We hope you all have a very Happy Easter! Give us a caption for these Easter Bunny im'pug'sters!

We would like to introduce to you the beautiful 2014 Honda Odyssey

Wallpaper Wednesday: Who wouldn't mind rolling around in the sunshine with this equally bright S2000?!

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• "This was the best experience that I have had at White Plains Honda over the years! I highly recommend Donna." -Christie R.
• "They showed me that there is a good team at Honda of White Plains." -Daffodil G.
• "All in all, this was one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve ever encountered in a car dealership." -Entrepreneur10

Make the smart call, and come into White Plains Honda today for the Really Big Spring Sales Event!

Honda Named Most Trusted Brand, Best Value Brand and Best Overall Brand by Thousands of New-Car Shoppers in KBB.com's 2013 Brand Image Awards

New-car shoppers have once again recognized the Honda brand as the 'Most Trusted Brand' and 'Best Value Brand' in Kelley Blue Book's 2013 Brand Image Award study. This is the second year Honda was named the 'Most Trusted Brand' and the third consecutive year as the 'Best Value Brand'. Additionally, Honda captured the top honor of 'Best Overall Non-Luxury Brand,' thus receiving more awards than any other brand in the 2013 Kelley Blue Book study.

"We are honored to be recognized by American car buyers for two tenets of the Honda brand: trust and value," said Mike Accavitti, vice president of national marketing operations, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "These awards demonstrate how customers recognize the tremendous quality and value of our products, reflecting the incredible competitive strength of the Honda brand."

The 2013 Brand Image Awards are based on consumer automotive perception data from Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence's Brand Watch™ study. Brand Watch taps into more than 12,000 in-market new-vehicle shoppers annually on Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com. The Brand Watch study offers insight into in-market new-vehicle shoppers' perceptions of brands, including important factors driving their purchase decisions while they are in the midst of the shopping process.  Honda was named 'Best Overall Non-Luxury Brand' by securing the highest average score across ratings of all non-luxury models, and the weight of importance of each of the factors in the study.

"Honda was named Best Overall Brand by non-luxury shoppers, which speaks to Honda's stellar reputation and brand leadership in the minds of consumers," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst, Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com. "In addition, Honda was awarded Most Trusted Brand for the second year in a row, and Best Value Brand for the third year running. Receiving consecutive awards in key categories like 'Trust' and 'Value' demonstrates the positive attributes of the Honda brand continue to resonate with the new-car buying public."

Additional comments from the Editors of Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com regarding Honda's Brand Image Award Wins:

2013 Honda - Best Value Brand
"Affordability, reliability and good resale value are key facets of new-car value, and Honda scores at or near the top in all three, earning from KBB.com visitors another Best Value Brand award."

2013 Honda - Most Trusted Brand
"This is the second year we've asked visitors to name their Most Trusted Brand, and it's the second year in a row they've named Honda.  With a reputation that precedes it and vehicles that seemingly never fail to deliver on the promise, Honda is like the perpetual motion machine of brand trust."

2013 Honda – Brand Image Awards: Best Overall Brand
"We saved the biggest award for last, but after its wins in the Best Value Brand and Most Trusted Brand categories, Honda's win as Best Overall Brand among non-luxury shoppers hardly comes as a surprise.  We admire the refined and reliable vehicles, but also the manner in which Honda promotes itself.  You do too, apparently."

Courtesy of Honda Media Newsroom

Our sincerest thanks to Annette T. for her wonderful review!

(5) Star Review on Yelp

• "Our salesman, Bob, was very professional and gave us excellent service." -Annette T.

American Honda Announces New Advertising Structure for Automobile Business

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. yesterday announced that its comprehensive review of advertising creative and media accounts for its automobile business has resulted in a multi-agency approach for the company's Honda and Acura brands.  MediaVest was selected as the media agency serving both brands, with RPA selected as the creative agency for the Honda automobile brand and Mullen as the creative agency for the Acura brand.

The agency assignments, the result of a nearly three-month long selection process, reflect a major change in strategies for Honda and Acura advertising.   The new multi-agency structure will place American Honda at the hub of a collaborative team of agencies, with the focus on heightened creativity, greater efficiency and long-term strategic planning.  RPA, Mullen and MediaVest together with Muse Communications and Orci, which retain the multicultural assignments, will report directly to American Honda rather than through a single agency.

"We are creating a new and highly collaborative path forward that will yield outstanding creative and enable us to focus more of our marketing investment on communicating with our customers," said Michael Accavitti, vice president of National Marketing Operations.  "We are confident that our new team of agencies will create dynamic marketing campaigns that connect and engage consumers with our products and our brands, while achieving an even higher level of efficiency and effectiveness."

Each agency will have dedicated workspace at American Honda headquarters in Torrance, Calif. where agency personnel can better serve the needs of each brand by collaborating together and with the Honda and Acura teams.  In addition, Mullen and MediaVest will be opening or expanding dedicated offices in Southern California.  RPA, Muse and Orci are headquartered in Southern California.

MediaVest's role as the separate media agency is expected to result in more sophisticated targeting of the media mix, with a significant improvement in media buying efficiency.  "Getting smarter about how we communicate was a critical goal of this process and even with the same level of investment we expect to realize more efficient and targeted media plans, which will increase the amount of money we spend on reaching our customers," said Accavitti.

From the standpoint of creative agencies, the new structure will enable RPA, Mullen, Muse and Orci to maintain a special focus on the unique needs of each brand at a time when both Honda and Acura have strong momentum with a number of all-new products just introduced or soon coming to market. "With Honda and Acura rolling out incredibly strong new products we think each agency will have a lot of good material to take our creative to the next level," said Accavitti.

Honda has an award-winning lineup of new or substantially refreshed models, including the just-introduced 2013 Honda Accord and Civic and a lineup of light trucks led by CR-V, America's top-selling SUV, and the Honda Odyssey.  In 2014, Honda has announced plans to greatly expand small car sales with an all-new Honda Fit and a new model based on the Urban SUV Concept revealed at the North American International Auto Show in January 2013.

Acura is in the midst of the complete makeover of its product lineup.  In 2012, the brand launched two new gateway Acura models with a redesigned RDX, which has since enjoyed 10 consecutive months of record sales, and the new ILX entry-luxury sedan. For 2013, the all-new 2014 RLX flagship sedan went on sale March 15, with an all-new 2014 MDX coming to market by mid-year.  Acura has also announced plans for the introduction of the next generation of the Acura NSX supercar in about two years.

Courtesy of Honda Media Newsroom

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"The dealership has the absolute best prices in the entire Westchester/Fairfield County area. The customer service was great." - JSSS

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Honda CR-V and Odyssey Win "Best Cars For Families" Awards From U.S. News & World Report

The 2013 Honda CR-V and the 2013 Honda Odyssey were both honored by U.S. News & World Report among its "Best Cars for Families." The efficient and capable CR-V was named "Best Compact SUV for Families" and the stylish up to 8-passenger Odyssey was named "Best Minivan for Families" among 2013 model year vehicles sold in the United States.

"If you're looking for a top safety-rated, fuel efficient, fun-to-drive family vehicle, you can't really go wrong with a Honda," said Mike Accavitti, vice president of national marketing operations, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Both the CR-V and the Odyssey exemplify 'family friendly' with top safety ratings, proven Honda quality and loads of smart features to keep the driver and all passengers comfortable and connected."

The "Best Cars for Families" methodology combines quality, size and family-friendly features into a composite score. Quality is measured using a weighted average of scores from the U.S. News rankings at the time the awards are published. The rankings compare cars on the basis of safety, reliability and a consensus of automotive critics' opinions. Size is based on a vehicle's seating capacity and interior space. For family-friendly features, the availability of features deemed to be helpful to families by U.S. News editors is factored in.

The 2013 Honda CR-V provides upscale styling, excellent fuel efficiency, and a host of standard convenience features, making it one of the most fun and functional compact SUVs in America. The CR-V is rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) as a TOP SAFETY PICK and is distinguished by a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 5-star Overall Vehicle Score.¹ Compact on the outside and roomy inside, the CR-V represents an unparalleled balance of size and capability in the entry SUV segment. With its car-like interior comfort, a smooth and quiet ride, plus innovative features, the versatile CR-V is a great fit for families or individuals with an active lifestyle.

The 2013 Honda Odyssey minivan continues to lead its class in fuel economy and safety ratings, while providing spacious accommodations for up to eight passengers and a refined and engaging driving experience. The Odyssey Touring is rated at a remarkable 28 mpg,² the highest EPA highway fuel economy rating of any eight-passenger minivan. All Odyssey models are an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK, and the Odyssey has earned the best possible overall safety rating from NHTSA with a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score.¹

 

¹ Government 5-Star Safety Ratings are part of NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (www.SaferCar.gov). Model tested with standard side airbags (SABs). Vehicles tested under the new program cannot be compared to MY10 and earlier vehicles.

² Based on 2013 EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.

Courtesy of Honda Media Newsroom

2013 Honda WTCC is ready for racing!

Following the completion of its final development test in Aragon, Spain this month, Honda Racing Team JAS is ready and raring to go for the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship. The Championship will begin with the Race of Italy on 24 March 2013, finally ending in Macau on 17 November after twenty-four races.

Honda Racing Team JAS ready and raring to go
Honda will be entering a two car works team. The drivers are Italian Gabriele Tarquini – 2009 World Touring Car Champion - and Portuguese Tiago Monteiro. Honda's R&D has developed a completely bespoke 1.6 liter 4 cylinder direct injection turbo-charged petrol engine to power its Civic WTCC race car in the Championship, with Mugen providing trackside support.

The team got off to a flying start at the end of last year, entering the Civic WTCC into the last three races of the 2012 championship. This saw Monteiro claim the car's first podium finish at Macau in November, while the Civic WTCC gained the second-fastest time (at 2:31.844) at the same race.

Alessandro Mariani, Team Principal of J.A.S. Motorsport, said: "I am very proud of the great job that Honda and our staff have done to get us ready for the 2013 Championship, and of the team spirit we've created, which will be essential to get us through the challenging campaign ahead.

"And whilst we know it will be extremely difficult as a newcomer to win the Championship this year, for Honda and racing fans around the world, we are making this our goal."

The Honda R&D and J.A.S. Motorsport teams have put the Civic WTCC through its paces with their winter development testing programme. In December 2012, the car spent 3 days in the Honda R&D wind tunnel in Tochigi, followed by another 3 days in Valencia and Aragon in January and February respectively.

Commenting on the technical evolution of the 2013 Honda Civic WTCC, Andrea Adamo, Chief Designer, Honda Racing Team JAS, said: "Following extensive testing, we have made a number of improvements to the Civic WTCC. We have improved the car's aerodynamics and enhanced the suspension design, as well as the front structure of the car. We have also fitted the brakes with bespoke front and rear calipers in cooperation with AP Racing."

Daisuke Horiuchi, the WTCC Development Project Leader at Honda R&D, said: "The WTCC is an exciting sprint race where tail-to-nose dog-fight can last for 20 minutes. To overtake the car in front with less than 50cm between them our drivers need to react in a fraction of a second, so they need the guarantee of an instant response from the engine and car.

"To achieve this, we've focused our development on improving the driveability of the car. We also fine-tuned the engine to give the drivers greater control, so they can drive in whatever style they wish. This has involved, amongst other work, various improvements to the fine controls of the turbocharger's turbine revolution, the turbo-boost control and the pick-up of the engine rev. We also worked on the shape of the intake port, optimizing the intake manifold length as well as modifying the ignition system."

The Honda Racing Team JAS will be pitted against a private team, Hungarian-based Zengő Motorsport, who confirmed earlier this year that they will enter the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) with the Honda Civic WTCC. The car will be driven by Hungarian driver Norbert Michelisz. J.A.S. Motorsport will build the car for the team to the same specifications as Honda's own Civic WTCC.

In line with Honda's philosophy of sharing the joys of racing with its customers, a "Honda fan zone" will be introduced in the paddock of the European rounds of the 2013 WTCC; giving spectators the chance to get closer than ever to the Honda racing world.

About WTCC
•WTCC is the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
•Vehicle specification is strictly regulated by FIA Super 2000 category
•All vehicles which compete in the championship are based on mass production cars with more than 4 seats.
•The championship is reserved for cars powered by a 1.6 liter petrol engine, turbo-charged with direct injection.
•The distance of each race varies between 50 km and 60km
•The full racing season covers 12 racing weekends (two races per weekend)

Technical specifications of the 2013 Honda Civic WTCC

Engine
•In line 4 cylinder direct injection turbocharged with intercooler;
•Capacity: 1.6 liters;
•Dry oil sump;

Weight and Dimensions
•Mass: 1100 Kg;
•Length: 4300 mm;
•Wideness: 1830 mm;
•Wheelbase: 2605 mm

Courtesy of Autoblog

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