Blue Bomber
09-04-2002, 05:01 PM
Good lord! :wtf: :eek: :puke:
Honda Element (http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/firstdrive/73408/article.html)
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.ex.f34.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.dx.r34.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.dash.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.int.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.dx.eng.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.bdg.500.jpg[quote]First Drive: 2003 Honda Element
Dude, Here's Your Car
By John DiPietro
Last updated: 2002-09-03
You've gotta like Honda. Here is a company that does its homework and usually doesn't bring a product to market until it's fully developed and ready to make a serious dent. Honda's latest attack into a new segment (tall wagonlike mutations such as the Toyota Matrix and retro-themed Chrysler PT Cruiser) proves this point. Geared towards young and very active Generation Y types who want an affordable vehicle with flexible cargo-hauling ability along with a sporty persona, the Element is chock full of features that make it easy to take the mountain bikes to the trailhead, the surfboard to the waves or the 27-inch TV from Best Buy to the dorm or apartment.
Testing the market waters with the Model X concept (that debuted at the 2001 NAIAS in Detroit), Honda's team of engineers and designers took the vehicle to various university campuses as well as outdoor hot spots where snowboarders and mountain bikers get their adrenaline rushes. Lots of valuable feedback was gained in this fashion, and the Honda folks even went so far as camping at a surfing beach in California, observing how the diehard surfers would sleep in their pickups and vans overnight so they could catch the gnarly waves early the next morning.
Honda was overwhelmed with favorable public reaction to the boxy, two-tone wagonlike vehicle with barn-door-style doors that opened up like those on a 1966 Lincoln Continental. Apart from minor details such as larger side-view mirrors and small differences in the front and rear fascias, the production Element is nearly a dead ringer for the concept vehicle.
Though it may look as if the front and rear fenders missed the paint booth as the Element rolled down the assembly line, those rugged composite panels allow things like bikes and snowboards to be leaned against the vehicle without worrying about scratching the body up.
Another example of "form follows function" is the door design. By having no B pillar and allowing the doors to swing open wide (fronts open up 78 degrees and the rears pivot a full 90 degrees), a 55.5 inch-wide portal allows bulky items to be loaded with ease. The typical problem with this sort of design is that it usually makes for a weaker body structure, but Honda says it more than compensated for the lack of a traditional B pillar by, in essence, hiding one in each rear door as a reinforced vertical brace. The bottom of the rear doors has a stout tab that fits tightly into the sill when closed, adding to structural rigidity. In addition to that feature, a reinforced roof, side sills and cross members give Honda the confidence to anticipate a five-star rating (the highest possible) for the government's side-impact crash testing. Even the two-piece rear tailgate was thoughtfully engineered; the flipped-down bottom portion can seat two 220-pound people and the larger, upper section that flips up provides protection from the elements, whether sitting by the campfire or moving furniture on a crummy day.
Riding a wheelbase of just 101.4 inches and measuring only 166.5 inches in overall length, the Element is compact, yet the space inside makes it hard to believe that the Element is actually eight inches shorter than a Civic coupe. The secret is in having a tall body (at 74 inches, eight inches taller than a CR-V) which allows the seats to be higher, providing plenty of legroom for legs to drape over the seat rather than being splayed out. Headroom is so generous that one could probably wear a 10-gallon Stetson cowboy hat, though we can't imagine the target demographic having anything other than a baseball cap (turned backwards, of course) on their heads. A removable rear sunroof is available, which, along with the rear privacy glass, allows one to stand up inside the vehicle (with one's head poking up through the roof) to change into or out of a wet suit or ski suit without fear of being arrested for indecent exposure. That sunroof also makes it possible for campers to stargaze as they use their Element for their night's lodging
Honda Element (http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/firstdrive/73408/article.html)
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.ex.f34.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.dx.r34.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.dash.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.int.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.dx.eng.500.jpg
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2003/honda.element/03.honda.element.bdg.500.jpg[quote]First Drive: 2003 Honda Element
Dude, Here's Your Car
By John DiPietro
Last updated: 2002-09-03
You've gotta like Honda. Here is a company that does its homework and usually doesn't bring a product to market until it's fully developed and ready to make a serious dent. Honda's latest attack into a new segment (tall wagonlike mutations such as the Toyota Matrix and retro-themed Chrysler PT Cruiser) proves this point. Geared towards young and very active Generation Y types who want an affordable vehicle with flexible cargo-hauling ability along with a sporty persona, the Element is chock full of features that make it easy to take the mountain bikes to the trailhead, the surfboard to the waves or the 27-inch TV from Best Buy to the dorm or apartment.
Testing the market waters with the Model X concept (that debuted at the 2001 NAIAS in Detroit), Honda's team of engineers and designers took the vehicle to various university campuses as well as outdoor hot spots where snowboarders and mountain bikers get their adrenaline rushes. Lots of valuable feedback was gained in this fashion, and the Honda folks even went so far as camping at a surfing beach in California, observing how the diehard surfers would sleep in their pickups and vans overnight so they could catch the gnarly waves early the next morning.
Honda was overwhelmed with favorable public reaction to the boxy, two-tone wagonlike vehicle with barn-door-style doors that opened up like those on a 1966 Lincoln Continental. Apart from minor details such as larger side-view mirrors and small differences in the front and rear fascias, the production Element is nearly a dead ringer for the concept vehicle.
Though it may look as if the front and rear fenders missed the paint booth as the Element rolled down the assembly line, those rugged composite panels allow things like bikes and snowboards to be leaned against the vehicle without worrying about scratching the body up.
Another example of "form follows function" is the door design. By having no B pillar and allowing the doors to swing open wide (fronts open up 78 degrees and the rears pivot a full 90 degrees), a 55.5 inch-wide portal allows bulky items to be loaded with ease. The typical problem with this sort of design is that it usually makes for a weaker body structure, but Honda says it more than compensated for the lack of a traditional B pillar by, in essence, hiding one in each rear door as a reinforced vertical brace. The bottom of the rear doors has a stout tab that fits tightly into the sill when closed, adding to structural rigidity. In addition to that feature, a reinforced roof, side sills and cross members give Honda the confidence to anticipate a five-star rating (the highest possible) for the government's side-impact crash testing. Even the two-piece rear tailgate was thoughtfully engineered; the flipped-down bottom portion can seat two 220-pound people and the larger, upper section that flips up provides protection from the elements, whether sitting by the campfire or moving furniture on a crummy day.
Riding a wheelbase of just 101.4 inches and measuring only 166.5 inches in overall length, the Element is compact, yet the space inside makes it hard to believe that the Element is actually eight inches shorter than a Civic coupe. The secret is in having a tall body (at 74 inches, eight inches taller than a CR-V) which allows the seats to be higher, providing plenty of legroom for legs to drape over the seat rather than being splayed out. Headroom is so generous that one could probably wear a 10-gallon Stetson cowboy hat, though we can't imagine the target demographic having anything other than a baseball cap (turned backwards, of course) on their heads. A removable rear sunroof is available, which, along with the rear privacy glass, allows one to stand up inside the vehicle (with one's head poking up through the roof) to change into or out of a wet suit or ski suit without fear of being arrested for indecent exposure. That sunroof also makes it possible for campers to stargaze as they use their Element for their night's lodging