Although it is Fall in the Northern Hemisphere, now’s the time when new lawn and garden equipment debuts for the following Spring. . .

By Gary S. Vasilash

A few years ago I had a Honda push mower in my garage collecting cobwebs. Circumstantial changes had caused me to engage a service to get the lawn clipped.

After many years that included many mowers, from Snapper to John Deere, the Honda was both my ultimate and final mower. (Let’s face it: they weren’t inexpensive—when you could go to the local hardware store and get one from about two hundred bucks and there was quite a comparative premium for the Honda, that was a tough choice. And I’d opted for a non-self-propelled model to keep the cost down.)

But in the garage it sat. Neglected.

A nephew bought a house in the spring. It was on a somewhat large lot.

As I knew that his finances were stretched, I offered him the Honda, pointing out that I hadn’t done the recommended procedures for maintain a mower in storage (i.e., one day, after a cut, I put it in the garage, and that was that). I didn’t know if it would even turn over.

I cleaned it off with a rag and he picked it up.

Later that day he texted me a video showing him mowing.

Money well spent.

Honda started producing gas-powered lawn mowers in 1978. It stopped in producing its “award-winning HRX, HRN and HRC gas-powered lawn mowers due to multiple factors, including stricter environmental regulations, shifting customer preferences and the need to align local manufacturing resources around other products in high demand.”

Given what’s going on in the weather, odds are the “other products in high demand” in the Honda Power Sports & Products portfolio are its generators.

And it is worth noting that Honda is working toward having 100% of its auto sales in the U.S. be battery- or fuel cell-electric vehicles by 2040. While Honda mower engines do go beyond CARB/EPA emissions standards, somehow a loud power mower cutting the lawn next to a Prologue or ZDX in the driveway would seem off-brand for that goal.

This week Honda introduced the HRX-BV, HRX-BE, and HRN-BV electric mowers for residential use.

Said Mark Kohls, vice president of Honda Power Sports & Products, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., about the development of the new mowers (and there is a commercial model, too) “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is only part of the challenge, as battery-powered power products must meet Honda standards for rugged performance, ease of use and comfortable operation to meet the high expectations of our residential and commercial customers.”

I wonder: Years from now my nephew will undoubtedly move to an electric mower.

And if he does, and the mower goes into his garage for a few years unused, will he be able to gift it to his nephew who will get the same results that were achieved with the mower that had been mine?