Disneyland’s Autopia ride has given many young gearheads their first taste of behind-the-wheel excitement. Autopia is one of the original attractions that opened with the theme park on July 17, 1955, and at the time was meant to preview America’s yet-unrealized multilane highway infrastructure of the future. It wasn’t long after, though, that President Eisenhower signed a bill authorizing the Interstate Highway System, and Autopia became less about the future and more about the present. Since then, the ride’s inclusion in the Tomorrowland section of the park has been somewhat questionable, and attempts at revamping the attraction have struggled to keep Autopia relevant. Honda is the latest sponsor to take on this challenge, and the automaker invited us to a preview event to be the first to ride the new Autopia.

Honda’s relationship with Disneyland goes back to 2005, when it sponsored the park’s 50th anniversary fireworks show, a nighttime spectacular rumored to cost $33,000 a night. Up until a few years ago, Honda also had a permanent exhibit featuring its Asimo robot within the Innoventions attraction. The sponsorship of Autopia seems like a natural fit, as the cars were already powered by Honda engines (though we’re told that association only goes back to 2015).

The ride feels very much the same as it did when it was last updated in 2000 under Chevron’s sponsorship. The only change to the queue area I could see was the addition of TV screens playing 1950s-era cartoons about flying cars. Even the loudspeaker announcements were the same, still featuring the ride’s old anthropomorphic car mascot, Dusty. So what has changed? Honda says it completely refurbished all the ride vehicles inside and out. The cars were then finished with the same paints applied to actual Honda cars. None of my favorite classic shades such as Tahitian Green Pearl or Championship White made the cut, but the cars wearing official Honda paint codes is a neat detail. Each of the cars also receives a Honda emblem on the hood, just in case you missed the “powered by Honda” sign at the entrance.

Park-goers who grew up with the ride will appreciate that the driving experience hasn’t changed much. The cars are still slow with an unresponsive throttle that also doubles as the brake when you let off. You have a steering wheel that feels vaguely connected to the front wheels, but a metal guide rail on the track will prevent you from finding out just how good or bad the steering actually is. The rear-mounted engine powering the Autopia car is a Honda iGX270, an air-cooled, four-stroke, 270cc single-cylinder rated at 8.5 hp and typically used in generators, air compressors, pressure washers, and wood chippers. We’re guessing top speed is governed in the single digits. As far as excitement goes, your local go-kart family fun zone will put Autopia to shame. Still, with its height requirement of just 32 inches (as long as an adult rides shotgun), Autopia allows many young children to have their first-ever driving experience. And for a toddler, sub-10 mph is booking it.

Carrying over the same gas-powered ride vehicles seems like a missed opportunity to bring the attraction into the 21st century, but Honda says this is only phase one of a multiyear agreement. Over the coming months, Honda plans to update Autopia’s look and storyline, which we’re told will have a robotics theme but not necessarily involve Asimo. When asked if an all-electric drivetrain was considered for the ride vehicles, a Honda spokesman said that is a possibility for the future. Honda has committed to a 10-year sponsorship of the ride but declined to share financial details.

Hopefully Honda’s revamp goes much further than what we see today because frankly there’s nothing futuristic about inhaling raw exhaust fumes (even though I happen to love that smell). Honda has a chance to give Autopia a major update, and it only needs to look at its own technologies for inspiration. The automaker recently announced a big push for hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric drive systems through its Clarity range of vehicles, and either technology would fit the ride’s futuristic theme. Honda could also explore the self-driving world of the future, preferably keeping the driver in control most of the time. But just as the Autopia of the 1950s quickly caught up with its future, it’s only a matter of time before these concepts from tomorrow become the realities of today. Therein lies the challenge that all Tomorrowland attractions face. It’s now Honda’s charge to either significantly change the ride and risk becoming dated in a few years or leave it mostly the same for nostalgia’s sake. Whichever ends up being the case, it’s good to see a classic Disneyland ride get a fresh injection of cash.

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