Same engineering team that minimized design costs and components for auto high beam system?
Almost certainly not.
Honda has thousands of engineers with different teams that work on different subsystems.
Honda likely doesn't have an engineering team that has any knowledge of or responsibility for automatic high beams.
A marketing department decided they wanted that feature and it was approved for the vehicle's budget. Honda then went to outside suppliers and said, "here's a model of our vehicle - give us a quote on an automatic high beam feature". They got quotes and chose the least expensive one as one normally does (and it sometimes legally required to do).
The previous design that worked well on the 2017-2019 Ridgeline was likely discontinued by its manufacturer because it was too large, heavy, expensive, and obsolete. Or, the supplier of the multi-purpose camera said, "Hey, Honda - we can incorporate your auto high beam feature into our camera for $5 per vehicle instead of the $10 you were paying for a separate camera". Honda said, "Great! Let's make the change!" Honda must be fully aware that this newer, cheap system is crap, but it's not legally required. The window sticker says the feature is included - and it is, which fulfills legal requirements - even though it doesn't work very well.
Getting back to engines, Honda designs and manufacturers their own engines in house. They have complete control over the quality. They even formulate their own engine oil to ensure long life and low emissions.
Honda designs and makes engines, most transmissions, and unibodies, sheet metal, and some plastic parts. They don't make electronics or glass or brakes or seats or exhaust systems or fuel systems or most of the parts that make up a vehicle, for that matter. But, they do make engines and they have a reputation for building good engines that last a long time and they know how they should be maintained.
autos.yahoo.com
