Honda unveils cyclist-friendly concept car (+ picture gallery)

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Civic looks great, and maybe it suits you fine, but experience has taught me to value function over form when it comes to riding trip transport.

Which is why I'd never have a van, there are so many places a van can't go that my 4x4 can. I simply can't understand why anyone would have a van, they're not versatile enough. I can sleep in my truck, carry my bike in a truck, camp in a stealthy way and I can go to wilds, etc...

looking at the headtube height, I recon the bikes used in picture #1 are a small size?

It had me until I realised it's only ever two seats.

Not really a 'cyclist friendly car' though is it - that would be one with external airbags, a mobile blocker, and with significant warnings triggered by close approaches.

I love the slew of whiney comments that follow any post on Road.CC Honda would have sunk thousands in to this as a concept and, as a car manufacturer that has spent a great deal on cyclist friendly innovations over the last few years. If anything, this kind of thing should show that cycling as a hobby is being taken more seriously than ever, and not just by cyclist and cycling companies.

Personally, I'd love the simplicity of internal bike racks. I've used my fathers van to cart bikes here and there on many occasion and also used a rear rack on my MPV. Both of which work just fine in the same way jeans and a t-shirt work just fine. But sometimes a bit of 'comfort' and style is nice and I for one would consider something like this.

There's also the point that concept cars are the catwalk fashion shows of the automotive world. This car will almost certainly never see the light of day but some features will be carried across in to future options.

Comments above seem to miss the main points.

There are no back seats in this civic, so carrying two people, and a load (fact it's bikes is nice but it's a load) mean this is basically just a van with windows. Windows that allow thieves to look in at all those really expensive bikes.

Only reason to maybe consider something like this over a van would be the mpg, but I bet the price of the car would be so high compard to a van that you would actually save money with a van.

LMAO! Who do they think they are kidding? Any whease to try and sell more cars. I can easily get two bikes in the back of my car, two sets of panniers and tool box. My car is 20 years old.

Weird super flat roof box. Looks a bit too low to be versatile beyond flat packing one bike. I have one of those long but low Thule boxes that looks like a cruise missile. Fits the bike and all the family wetsuits with room to spare.

Whats new? Passed an old Honda Shuttle yesterday - reckon you could get 3 or 4 bikes standing up in the back of that! Why the current fashion for estates that look as if the back has been stamped on?
BTW recently bought a Peugeot 5008 and I can easily carry a bike using fork mounts in the back, with just one of the 2nd row seats folded.

This is really dangerous, if you watch those bikes in the back of the car, those could easily swing you of your bike

Think there are some ideas there that could be incorporated quite easy, like the fork mountings.

Next up: a wheelchair which carries up to 4 pogo sticks in comfort.

Two bikes great but no spare tyre for the car...?

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a “smart loading rack” which, with the rear seats down and the front wheels of the bikes removed, stows them inside the vehicle

So boot, like on any other car then? Surely you can put a couple of bikes, wheel off, in the back of most cars?

Cool.