2004 Honda Civic Si Ep3 Hatchback on 2040-cars

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2014 Honda Accord V6 Touring

America's midsize sedan segment is one of the most crowded and fiercely competitive in the business. The Toyota Camry has long been our nation's best seller, while the Honda Accord has dutifully come in second place, like some sort of codependent Cal Naughton Jr. riding Ricky Bobby's back bumper.
There was that one year, 2001, when the Accord briefly broke the Camry's streak, marring what would today have been a 17-year-long run of best-selling car titles. The Accord pulled the opposite move in 2011, letting sales slip far enough to let not only the Toyota by, but the Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion, as well. Aside from those anomalies, the Camry and Accord have been first and second in this segment since before many of you readers could even drive.
It's 2014, and these frenemies have never before faced a threat to their world order as strong as today's class of family sedans. The aforementioned Altima and Fusion are perhaps the most capable challengers, but the Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Volkswagen Passat and Mazda6 are all capable of convincing new buyers to walk their way.

2013 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists announced [w/poll]

2012 is almost in the books and automakers are spending December gearing up for the 2013 auto show season, which tips off next month at the Detroit Auto Show. Traditionally, the latter opens up with the announcement of the North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards, and this year figures to be no different.
But up until this moment, we didn't know which six vehicles would be parked ahead of the stage as finalists, with executives and engineers waiting for the winners to be disclosed. Whittled down from October's "short list" of nominees (11 cars and 10 truck/utility vehicles), the finalists are as follows:
2013 North American Car of the Year:

Honda renders three-row MPV for Jakarta reveal

In preparation for the Indonesia International Motor Show coming up in September, Honda has released a teaser sketch (click to enlarge) of a new three-row MPV - specifically designed for this region - set to debut at the show. Honda says this yet-to-be-named people mover will be positioned in the entry-level MPV segment, which it says is a crucial part of the Indonesian auto market.
While there is no way to tell the size of the vehicle based off this rendering, it does appear to be far more stylish than the Honda CR-V, although the stepped-down beltline and the pinched shape of the rear quarter window have us thinking that Honda designers have been staring at the BMW i3 a little bit too much. The New Honda MPV will be powered by a 1.5-liter gas engine, and it goes on sale (and production) in Indonesia early next year. Honda has released a short press release for the new model, which is posted below.