- All Honda and Acura vehicles, with the exception of a small number of specialty vehicles, will get front side airbags, side curtain airbags and anti-lock brakes as standard equipment before the end of calendar year 2006.
- Most Honda and all Acura light trucks, including all SUVs and minivans, will be equipped with Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) and rollover sensors for side curtain airbag deployment before the end of calendar year 2006.
- Honda's Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) Body Structure, offering enhanced occupant protection while at the same time increasing compatibility with other vehicles, will be applied to all new vehicle platforms in the U.S. and globally over the next six to seven years. The 2005 model Honda Odyssey minivan and Acura RL sedan are the first U.S. models to carry this new technology.
- In its efforts to enhance safety for both drivers and pedestrians, Honda will further expand the use of features designed to reduce injuries to pedestrians. Honda leads the industry with more than four million vehicles equipped with pedestrian safety technology on the road today.
"We want to provide all our customers with top level safety for all passenger vehicles," said Koichi Kondo, president of America Honda Motor Co., Inc. "This initiative puts Honda in a clear leadership position on a number of safety fronts."
Front Side Airbags and Side Curtain Airbags
The Honda-developed side-curtain airbag system features one of the fastest deploying
systems and widest coverage areas. Working in conjunction with the front side
airbags, the system offers enhanced protection in side impact collisions.
VSA, Rollover Sensor and ABS
Honda's Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) technology uses braking and throttle
control to enhance the vehicle's dynamic stability in situations such as emergency
handling maneuvers or driving on slippery surfaces, while side curtain airbags
offer added protection in side impacts or in the event of a rollover. The system
also employs sensors that trigger airbag deployment in the event of a rollover.
This advanced supplemental restraint system is already featured as standard
equipment on the Acura MDX, Honda Ridgeline and Odyssey. Additionally, anti-lock
brakes, already standard equipment on most Honda and all Acura models, provide
enhanced steering control under hard braking and in slippery driving conditions.
Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) Body Structure
In response to the growing popularity of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles
and the subsequent rise in injuries and fatalities resulting from collisions
between vehicles of different sizes, Honda has worked to enhance occupant protection
while increasing the compatibility between vehicles of different sizes.
The ACE body structure employs an innovative new front-end frame structure that reduces the potential concentrated force of an impact by dispersing and absorbing crash energy over a larger area. The design also helps reduce the potential for misalignment with the frame of the opposing vehicle. Taken together, these features result in enhanced compatibility between vehicles of different sizes with significantly enhanced occupant protection while at the same time increasing compatibility with other vehicles in a collision.
Even before the application of this new compatibility design, all of Honda and Acura light truck models - including the Honda Pilot and Acura MDX - employed unit- body structures designed to increase compatibility with other vehicles, along with front bumper brackets that reduce the chance of bumper override that can occur in frontal collisions between vehicles of differing heights.
Pedestrian Safety Design
Taking advantage of industry leading pedestrian safety research conducted at
Honda's state-of-the-art crash test facilities in Tochigi, Japan, future Honda
models will incorporate Honda's latest thinking in pedestrian-friendly body
design. Honda developed the world's first crash test dummy designed for the
study of pedestrian safety.
Already, four million U.S. Honda and Acura vehicles including the current models of Accord, Civic, CR-V, Odyssey, Element, Ridgeline and Pilot, along with the Acura RSX, TSX, RL, and TL are equipped with a number of these features including specially designed hood structures, hood hinges, front frame construction and breakaway wiper pivots.
Honda Safety Leadership
Honda has a well-established history of leadership in the development and application
of advanced safety technologies and the real world safety performance of all
its products. Honda is continually looking to enhance safety for drivers and
passengers of small and large vehicles as well as for motorcycles riders and
pedestrians.
As a result of Honda's extensive commitment to automotive safety, a brand leading eight 2005 and 2006 model year Honda and Acura models have earned the U.S. federal government's top Five Star safety rating for the driver and front passenger in front-impact and front and rear seat passenger in side impact testing. This includes the Civic Coupe with side airbags, the first compact class vehicle ever to earn the government's highest safety rating and the 2006 Ridgeline, the first ever 4-door pickup to earn the government's highest crash test safety rating.
Honda research into airbag technology led to the first upwardly deploying front
passenger airbags and the first use of front side airbags with occupant position
detection sensors to reduce the risk of injuries caused by airbag deployment.
Honda has also been a leader in the adoption of dual stage, dual threshold air
bags that monitor both crash severity and seat belt use to optimize airbag deployment.
2005-2006 Honda and Acura Models with 'Safety for Everyone' Technology
| Vehicle | ABS | Front Side Airbags | Side Curtain Airbags | VSA | Pedestrian Safety |
| Honda Car | |||||
| Accord | X |
X |
X |
X* |
X |
| Civic | X |
X |
X* |
. |
X |
| Insight | X |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| S2000 | X |
. |
. |
. |
. |
| Honda Truck | |||||
| Pilot | X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| Ridgeline | X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| Element | X* |
X* |
X* |
X* |
X |
| CR-V | X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| Odyssey | X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| Acura Car | |||||
| NSX | X |
. |
. |
X |
. |
| RL | X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| TL | X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| TSX | X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| RSX | X |
X |
. |
. |
X |
| Acura Truck | |||||
| MDX | X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
*Optional equipment
For more information on Honda and Acura products, safety initiatives and downloadable
high-resolution images, please visit www.hondanews.com.