All-New 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid and Real-Life "Safety for Everyone" Customer Stories Highlight New Exhibit at 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show

TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Honda's electrification initiative and "Safety for Everyone" campaign are in the spotlight as the company debuts an all-new auto show exhibit at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show on Nov. 20. The all-new 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, launching in Spring 2020, is the latest in Honda's line of electrified vehicles, and the first hybrid-electric SUV from Honda in the U.S. Honda's new display will also feature a "Safety Zone" with a crash-tested 10^th-generation Civic Coupe, one of 10 Honda models earning a 5-star Overall Vehicle Score crash safety rating from NHTSA. Additionally, Honda Civic customer Kyle Shaules, of Victorville, Calif., will share his real-life experience with media on Nov. 20. Shaules is one of three Honda customers whose own life-affirming stories are featured in the company's just-launched Safety for Everyone social media campaign.

Honda CR-V Hybrid Public Debut
The 2020 CR-V Hybrid launches next spring as Honda's first electrified SUV in America. Using Honda's innovative two-motor hybrid-electric powertrain technology, the 2020 CR-V Hybrid brings quicker off-the-line performance and is anticipated to achieve a 50 percent higher city fuel economy rating than the non-hybrid CR-V. The 2020 CR-V Hybrid will be built in Honda's Greensburg, Indiana plant, and joins the Accord Hybrid and Insight as the third electrified Honda manufactured in America¹.

In addition to the new hybrid-electric variant, the entire 2020 CR-V lineup includes major upgrades: a freshened exterior design, new cabin appointments, and a standard 1.5-liter turbocharged engine and standard Honda Sensing^® safety and driver-assistive technology, both previously standard only on EX and above trims.

Safety for Everyone
Sharing his incredible story of survival with media attending the L.A. Auto Show will be Southern California native Kyle Shaules, one of the Honda customers featured in the company's Safety for Everyone social media campaign. Shaules' 2016 Honda Civic LX slammed into the side of a mountain on a stormy night, and even though first responders thought he couldn't have survived, Shaules walked away with only a broken finger.

"I remember seeing the mountain coming upon me, and then stars," Shaules said. "But the fact that I walked away from it relatively unharmed was undoubtedly because of my Honda."

Safety for Everyone represents Honda's unique approach to vehicle safety and its vision for a collision-free mobile society where its customers and everyone sharing the road – pedestrians, motorcycle riders, cyclists and occupants of other vehicles – can safely and confidently enjoy the freedom of mobility.

The safety-focused social media campaign builds on the Safety for Everyone brand marketing campaign that began in September 2019 and focuses on how one collision can affect many. The social media campaign features the stories of real Honda customers who walked away from significant collisions thanks in part to the thoughtful design of Honda vehicles. The stories add another layer of depth by including the point of view and emotional reactions of their loved ones. These inspiring, real-life stories have been sourced from customers' social media posts and letters Honda has received from thankful customers.

With nearly 40,000 lives being lost each year in the United States due to motor vehicle crashes, Honda is committed to developing and deploying advanced passive and active safety systems that can help better protect occupants in a wider variety of collision scenarios, such as the recently announced new front passenger airbag technology designed by Honda engineers.

New Honda Auto Show Exhibit
An all-new Honda auto show exhibit for the U.S. makes its debut at the L.A. Auto Show, serving not only as a showplace for Honda's latest car and truck lineup at major auto shows, but also to showcase Honda's ongoing dedication to creating products and technologies that make people's lives better. Designed for greater appeal to in-market shoppers, the new display seeks to impart a hands-on experience for show goers interested in learning about the stories behind the brand, using a variety of fun and educational elements that invite visitors to interact with the world of Honda.

The new center stage, where the 2020 CR-V Hybrid will be on display, fronts a two-story central structure with a rooftop lounge flanked by two storytelling pavilions. Major new components of the more tech-savvy and interactive pavilions will include:

• HondaLens Live – an augmented reality showcase of the 2020 CR-V Hybrid
• Honda Safety Zone – featuring a crash-tested 2019 Civic Coupe, real-world customer storytelling and a Seatbelt Selfie Wall
• Honda x Gaming Zone – with live appearances by premier global esports organization, Team Liquid, and an interactive retro-style Honda Circuit racing game:
• Monday 11/25 2;00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.: Head2Head/Twitch Live Stream featuring live play, hosted by Andy Bravo, eSports Commentator/Analyst
• Sunday 12/1 11:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.-12:30 p.m.: Live appearance of Doublelift, seven-time League of Legends LCS Champion, with Steve Arhancet, Co-Owner/Co-CEO of Team Liquid
• Honda Winning Moment – an augmented reality photo booth where show goers can place themselves in the scenes of historical sports moments, including in IndyCar, National Hockey League and League of Legends championships

The Civic Coupe on display was safety crash tested at Honda R&D Americas, Inc. in Ohio using the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's passenger-side small overlap front crash test mode. The 10^th-generation Civic has earned a top score of "Good" in this very stringent crashworthiness test, which is designed to replicate what happens when the front left corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object like a tree or utility pole at 40 mph.

In addition to top crashworthiness scores, the Civic and all Honda nameplates come standard or available with the Honda Sensing^® suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies. Honda Sensing^® includes Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™) incorporating Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), and Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) incorporating Lane Departure Warning (LDW).

In addition, Honda is celebrating its 60th anniversary in America, marked by the start of operations in a small store on Pico Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles in June 1959. This special display will showcase a vintage Honda car and a replica of an original pickup truck once used by Honda sales representatives to deliver Honda motorcycles to the first Honda dealers in California.

The 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show is open to the public November 22 through December 1 at the L.A. Convention Center.

About Honda
Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles with advanced safety technologies sold through over 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Fit, Civic, Insight, Accord and Clarity series passenger cars, along with the HR-V, CR-V, Passport and Pilot sport utility vehicles, the Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan.

Honda has been producing automobiles in America for more than 35 years and currently operates 19 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2018, more than 90 percent of all Honda brand vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

About Honda Safety Leadership
Honda has a long history of leadership in the development and application of advanced technologies designed to enhance the safety of all road users, including automobile occupants, motorcycle riders and pedestrians. The company operates two of the world's most sophisticated crash test facilities, in Ohio and Japan, and is responsible for numerous pioneering efforts in the areas of crashworthiness, airbag technology, collision compatibility and pedestrian safety. 

Toward Honda's goal of a "zero-collision society," the company is broadly applying Honda Sensing® and AcuraWatch™ advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies, now on more than 3 million vehicles on U.S. roads today.  These technologies can significantly reduce the likelihood or severity of a collision and also serve as a bridge to highly-automated vehicles of the future. Honda is targeting 2020 for the deployment of vehicles with highly automated highway driving capability and 2025 for the technological achievement of SAE Level 4 automated vehicles for personal use. 

For More Information
Additional media information including detailed pricing features and high-resolution photography of all 2020 Honda models is available at hondanews.com. Consumer information is available at automobiles.honda.com. To join the Honda community on Facebook, visit facebook.com/honda.

¹ Using domestic and globally sourced parts.

SOURCE American Honda Motor Co., Inc.