. This week, one facility in particular has something to celebrate.

This month marked the tenth anniversary of Honda Manufacturing of Alabama (HMA). On November 14, 2001, the Alabama manufacturing facility began production on the Odyssey minivan.

Located in Lincoln, Alabama, the facility is responsible for the global production of Odyssey minivans, Pilot sport utility vehicles and Ridgeline pick-up trucks, plus V-6 engines. The plant has an annual production capacity for 300,000 vehicles and V-6 engines, and is the largest Honda light truck production source in the world. HMA performs a number of operations, including stamping, welding, painting, casting, assembly and sub-assembly, testing, quality assurance, and more.

Honda recently announced that it would be investing an additional $84 million to the Alabama facility. The funding will help increase production by another 40,000 vehicles and provide 100 new jobs. The Alabama facility already employs over 4,000 associates, and a recent addition provided a new Honda Engineering facility, on-site consolidation center and steel blanking operation.

Like Honda Motors, the Alabama facility is a leader in environmental innovation and stewardship and has dedicated a company-wide commitment to maintaining the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. HMA was actually the first Honda facility to introduce a zero-waste-to-landfill commitment when it first opened in 2001. Today, HMA is one of ten Honda Zero Landfill Facilities, and the other four facilities are “virtually zero” waste to landfill. HMA has also received Energy Star wards from the EPA based on the facility’s advances in reducing energy usage in the production process.

HMA has established itself as an environmental leader and has seen much success in the past decade. Hopefully we will see the same success and leadership in the decade to come.

Source: Honda Alabama

 

Planning a lot of road trips this year?

You may want to check out the new 2012 Honda Pilot.

In case you haven’t already heard, the Honda Pilot has been redesigned for 2012, and, since its release this fall, has seen sales jump.  The redesign includes a number of new features, as seen in the commercial, including an improved fuel efficiency of 25mpg on the highway.

 

To demonstrate all the nifty new features, Honda created a commercial that follows a family on a road trip and showcases the variety of possibilities the Pilot has to offer.  Using a mix of real life actors and diorama sets, the commercial begins with a family packing their 2WD Touring model at sunrise and shows off the power tailgate and rearview camera.

 

The Pilot seats eight, perfect for large families planning a vacation together.  With the Pilot’s navigation system with voice recognition and FM traffic (available on the EX-L and standard on the Touring), drivers can get to their destination sooner and minimize the number of “Are we there yet?”s emanating from the back seat.

 

Other features that are available include Bluetooth HandsFreeLink, Song by Voice, a USB Audio Interface and Honda’s DVD Rear Entertainment System.  It’s also available in 4-wheel drive and comes with Vehicle Stability Assist to help drivers maintain control of the vehicle in case they over or under steer.  And of course, to address every family’s main concern, the Pilot’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure helps protect the driver and passengers.

 

If the features don’t do enough talking, it also helps to know that the Pilot recently won Cars.com’s Best 3-Row SUV for $37,000, which was judged not only by experts, but also by a family of four – the ultimate judge for any family vehicle.

 

The 2012 Honda Pilot is now available at Your Penske Honda Dealerships. If you’re interested in a test drive, one of our helpful staff members would be happy to assist you.