Career Day at Breakaway Honda

On April 14th and 15th Breakaway Honda sponsored a career day for local middle schools and High Schools.

Students were introduced to both the sales and service aspects of the Automotive industry.

http://www.breakawayhonda.com/dealership/news.htm

http://www.prlog.org/10219781-greenville-honda-dealer-host-career-day.html

Dog-friendly Honda Element Concept Transforms SUV into Pet-hauling Champ

TORRANCE, Calif., U.S.A., April 8, 2009 - New dog-friendly transportation concepts designed for the Honda Element add canine-specific enhancements to one of the most dog-friendly vehicles available, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced at the New York International Auto Show

Developed specifically for the Element, the Dog Friendly™ components demonstrate the potential for a dedicated pet restraint system designed to meet the needs of dog owners. A finalized version of the Dog Friendly Element is scheduled to debut this fall. Major components will likely include:
a cushioned second row and cargo area pet restraint systems;
pet bed in the cargo area with an elevated platform;
an extendable cargo area load-in ramp;
a 12V DC rear ventilation fan;
second-row seat covers with a dog pattern design (matches the bed fabric);
all-season rubber floor mats with a toy bone pattern;
a spill-resistant water bowl; and
Dog Friendly exterior emblems

"In an interesting turn of events, cars are now chasing dogs," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. "Factory integration of a cushioned pet bed, restraint systems and other components is intended to transform the Element into the ultimate dog car." The Dog Friendly equipment, engineered specifically for the Element, is designed to accommodate the transportation of dogs in the second-row passenger seats or in the cargo area. The restraint system concepts were designed and fabricated by Takata Corporation, one of the world's leading automotive safety systems suppliers, exclusively for display on the Dog Friendly Honda Element concept vehicle. The restraint concepts are intended to complement the potential of the vehicle's existing restraint systems by helping to protect the dog and helping to prevent injuries to other vehicle occupants due to an unrestrained dog impacting them in a collision. For convenience, a ramp is included to help dogs access the rear cargo area. The ramp stores underneath the bed platform and can be conveniently accessed when the rear tailgate is down. "In-vehicle pet restraints should be part of every dog owner's safe travel practices," said Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "The expanded availability of manufacturer-based restraints and features can help elevate pet comfort and convenience for owners. Good ventilation and access to water on longer trips should also be primary concerns." The Element has long been recognized for its dog-friendly interior with an easy-to-clean urethane floor and expansive, flat cargo area (up to 74.6 cu-ft. with rear seats removed), wide-opening side cargo doors, low lift-in height, and accommodating dimensions for tall items. The consumer pet travel advice Web site, Dogcars.com, honored the 2007 Honda Element with its first-ever "Dog Car of the Year" award. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc., 39 percent of all households own at least one dog with an estimated total U.S. dog population of 74.8 million. All pet purchases and related products and services comprise an estimated total market value of more than $43 billion (2008 est.). Substantially restyled for the 2009 model year and available with new features, the Honda Element builds on its spacious and versatile SUV character with a more chiseled exterior appearance and a refreshed interior design. Three unique Element styles are available that range from the rugged and simple Element LX, to the more refined Element EX, to the sporty Element SC.

Breakaway Honda

Tax Breaks for New Cars

New car buyers may be eligible for tax breaks on their new car purchase. According to the IRS consumers who purchase a new car, light truck, motorcycle or motor home with a value less than $49,500 will be eligible for a tax deduction for the amount of sales tax paid on that vehicle. To qualify the purchase must of been made after Feb 16Th 2009 and before January 1st 2010. The amount of the deduction is phased out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is between $125,000 and $135,000 for individual filers and between $250,000 and $260,000 for joint filers. The deduction is available regardless of whether a taxpayer itemizes their return.
It may not be taken on 2008 tax returns.

Breakaway Honda

Breakaway Honda earns 2008 Honda Presidents Award

Breakaway Honda Earns 2008 President's Award

Breakaway also won the Award in 2006, 2003 and 2002



The Honda President's Award is the most prestigious and coveted honor that Honda can grant to its dealerships.

Each year the Honda President’s Award is given to dealerships that rank in the top 15 percent nationwide for achieving excellence in:

• Customer Treatment
• Sales
• Training
• Facility Image

With over 950 Honda dealerships in the United States, Honda is pleased to recognize 149 dealerships with this esteemed distinction. President's Award recipients realize what this honor demands - excellence, which can only be achieved by working as a team. The President's Award reflects a total commitment to customers; it is the highest award that a Honda dealership can receive because it demands the highest personal investment and stimulates the greatest results satisfied, loyal customers.

Breakaway Honda

Demand for New Honda Insight Soars

Honda said that demand for hybrid vehicle Insight is soaring in Japan with orders topping its monthly target of 5,000 in just over a week.

The launch of the cheapest hybrid vehicle came amid a devastating slump in the global car market.

But Honda said demand for the Insight has been so brisk that the company has received more than 5,000 orders, easily beating its monthly target.

"This is so much better than expected.

Even before the launch, Honda had received about 5,000 orders for the Insight, Asanuma said. The Insight goes on sale in April in the US, and in March for Europe.

Honda's Insight is cheaper than Toyota's Prius, the most popular hybrid.
Hybrids tend to be more expensive than regular cars because they come packed with both a petrol engine and an electric motor. Switching between the systems, depending on speed, boosts mileage.

We are taking orders for the new Insight coming April 22 2009

http://www.breakawayhonda.com/

How does your Truck Stack Up

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/uptospeed/2009/02/pickups-fail-sa.html

Honda RidgeLine chosen as a top safety pick by IIHS

The battle to produce the biggest, toughest, meanest pickup is never-ending. Carmakers spend breathtaking amounts of time, energy and money boosting horsepower, features, towing capacity and the like. Apparently, amid all the brawn and dust and sweat and steel-alloyed testosterone, a little something called safety sometimes gets left behind.

According to newly released safety ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, of the six vehicles it places in the full-size pickup category, only three receive the highest marks for side-impact protection, and only four make the cut for rear-impact protection.

The safety laggards are the Nissan Titan and the Chevy Silverado, the second-best selling pickup in the country. For side impact safety, both are rated as "poor" in the IIHS's four-grade rating system (good, acceptable, marginal and poor), and both rank only "acceptable" in rear-end crashes. The Dodge Ram was only a bit better, scoring an uninspiring "marginal" for side impact.

A shining star, meanwhile, is the Honda Ridgeline , which netted perfect "good" ratings for front, side and rear impact.

Tough break for the Titan, Silverado and Ram. But hey, at least they're safer than cars, right?
Wrong, said David Zuby, senior vice president of the IIHS. "The size, weight and height of these large pickups should help them ace the side tests, just like the other large pickups we’ve tested," he said. "Not these three; they perform worse than many cars we’ve evaluated.” In fact, according to the IIHS, not a single midsized sedan scored lower than "acceptable."
Ouch....
According to the IIHS, the side-impact test is a good test for comparing vehicle safety since the institute uses the same size, weight and speed of an object to smack into the car being tested every time (it uses a truck or SUV-shaped barrier moving at 31 miles per hour). A frontal test is not so hot for that, because the mass of the test vehicle will differ.
So all things being equal in a side-impact test, trucks should always be safer, the IIHS said, since the passengers are higher off the ground, not to mention that trucks weigh more and tend to use more thick steel and nifty steel runners and the like. Get side-smacked in a truck, the thinking goes, and break a leg, but not much else. Cars, on the other hand, tend to put human livers, hearts and lungs right at bumper level.
What gives?

The Honda kept the crash on the outside of the cabin, where it belongs. Meanwhile, said the IIHS, the Silverado's lack of side torso airbags is a major problem, as are its insufficiently strong side structures. Nada bien. Crash-test dummies got broken ribs and internal organ damage. Adding the optional side curtain airbags did nothing to improve the picture.

The Ram and the Titan have beefier sides and doors, apparently, but the Ram also lacks side-torso airbags, and on the Titan they're only available as an option. With the airbags, the Titan jumps up to a "marginal" rating -- hardly confidence-inspiring. The Ram, well, it has a Hemi.
To be fair, the other major crash testing body, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, throws its top rating, five stars, to the Silverado for side impact, while it awards four stars to the Titan and the Toyota Tundra (the Ram is not yet rated).
But the NHTSA side-impact test, unlike IIHS', uses a low-height barrier to smack into the test vehicle, rather than a high one, and high impact is considered a much better test of structural integrity. It's like a body blow versus a uppercut to the jaw. As a result, NHTSA tends to rank most vehicles with four of five stars in side impact, whereas many vehicles score poorly in IIHS testing.

“It’s certainly possible to design a large pickup that offers good occupant protection in side crashes,” Zuby said. Unfortunately, according to his group's testing, Nissan, GM and Chrysler didn't quite do that this time around.

-- Ken Bensinger

http://www.breakawayhonda.com/