Honda has announced there’s a new Rebel in town with a “simple, raw and unprocessed look.”
Some year-end odds and ends from various car manufacturers.
Acura is about to unveil its 2022 MDX. The company describes it as “the most premium, performance-focused and technologically sophisticated SUV in Acura history.”
The latest iteration of the MDX will feature a new exterior design, redesigned suspension, more interior space, and all-new digital instrumentation and switchgear.
Available in four trim levels, the updated flagship SUV will have a suggested base price of just over $56,000 and will be available in February of next year. Let’s hope it’s easier to get along with than the current version.
Still with Honda, its motorcycle division has announced there’s a new Rebel in town. The new CMX1100 augments the company’s Rebel 300 and 500 models. With a “simple, raw and unprocessed” look, the Rebel 1100 is powered by a 1,084-cc parallel twin, and will feature extensive electronics, including three-mode riding choices.
You can choose from Standard, Rain and Sport settings, depending on the riding conditions. Transmission is a six-speed and the Rebel 1100 will have anti-lock brakes as standard equipment.
Ford is adding a new model to its F-150 truck line. Known as the Tremor, this little beauty will feature up-rated off-road ability. It will come in a SuperCrew configuration with a 5.5-foot box, 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission, plus four-wheel drive. It’s to be available in standard, mid and high equipment groups, with a range of available features.
Says Ford: “The Tremor is a direct response to seeing how customers use our trucks to enable their outdoor lifestyles.”
It will hit the backroads sometime next summer.
“The Tremor is a direct response to seeing how customers use our trucks to enable their outdoor lifestyles.” – Ford
Still with Ford, the company will introduce an all-electric version of its Transit commercial van for the 2022 model year. Apparently, this is the most popular vehicle of its kind in the world and Ford has decided to go electric.
Among other things, it will feature an optional Pro Power package that will turn the E-Transit into a mobile generator, with some 2.4 kilowatts of power on tap. As well, the E-Transit will be offered in eight configurations, including three roof heights and three lengths, plus chassis cab and cutaway models.
Power will be provided by a 266-horsepower electric motor.
The E-transit will arrive in late 2021 with a base price around $58,000.
Nissan recently marked the 10th anniversary of its all-electric Leaf hatchback. Apparently, the company has sold more than half a million of these urban runabouts since the model’s introduction in 2010.
Nissan estimates that Leaf owners have collectively driven their cars over 16 billion km worldwide, preventing an estimated 2.5 billion kg of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
The Leaf is manufactured in Japan, the United States and Great Britain.
Mitsubishi just released a little story about a couple in Minnesota who drove their Mirage hatchback over 400,000 miles (643,000 kg) doing nothing more than routine maintenance on it.
Apparently the car was used as a commercial delivery/courier vehicle, hauled rocks and landscape supplies, and functioned as an everyday vehicle.
The owners finally traded in the car – one of the least expensive vehicles sold in North America – for a Mitsubishi Outlander.
The latest version of the Mitsubishi Outlander SUV is set to be unveiled in February. With a styling theme described by the company as “authentic and majestic,” the new Outlander will feature a complete exterior redesign, with a “powerful and proud front end.” This will also be the prototype for all future Mitsubishi designs.
Tire manufacturer Yokohama wants people to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, it has produced a series of videos to “inspire Canadians in their winter travels.” Available on YouTube, the trio of 45-second clips promotes the way families can reconnect this winter, opening up possibilities to move away from the current restrictions of urban life, and the ability to arrive safely.
This campaign to promote the “new normal” includes videos titled Explore This Winter, Get Back to Normal and Staying Safe. It will reach out through social media channels, as well as on corporate and retail websites.
Ted Laturnus writes for Troy Media’s Driver Seat Associate website. An automotive journalist since 1976, he has been named Canadian Automotive Journalist of the Year twice and is past-president of the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).
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