Motor Expo Most Wanted - Honda

Yesterday we started looking at cars that we'd like to see making appearances at the upcoming Thailand International Motor Expo.

Today we are going to continue this series with a look at Honda. Honda used the 2005 Thailand International Motor Expo to showcase the current Honda Civic and there is reason to believe that the 2007 Honda CR-V will make its Thai debut at this years show, but let's have some fun and imagine what would happen if Honda brought some interesting cars with them to the 2006 Expo.

Honda Ridgeline

Remember, these are not cars that are likely to appear at the Motor Expo, but if Honda brought this beast to the show, what response would it get?

Okay, so it's just a big bully of a pickup, with butch looks and a 3.5 liter petrol engine that only an American oil tycoon could love, but I can imagine this truck on the roads of Thailand.

Thai motorists have a love of trucks, owing mostly to the fact that they are cheap I suppose, but given the road conditions, flooding and other aspects of motoring in Thailand, they are not that daft a choice. Honda would of course need to build the Ridgeline locally, and give it a diesel power unit for it to have any chance of success.

Is it possible? No. But it's not impossible either. Honda have developed an award winning 2.2 liter diesel unit that it uses in several models in Europe, including the Stream, Civic, Accord, FR-V and CR-V. I am sure they could produce 2.5 and 3 liter units for the Thai market.

Honda Civic - Hatchback Version

When Honda showed its 2006 Civic concept to the world it was very well received. It hinted that Honda were finally shaking off the boring image that they had built up over the years. Then Honda shocked everyone by saying that the Civic would not change from the concept model, and I was as surprised as everyone else when the production car hit the market looking virtually identical to the show car.

Unfortunately the sedan version on sale here, while an improvement on the old model, is not quite as radical as its hatchback sibling. Honda, bring the Hatchback Civic here! It will sell. It would take sales from Ford Focus/Mazda 3.

But something tells me that we are not going to see this car at the show.

Expect the current models, and with luck the new CR-V will find a space at the Expo. Tomorrow we'll have a look at what Toyota might bring to the show!