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News

Honda Wants Your Acura to Keep the Lights On

Honda doesn’t just want to sell you an electric car—it wants to make sure that car pulls double duty as a power plant for your home. At RE+ 25, North America’s largest clean-energy trade show, the company is taking the wraps off a bold vision for the future of mobility and energy management, anchored by the sleek Acura RSX Prototype and a suite of vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies.

If you caught Monterey Car Week last month, you already know the RSX Prototype: a rakish, premium electric SUV built on Honda’s brand-new global EV platform. At RE+, the RSX isn’t just a showpiece—it’s plugged into a bi-directional home charging station concept, a setup that previews how future Acura and Honda EVs could power your house in a blackout, or even send excess juice back to the grid when demand spikes.

Cars as “Virtual Power Plants”

Honda floated this idea at CES earlier this year, describing its future EVs as “Virtual Power Plants.” Think of it like this: your car charges itself when rates are lowest (and renewables are plentiful), then kicks some of that stored energy back to your home—or the grid—when electricity prices peak. That could mean shaving money off your energy bill while helping utilities keep the lights on.

Gary Robinson, VP of sustainability and business development at American Honda, put it bluntly: “In the future, we want to make every Honda EV not just a vehicle but a home energy solution.”

That vision isn’t just vaporware. Honda recently inked a deal with Southern California Edison to begin testing V2H and V2G systems with future Honda and Acura EVs. The goal: let EVs act as backup batteries for homes, or as stabilizers for the grid during crunch times. ChargeScape—a joint venture between Honda, BMW, Ford, and Nissan—will provide the digital glue to make it all work.

A Booth Packed with Tech

Honda’s RE+ display isn’t just about the RSX. Here’s what else you’ll find at booth #V8659:

  • Fastport eQuad Prototype: A funky, pedal-assist electric quad targeting last-mile delivery drivers. It’s quiet, swappable-battery powered, and looks ready to elbow into the e-cargo-bike market. Deliveries start late 2025.
  • 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV: A plug-in fuel-cell hybrid of sorts—29 miles of electric range plus 270 miles on hydrogen, with fast refueling for road trips.
  • Bi-directional Home Charger Concept: The lynchpin of Honda’s energy ambitions, allowing your EV to charge and discharge at will.
  • Home energy hardware: rooftop solar panels, home batteries, an Emporia Vue energy monitor, a high-efficiency heat pump water heater, and a Honda-branded fuel-cell generator designed to scale from 250 kW up to 3 MW for commercial facilities.

The message is clear: Honda wants to sell you not just an EV, but an entire electrified lifestyle. Acura and Honda already run online “Home Electrification” marketplaces where customers can order solar, batteries, and chargers, with plans to expand as their EV portfolio grows.

Looking Ahead

The Acura RSX itself is set to hit dealerships in the second half of 2026, the first Acura built on Honda’s in-house EV platform. Beyond that, Honda is betting that what sits in your garage will matter as much to your electric bill as what’s on your roof.

Southern California Edison’s Funmi Williamson summed it up neatly: “These technologies will not only let customers drive clean but will also help them use those vehicles to power their homes during outages and help the grid during times of peak demand.”

That’s a big promise. But if Honda pulls it off, the Acura RSX might just be the first SUV that looks as good in your driveway as it does keeping the fridge cold when the grid goes down.

Source: Acura

NEW CARS

2026 Honda Prelude First Look: An Icon Returns as a Hybrid Sports Coupe

Honda just pulled the wraps off the all-new 2026 Prelude, reviving a nameplate that hasn’t been seen in U.S. showrooms for more than two decades. This isn’t a retro homage or a nostalgia play—it’s a thoroughly modern sports coupe that blends Honda’s proven two-motor hybrid system with chassis hardware borrowed from the mighty Civic Type R. The result is a front-wheel-drive grand tourer that aims to recapture Honda’s “joy of driving” mantra for a new era of electrification.

A Hybrid with Bite

Under the Prelude’s sleek sheetmetal lies the same hybrid setup found in the Civic Hybrid, upgraded for duty in this coupe. A 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder works in tandem with two electric motors to deliver a combined 200 horsepower and a stout 232 pound-feet of torque. That’s not Type R territory, but it’s plenty to make the Prelude feel lively off the line and eager out of corners.

Honda has developed a new trick for the car, too: S+ Shift mode, a drive program that simulates the experience of a traditional multi-gear transmission. With simulated rev-matched downshifts, paddle control, and enhanced engine sound piped into the cabin, it’s designed to give drivers the visceral engagement often missing in hybrids. Expect plenty of drivers pulling on those paddles just to hear the “downshift blip.”

Borrowed Type R Hardware

The Prelude earns its sporting credibility with more than clever software. It borrows key hardware directly from the Civic Type R: dual-axis strut front suspension, adaptive dampers, wide tracks, and even the blue-finished Brembo four-piston calipers clamping lightweight two-piece rotors. Paired with 19-inch wheels and sticky 235/40R19 rubber, the Prelude is promising more grip and composure than any hybrid Honda coupe before it.

Four selectable drive modes—Comfort, GT, Sport, and Individual—let drivers tailor the experience, from daily commuting to weekend canyon carving. Honda’s latest Agile Handling Assist system further integrates braking and powertrain response to sharpen turn-in and boost confidence at the limit.

Sophisticated, Muscular Design

Designed in Japan, the Prelude blends grand-touring sophistication with subtle aggression. A long, low hood, flared fenders, and a double-bubble roof hint at its performance intent, while flush door handles and laser-brazed roof seams keep the surfaces clean. Details like the black chrome grille trim, wing-like DRLs, and Prelude Blue brake calipers elevate it beyond the ordinary coupe.

Color choices include Rally Red, Boost Blue Pearl, and the new Winter Frost Pearl, which can be optioned with a contrasting black roof. For those who want more flash, Honda will offer factory accessories like a decklid spoiler and blacked-out emblems.

Driver-Centric Cabin

Inside, the Prelude’s mission as a sporty grand tourer continues. Leather-trimmed sport seats with integrated headrests and asymmetrical bolstering balance support for spirited driving with comfort on longer trips. Blue contrast stitching, houndstooth inserts, and embossed Prelude logos give the cabin an identity of its own.

The driving environment is anchored by a flat-bottom steering wheel, alloy pedals, and a 10.2-inch digital cluster that reconfigures depending on drive mode. A 9-inch infotainment screen with Google built-in comes standard, along with wireless CarPlay/Android Auto, wireless charging, and an eight-speaker Bose system tuned specifically for this coupe. Rear seats—yes, there are two—fold flat to expand the hatchback’s cargo area.

Safety and Strategy

Every Prelude will come loaded with Honda Sensing, including adaptive cruise, lane keeping, blind spot monitoring, and post-collision braking. Honda is positioning the Prelude as more than just a niche product—it’s part of the company’s broader push to make hybrids the majority of its U.S. sales in the next few years.

What It Means

The Prelude was always Honda’s forward-looking coupe, often a test bed for new tech. That mission carries forward here, only now in the form of electrification. With Civic Type R bones, a genuinely engaging hybrid system, and a design that balances muscle and elegance, the 2026 Prelude looks ready to carve a new niche in a market that’s been steadily abandoning coupes.

Expect it in showrooms late fall 2025, offered in a single, well-equipped trim. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but given the hardware and standard kit, it’s safe to guess the Prelude will slot above the Civic Si and hybrid but well below the $45K Type R.

For those who thought the era of affordable, fun-to-drive coupes was dead, Honda just hit the defibrillator.

Source: Honda

SOCIAL MEDIA

Charleston Flood Turns Civic Into Canoe—and City Still Hands Out Parking Tickets

When your Honda Civic starts floating down the street, you probably assume your biggest problem is flood damage. In Charleston, South Carolina, you’d be wrong. As one drenched driver recently discovered, even Mother Nature can’t slow the city’s parking enforcement.

Anna Brooks (@anna.brooks4 on TikTok) found her gray Civic sitting in water up to its tires during a late-August deluge. That would’ve been bad enough. But when she waded over, she found parking tickets slapped to her window. Her video, part disbelief and part soggy rage, has since racked up more than 7.5 million views.

“My car floated here. I did not park on this (street),” Brooks says in the clip, while rain pours and tickets flap on her window like soggy receipts.

@anna.brooks4 I can’t control where it washes ashore 😭 ##fyp##ticket ##charleston##weathertok##weather ♬ original sound – anna brooks

Charleston had just taken a meteorological beating. Between August 22 and 24, a stalled cold front dumped more than 11 inches of rain on the Lowcountry. Mount Pleasant saw 12.10 inches, North Charleston 11.84, and West Ashley 11.41, according to the National Weather Service. Throw in high tides and maxed-out drainage systems, and the city became a saltwater obstacle course.

But as roadways turned into rivers, parking enforcement pressed on. Whether the officers were slogging in boots or issuing citations from kayaks remains unclear.

Here’s the thing: Brooks’ excuse isn’t far-fetched. FEMA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration both confirm that as little as 12 inches of water can float a small car. A Civic is a textbook candidate. Which means yes, her car very likely drifted into a forbidden zone all on its own.

This isn’t unique to Charleston. Flood-displaced cars cropped up in Houston during Hurricane Harvey and in New York when Ida’s remnants swamped the city. The insult comes later—when soggy owners return to find tickets on cars that Mother Nature herself parked illegally.

Charleston hasn’t announced any flood-related amnesty for citations. City ordinance treats those bright-orange envelopes as binding, whether your car rolled into place by gravity, flood currents, or acts of Poseidon. Unless the city or state declares an official emergency—and they didn’t here—tickets stick.

Will Brooks contest the fines? Jury’s still out. Commenters flooded her TikTok with legal advice, sarcasm, and solidarity. One even claimed to be a lawyer and urged her to fight it.

Beyond one unlucky Civic, the story highlights a bigger issue: how cities handle stranded drivers in a changing climate. Flooding is getting worse, more frequent, and less predictable. If urban planners and local governments don’t adapt, they risk turning victims into violators with the stroke of a pen—or the slap of a citation under a windshield wiper.

For now, though, Charleston’s stance seems clear: rain or shine, drought or deluge, tickets will be written. And if your car floats into a no-parking zone? Better hope your TikTok goes viral—because sympathy from the internet might be the only amnesty you get.

Source: @anna.brooks4 via TikTok