A good friend of mine, Noreen Natale of Examiner.com fame just stepped all over my automotive writing toes the other day! How dare she!?!

Noreen Natale is more better known for her writing on pets, and Chicago pet culture. Quite an expert on the topic, if I do say so. So, why is she writing about the auto industry then? Well, surprisingly, there’s overlap! 

Recently Honda Cars announced that it would be offering a Dog Friendly version of it’s lauded Honda Element. The Element is a vehicle that just gets things right. It’s a small(ish) cross over compact utility vehicle, or CUV – more affectionately called a cute-ute that is geared towards the upwardly active.  

Motivated by a 2.3 litre twin cam 4 cylinder 163 hp engine driving either the front, or all of the wheels, the element provides a nifty alternative to the run of the mill jellybeans we see on the roads every day. Characterized by its rather boxy stance, the Element is a love it or hate it design. I happen to be a lover of the Element – weird considering that my previous post on rolling art clearly depicts my standards of automotive beauty!  

The standard Element has some nifty features like small “suicide” or “coach” half doors that are rear hinged, and can be opened after opening the front doors. When deployed, the opening to access the rear seat becomes cavernous. Speaking of cavernous… If I adjust the driver’s seat to accommodate my rather “stately” (that’s my story and I’m stickin to it) 6’2” frame, I can honestly say that the remaining rear leg room is MORE than ample for my liking. Surprising, really, considering the Elements rather stumpy proportions.  

There is also the rubber flooring material which makes cleaning the interior as easy as turning on the garden hose! The interior of the Element is characterized by hard wearing easy care materials and all sort of clever touches, too numerous to list in this article.  

The first generation element was much maligned by the automotive nuveau-riche  due to it’s grey plastic body cladding, much akin to that which was found on the first gen Chevy Avalanche as well. After a couple years on the market, Honda saw the light and started offering rather poorly executed color keyed plastic to correspond with the primary body color, and  only recently has fully integrated, or done away with in some models the plastic all together, leaving a much cleaner, pleasing profile to behold.  

Honda is known for producing cars that make people happy. It’s just one of those warm and friendly feeling sort of car companies. As such, they are always looking for ways to lure in more buyers. The Dog Friendly version of the Element is just that. A means to attract a certain customer set. And that it does, in the best manner I have seen yet! 

With a plethora of accessories, specialty interior fittings, and fabrics to accommodate our four legged friends, Honda has hit a real home run! Historically, cars and pets simply didn’t mix. I know, I for one would be rather put-off by having my fine leather interior scratched up by my Mum’s English Bulldog, (my younger brother as she puts it) Chester.  

Since this seems such a hot topic on Noreen’s end, and I tend to try to mix auto culture with actual culture (haha) I’ll be doing some research on the history of specialty vehicles. Stay tuned for that in the coming weeks! 

So, go visit Noreen’s blog and see what she has to say about the Honda Element – tell her Aaron sent ya!  

Noreen Natale, Chicago Dog Rescue Examiner.com

http://www.examiner.com/x-9371-Chicago-Dog-Rescue-Examiner~y2009m7d23-Buy-your-pampered-pooch-a-car

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