Your dog wishes Honda had made this 2005 concept

This is the Honda WOW concept, which was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2005. WOW stands for “wonderfully open-hearted wagon”, which is wonderfully Japanese. The concept car was meant to “bring people and their dogs closer together”, by cramming them into a small car for long journeys. Just what every pooch wants. 

The WOW concept was designed for dogs – easy access, low wooden floors (presumably so you could hose out the sick once you got on holiday) and room for six. Or four and a dog. The middle row of seats could be rearranged to form a crate to shove your dog in. Preferably a small dog, we’re not sure how wonderfully open-hearted your St Bernard would feel in there. Honda thought of everything – there was even an externally accessible storage compartment at the back of the car to hang your dog toys in.

He does, does he? Well the storage compartment at the front of the WOW concept is positively palatial in comparison with whatever you’re stuffing your poor pooch into there. The WOW was designed with a sizeable zippered compartment with a mesh lining so the dog could still feel part of the action while sequestered up front. Even better was a flexible hose from the aircon you could point right in the poor hound’s face and keep it cool. That dashboard wasn’t just nice for dogs though – look at that lovely wood trim and the minimalist feel up front. 

Honda really thought of everything here ¬– the car also had a little pole running the length of the B-pillar so that you could attach the dog’s lead if you wanted. Not to be substituted for a seatbelt, mind. Plus there were lashing points on the bumpers if you needed to leave Fido outside for a bit while you popped into the pet shop for more treats, or whatever. Of course, you’d have to remember to untie him before you set off again.

Well aren’t you lucky that Honda produced a helpful guide for the different ways in which you could arrange the seats in the WOW concept. They include “four-person driving mode”, “six-person driving mode” and our favourite is “four-person + dog driving mode”, although the dog clearly can’t reach the pedals if it's going to sit that far back. 

We could go on all day about the crazy touches on the WOW concept. Like how the front end was apparently designed to look like a dog (something to do with the recessed headlights… no, us neither), or how the raised part of the roof down the centre was inspired by a dog’s spine. Creepy. Or how at the bottom of the sliding side doors there’s a few centimetres of glass so that dogs can see out of the window while the car’s driving along. 

Fascinatingly, if you opened up the WOW concept you could have found a number of dogs on treadmills powering the car. It wasn’t particularly economical – upwards of 26 treats per mile, but dog biscuits are a much more environmentally friendly way of powering a car. Actually Honda thought that it would stick some sort of four-cylinder unit up front, but who really cares?

It seems that dogs didn’t turn out to have the sort of purchasing power that Honda had originally considered. Or maybe it was the pushback from cat people that made them nervous about pressing ahead? Whatever it was, Honda clearly missed a trick and now a number of other carmakers have got in on the act. It started with Nissan’s X-Trail 4Dogs concept in 2017, which didn’t go into production either (boo), but clearly convinced the likes of Land Rover and Aston Martin that premium features were needed for their buyers’ best friends. But what a shame about the Honda – has there ever been a more dog friendly car?