Being a popular car brand means, typically, developing a next generation car almost as soon as the one you just designed gets out the door. Does that make sense? People are keeping their cars longer, and modern cars are generally very good.
I’m sure Honda would like to refresh its current lineup of vehicles. I’m sure Honda also would like to have back the billions it poured into EV development. If you can’t change the past, at least you can hope to change the future. That’s what Honda is trying to do, but it ain’t happening overnight.
Your humble Morning Dump author meets a fair number of celebrities in this line of work, but I’m not one to brag. I did meet Serena Williams last year and she was an absolute delight. Now, she’s getting her own Lincoln, and it’s as charming as she is. Oh, and guess who helped it come to life?
There are more tariff threats and, honestly, this is all getting pretty exhausting, so I’ll keep it brief. In less exhausting news, the Kia EV6 isn’t a bad little electric car, and now it’s way more competitively priced. I’d still probably buy a used one, but the delta between new and used has gotten a lot smaller.
I Hope You Like The Odyssey, Because It’ll Be Mostly The Same Odyssey For A While
The EV hype cycle led a bunch of companies to make a bunch of weird decisions, many of which collided with both market realities and a sudden shift in government priorities. Honda tried to hedge its bets a little by having GM build its first large scale EV project. That worked until it didn’t.
Instead of putting a lot of time and money into developing a V6 AWD hybrid system, Honda poured billions into EV projects it would eventually cancel. Toyota, on the other hand, put a lot of its cash into developed various hybrid platforms, including an AWD system for larger vehicles. Looking at the market, Honda has, essentially, four hybrids whereas Toyota has nearly 30.
You can see where this is going, and Automotive News has the update you were probably expecting:
Honda, in a supplier memo reviewed by Automotive News, said it will extend production of the Odyssey, Accord and HR-V, as well as the Acura MDX and Integra.
Next-generation models of the nameplates won’t arrive until the end of the decade at the earliest, according to the memo.
Here’s Honda’s statement on the story:
“We are not going to comment on future product plans. We are very confident and excited in our future product strategy including our previously announced plans to advance our award-winning hybrid technology to more models.”
The last Odyssey got approximately seven years before redesigns. At this rate, the current Odyssey may go as long as 13 years. The Kia Carnival is relatively new and has a hybrid. The Toyota Sienna is newer and has an AWD hybrid version. Only the Pacifica is older.
I like the Odyssey, obviously, and perhaps the extension of the platform means that Honda can offer it at an increasingly competitive price? Maybe that’s true of the other vehicles in the lineup that are also aging?
As one dealer points out to AN, it’s not quite that simple:
“New product drives new consumers to the brand and reinvigorates existing loyalists,” the dealer said. “When we extend the product cycle beyond the standard five-year period, the product tends to start getting stale, and you start seeing defections.”
There’s an obvious solution here. Our pal Bisi already pointed out that you can make a manual, Type R Odyssey minivan. You know Toyota isn’t going to do it. In fact, no one else is going to do it. The Honda is already the best-handling minivan in the class by a large margin, so why not make a fun halo model for a little while?
It’ll make everyone happy. Everyone. Well, it’ll make me happy, but I’m a Honda owner!
[Ed Note: I think family cars can be old, as long as they’re safe. Families just need seats and a low asking price, which is why the Dodge Journey did so well late into its life and why the Durango is still crushing it after 15 years. -DT].
Serena Williams Got A Custom Navigator From Lincoln And Galpin Auto Sports
It was a big deal when Lincoln poached Christine Park Cheng from Cadillac to head up the luxury brand’s design direction. I’m not sure if getting to work with Serena Williams to build a 1-of-1 Lincoln Navigator was one of the perks the company offered, but after hanging out briefly with Williams at Pebble Beach last year, I definitely get why that would be persuasive.
Celebrities and large Ford SUVs go together historically, and while this one might not be as brash as the Flexpedition, it’s far more tasteful:
The vehicle was customized by Galpin Lincoln in Los Angeles, a partner with a long history of offering customization and personalization options to Lincoln clients. The result is a luxurious one-of-a-kind Navigator that reflects Serena’s individuality, strength, and grace.
Serena shared that she has always loved three things: pink, hearts,
and roses. Our Brand-on-Vehicle Design Team created an elegant rose symbol, with one petal shaped like a heart, to merge her favorites together. The symbol appears on the B-pillar and as well as on the rear Split Gate.
Oh, hey, Galpin Lincoln? That means the folks at Galpin Auto Sports who did this bespoke work of art are also the same people who helped lift our Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. I wonder if this means they’ll be open to my super bespoke Ford Tempo project…
If there’s a feature I like best it’s the Clay Court interior, which is not a color I’d have imagined would work as well as it does.
If you can touch it or see it, GAS did something to make it a little extra special. You know… Ford did end up selling the Flexpedition. Perhaps a Serena Edition Navigator?
If I Had A Nickel For Every Tariff Threat…
Here’s hoping you’re not trying to import a European-built car in the near future, because the President has raised tariffs by 25% again.
“I am pleased to announce that, based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal, next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States,” Trump said Friday in a social media post. “The Tariff will be increased to 25%.”
Trump said the levies would not apply to automobiles built in US facilities. “It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce Cars and Trucks in U.S.A. Plants, there will be NO TARIFF,” the president said.
President Trump didn’t explain what, exactly, the EU has done. The EU has moved slowly to pass a final deal and is still working through some finer points, but moving slowly is the EU’s whole thing. It would be like getting upset that I chose a TMD song of the day featuring a woman with a guitar.
The New Kia EV6 Is Now Under $40k, Delivered
Kia dropped the EV6 GT for 2026 which, having driven it and the GT-Line, is totally fine. A super-fast EV6 was fun, but a regular GT6 is quick enough for most people. Kia also dropped the price.
Without the destination charge, the new EV6 is $37,900 for the Light SR RWD, which is $5,000 cheaper than the 2025 MY car. Even better, the Long Range RWD is just $41,200, which is also $5,000 cheaper.
Did Kia jack the destination charge a bunch to make up for it? Kia did not! The new destination is just $1,545, or a mere $70 more than last year (with fuel prices, that seems reasonable). Obviously, the $7,500 tax credit is gone, but if you’re buying and not leasing the lower base price is probably better.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
This was apparently a thing on TikTok last year and I missed it, mostly because I’m an Unc. Elizabeth Nichols has had me laughing this weekend with “I Got A New One.” So much modern country music is bad. This is good, with a real Robert Earl Keen energy I love. Also, the video has a half-ton of great trucks.
The Big Question
Do we care that platforms are lasting longer?
Top photo: Honda
Honda needs to put the 2.0T back in the Accord. Cowards.
If your market is protected why innovate.
I’m not against one model on a “mature” platform as a value-leader for people who appreciate solid “proven” engineering and don’t need or wanted the flashiest latest greatest of everything. I never buy cars in their first year, and I think used cars in the last years of their model cycle are often the best deals. But too many aging models is a problem.
I’m all here for platforms being produced longer for a few reasons. It gives the manufacturer time to work out bugs. It gives the used market more units to pick over when searching for used parts. Best of all, if they dare they could “refresh” a design by offering actual colors and sport packages.
It would also be a great way for a company to move away from screens and transition back to knobs and dials. They could introduce a new dash refresh with better controls. Modern vehicle controls are distracting, full stop. I’ll die on that hill. Screens suck.
Came here to say the same thing. They could do interior refreshes like the infotainment that may not bring new services or whatever but just improved usability.
I am totally okay with no redesigns. BUT, I think there should be some serious interior improvements in the entire mini-van game. Maybe they have fixed things, but during covid most seemed to scrap their best features and less and less had stow away seats and vacuums.
My issue is that Honda will more than likely be charging 50k for their lowest trim Odyssey by the end of the decade, when the exact same damn van could be had for 30k at the beginning of that generation. That’s total ass in my opinion.
As much as I don’t think total reinventions are necessary every 5 years, the low effort from manufactures makes me unsurprised at just how extremely blech and un-fun the current car market is. So don’t exactly be scratching your heads Honda, when the enthusiasm for your brand starts to wane with your lack of enthusiasm for your own customers.
That being said, Honda could build some cars in some real colors and I would forgive them for everything. Seriously Honda, go take your entire supply of Modern Steel Metallic and shoot it into the sun. You guys are total dicks for making 90 percent of your vans the same horrible gray color. It’s like you hate the people buying your expensive-ass vans.
Alright I’m done lol.
Just saying, if you take 29,999 in Dec 2018, that’s 38,600 in January 2026 dollars. And that’s just US inflation. Add in other factors and the price being bumped to 50k isn’t real surprising.
Maybe so, but there’s still a solid 5-7k unaccounted for, and since inflation has been pretty brutal, an extra 5-7k for roughly the same damn product beyond inflation seems… Exceptionally lame.
Again, if Honda would make any legit ancillary improvements or even paint their van green, I probably wouldn’t care and buy one anyway.
To be fair, if you are extending the life of a vehicle generation, the price should drop. You stretching life of existing tooling that’s already paid (and amortized) for. The real price should be dropping.
Agreed. Just pointing out that inflation alone is a large chunk of the likely price increase. It’s an indicator that global economics is probably responsible for a big chunk of the price going up, despite the vehicle becoming cheaper to build in theory.
“Do we care that platforms are lasting longer?”
I personally don’t. Case-in-Point… the old Chrysler LX platform. It was a great platform from the start. And as long as you didn’t want a BEV or a hybrid, it was a great platform right to the end.
And hybrids and BEVs are the biggest reason the LX needed a successor. But if it was up to me, I would have kept the LX cars around as an affordable big car with conventional powertrains… and had the replacements on the new STLA platform have hybrid and BEV powertrains.
Is it a good platform? Then I’m in the keep making it camp.
On another note.
Condolences to the family of Alex Zanardi who passed over the weekend at age 59.
This guy was fearless and a great example to us all, despite losing both legs in a racing accident in 2001.
I imagine he is already running laps up in Heaven as we speak.
Rest in peace Alex.
Feel free to toss more Serena Williams content our way. Or at least my way.
I’m not a country fan at all, but I liked that song and video!
Honda picked the wrong EV and hybrid strategy. Uncharacteristic, they’ve long been ahead of the curve.
The HR-V is newer and it’s a trendy segment, it’ll be good for awhile. The Odyssey is selling pretty well and as long as the ugly Sienna seems to be supply-constrained that’ll probably continue.
The Accord, though. Anyone looked at Accord sales over the past decade? That car is on the same sales trajectory that killed the Fusion and Malibu. The current generation is not resonating with buyers.
The current Accord is bland. The previous generation was sharp looking.
The decline started midway through the prior gen. It never bounced back from the Covid slump, just continued to drop.
I do care that platforms are lasting longer, but in the “it’s about time” sense. Maybe it’s just my age showing, but usually the rough spots get addressed and it’s better so changing it up just as things get good just seems irrational.
“it’s the Clay Court interior”
It’s the interior that puts the lotion on its skin.
I’m not sure what the were going for there, but it grosses me out and about the most charitable description of that picture is Silly Putty.
Clay Courts, like tennis? Like Roland Garros? Cuz Serena Williams = tennis player?
Yeah, I got that. What I don’t get is why they picked a particular hue and surface texture that makes it look like an epidermis rather than a tennis court.
That was my thought. I was tempted to look to see if there were any tattoos on the, uh, exotic leather.
Wait… Soilent Clay?
I don’t think the movie addressed the body components. Did they turn the entirety of them into food or did they use the different parts for different things, like skin for upholstery? I saw that movie about 30 years ago during a cheesy movie night and I mostly remember being bored. My friend insisted on renting it because SNL had him think it was Heston running through the whole movie screaming that it’s people and, while I ate too much pizza that made me tired, I don’t recall anything exciting happening until the very end.
Now, Zardoz—that was a movie! Come for the giant stone head spitting out guns and telling its followers to kill, stay for the weirdo immortal hippies, and just chalk up Sean Connery’s costume to the 70s.
Yep, there’s nothing wrong with an, ahem, mature platform, provided there was nothing wrong with it when it was new. If anything, Honda customers seek out reliability and value and are probably more willing to buy an older and proven design–especially if it gets a little cheaper compared to its competitors over time.
Just follow the Dodge playbook and add more power.
“New for 2032: the Accord Hellcat!”
Chuck in a transverse Haston RA626H hybrid.
Sadly, the transmission in the Odyssey has allegedly not been reliable.
Also, the Odyssey’s problem is not necessarily that it’s an old platform, it’s that it was not exactly groundbreaking even when it was introduced. The Pacifica is slightly older, but it was a massive leap from its own predecessor, and from the jump it offered features that are still not available on the Odyssey. (There’s still no surround-view camera available? Really, Honda?!!?)
There’s an upper limit here.
4-5 years for a Civic is a bit brief.
But around 10 years tends to be where IIHS starts to flag platforms doing poorly in crash test.
So, I’d say that we should update the platform in the 6-8 year range, but why can’t we re-use the suspension, brakes, engine, sparkplugs, et al. so that I can save on maintenance?
Lots of assets to long life platforms. Theu often have much cheaper parts with wide availability that along with the paid off design can bring cost of ownership down. If it’s good people who know what it is like it around. Most Honda buyers keep their cars for years anyway. Refreshes calm most people who don’t they think it’s something different. Not sure most buyers of models effected care much either way.
I think it is fine for mature platforms that have very little improvement potential to be old, but to go along with that, new platforms of entirely new types need to be developed. Honda using the same old platform for ICE vehicles would be no big deal, if they had been developing a new platform that would support the electrified Odysseys, Ridgelines, Pilots, etc that many commenters here keep asking for. Old platforms are fine, but having only old platforms and nothing new is a failure.
There are some people who are really happy with their vehicles and would love to buy the exact same thing new when their current vehicle wears out. If VW were to offer me the exact same 2018 Golf (even new old stock) in five years or so, I’d buy it. There’s nothing wrong with the design or engineering of that car. It’s definitely better than what they replaced it with. Especially in terms of ergonomics.
Honda needs to offer a 4-cylinder Odyssey. Offer the K24 for non-hybrid models, and the hybrid would be the 2.0 hybrid they already use in other cars. Also make them available on the Pilot and Ridgeline.
The Civic Si and base Integra should use the 250 hp 2.0T from the previous gen Accord.
Not quite. Toyota did spend billions adding hybrids to all their bread and butter vehicles. They also spent billions developing new EVs. The difference between Honda and Toyota is that Toyota didn’t cancel them at the last minute.
Today Toyota has the BZ, larger BZ Woodland and C-HR. The BEV Highlander is coming for 2027. Lexus has the RZ and ES and a 3 row electric crossover on the way. So 7 BEVs from Toyota for the USA + the clones they sell as Subarus.
Toyota is not a company avoiding EVs – they are a company quickly make a hybrid the standard choice for a gas powered vehicle.
Yeah. Toyota is low key killing it on EVs. They didn’t buy into the hype, just quietly set about electrifying their entire lineup.
They have also made pragmatic & disciplined choice to build their EVs to a price, keeping MSRPs roughly in the ballpark of hybrid/ICE equivalents.
While this means they haven’t been able to push the cutting edge of range or performance, they are still able to find customers who find the specifications satisfactory.
Toyota correctly realizes there is a hard limit to how much they can charge for a compact crossover, at a given trim/feature level. Better to come in within that cost ceiling (even if your product won’t meet everyone’s needs) than over-build and eliminate it from contention on cost alone.
Ex- The Ford Mach E (while a drastically better car) doesn’t fit into the same segment, or sell to the same demographic as its closest former equivalent within the lineup- The Escape. The Mach E probably should have been a Lincoln. Ford is now working hard to fix that mistake.
I think the Mach E effectively replaced the now discontinued Edge as a mid-size 2-row. I feel like mid-size 2-row CUVs don’t really compete on size like their name suggests, but more on features and aesthetic that can justify their higher price. That can be additional sportiness (Blazer, CX-70?), off-roadiness (Passport, Grand Cherokee, Outback), or luxury (Crown Signia & Venza, Murano?). Even if the Mach E isn’t bigger than the Escape, it still competes more directly with the Blazer EV than the Equinox EV. The upcoming Escape* EV should slot underneath it, though they may end up canceling the Mach E instead of giving it a refresh.
*Escape is a preliminary name for whatever compact crossover they make on the new EV platform after the compact truck.
This is an important point: The BZ4X got slaughtered in reviews, but Toyota didn’t cancel it, they kept at it and got an updated version out fairly quickly that was much better received. (Even more so for the Subaru versions.)
Meanwhile, Honda borrowed an EV platform from GM, the reviews were mixed but nothing as bad as the original BZ4X, and yet Honda immediately got cold feet and canceled the Prologue and most of their EV plans altogether.
I criticized Toyota when it looked like they had no roadmap for EVs. However, once they committed to EVs, they stayed firm and I applaud them for that. They also clearly made the right choice with hybrids, but that was a no-brainer — or at least it should have been? Every automaker who said that investing in hybrids was a wasted interim step* before EVs deserves to have Toyota eat their lunch. And I don’t even like Toyota products!
*What they really meant was, “We were greedy and made minimal investment into powertrain development for a decade too long.”
By what authority? Even the wildly corrupt Supreme Court ruled his tariffs were unconstitutional. Last I heard he had implemented new tariffs via some other mechanism (which may also be illegal but wasn’t covered by this ruling), but it didn’t allow per-country tariffs so he couldn’t use it to extort anyone in specific.
I know this gets into the political weeds more than you want, but it’s important context whether this is just Trump making idle threats that he can’t follow through on or an actual problem.
By the authority of “I do what I want”
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The Supreme Court did not strike down Trump’s automotive tariffs nor other industry specific tariffs like the ones on raw materials.
The new tariffs that Trump added after the originals were struck down are authorized under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 with gives the President authority to levy temporary global tariffs. They must be global and apply to all countries equally, be no more than 15% and the expire in 150 days unless authorized by Congress.
This is why the EU is mad. They made a agreement for a trade deal with the USA last year. Then just they were in the process of ratifying that trade deal the USA applied a new 15% tariff to everything from the EU – in violation of the trade agreement before it was even signed.
The Section 122 tariffs break the terms of every trade agreement we have with other countries – which gives other countries no incentive to made trade deals since the USA has shown that we will not abide by deals that we sign.
Today the USA is an unreliable trade partner.
Thanks, that’s exactly the info I was looking for.
Every accusation a confession from the current administration, color me shocked.
Today the USA is unreliable.
Let’s chill man. We can talk about this tomorrow on TACO Tuesday.
Cinco de Taco!
I have to wonder how much of the mad scramble in the red states to re-re-regerrymander is about disempowering the Black vote now that SCOTUS turned the Voting Rights Act into an engineless driveway ornament, and how much is about buying Trump another month or two of being able to threaten a primary challenge to any sitting Republican congresscritter who might otherwise find their spine under the bed.
Neither, it’s probably about power for the party. Those states are looking at a postTrump future.
Either that or it’s a race to the bottom thing for both parties.
The “Two Kings” authority.
I’ll be honest: in terms of ride,handling, safety, most cars built in the last 15 years or so are exceptional. Modern cars will easily run 200k+ miles with minimal maintenance. Hybrid tech is now well proven and should be on all non-EV cars. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Yes, in the ’50s and ’60s Detriot draped new bodywork over the same old tired frame each year to make a “new” car.
50s and 60s? The last generation Crown Victoria is not amused.
Exactly, dad had a ’90 Town Car. New body on the same old frame and running gear. But Ford was not altering this car annually either.
Honda’s EV decisions were especially weird. IMO, they could’ve really differentiated themselves from the other legacy automakers and succeeded by simply developing EV versions of the CR-V, Accord, and perhaps Civic in a truly Honda fashion with minimal unnecessary gimmicks after their experience with the Prologue. Instead they sank billions into their ridiculous and impractical 0 Series Blade Runner knockoff cars and bombed.
Now Honda’s best chance for long term survival is belt tightening and hoping the Honda Odyssey becomes the Dodge Durango of minivans.
But the Pacifica is already there. Damn good vehicle TBF.
I think the world would generally be a better place if platforms stuck around longer. Now get off my lawn and let me yell at the clouds in peace!
Toyota actually does this well. They change the body stampings and interior every 5 years or so, but the actual underlying floorpan and suspensions run for 15 to 20. My old 2006 Camry had the same basic body structure as my current 2014.
Agreed, the whole continuous incremental improvement philosophy is a solid approach for just about everything outside of a true crisis.
Hell yeah!
If I Had A Nickel For Every Tariff Threat…
You would have more money than the average consumer looking for a tariff refund.