A Fur Friendly Ride

Japanese car maker Honda is releasing a new car on the market and it's going to the dogs.

At a recent New York City auto show Honda unveiled its new dog friendly car that will be available this fall. With the help of rescue dog Sammy, the company showed off the new version of its Element Utility Vechicle that comes complete with a dog bed in the trunk, built in water bowl, fan and for the less agile canines an easy entry ramp. Additional features include a paw logo on the side of the car and easy to wash seat covers. In the pictures posted Sammy can be seen modeling some of the car's highlights including the built in dog bed and the entry ramp.

Senior Product Planner James Jenkins says Americans spend fourty one billion dollars a year on their pets and within two years that number is expected to climb to fifty two billion dollars. Jenkins says this indicates a big market for the dog friendly vehicle.

No word yet on how much the pet friendly features will add to the Honda Element's twenty thousand dollar price tag. But you can bet your four legged friends will appreciate the upgrade. I wonder how U.S. auto stocks would be doing if General Motors had thought of this?

(Brian Banmiller is a national Business Correspondent for CBS News Radio, free lance writer and public speaker. The former television business news anchor in San Francisco can be reached at brian@banmilleronbusiness.com .)