2009 Honda Civic Ex on 2040-cars

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Honda previews S660 roadster ahead of Tokyo debut

Honda isn't known for making convertibles. In fact, legend has it that old man Soichiro banned them from his lineup - but then he also didn't approve of six-cylinder engines, either. There have been exceptions, like the Civic del Sol and S2000, and today Honda has revealed another.
Set to debut at the forthcoming Tokyo Motor Show in late November is the Honda S660 concept, a compact little roadster about which Honda is saying even less. It looks about the size of a Kei car, with a nameplate that suggests a 660cc engine, making it more of a revival for the 1990's Beat than the high-end S2000. And while there are some clear similarities with the EV-STER concept that debuted two years ago in Tokyo, the S660 looks closer to production-ready, with key features like an actual steering wheel.
Of course, whether the S660 makes production, and beyond that makes it off of the Japanese islands and across the Pacific to US showrooms, is another matter, but we could see something like this taking the fight to the Mazda MX-5 and even the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ if it did.

Honda, Hyundai and Kia get best word-of-mouth recommendations in US

Forget advertising, incentives and, yes, even our excellently crafted vehicle reviews, sometimes the best way for automakers to sell cars is still good ol' fashioned word of mouth. In an attempt to measure this "word of mouth" power, The Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting firm, has created a new study called the Brand Advocacy Index (BAI). The index takes a look at how various industries perform from person to person. Those industries include automotive, smartphones, grocery, mobile telecommunications and banking.
The study polled more than 32,000 individuals across Europe and in the US to come up with the top 55 brands in these various industries. On the automotive side of things, the top brands in the US were Honda, Hyundai and Kia, all tied at 63 percent. On a global scale, Volkswagen and Toyota scored the highest with a 65-percent BAI rating (both in France). The average BAI for auto industry players tallied 50 percent.
As for companies in other industries, Apple's iPhone was the index's top-rated smartphone, Trader Joe's was the highest recommended grocery store, Virgin was sat atop the mobile telecom industry and USAA was the top retail bank. Scroll down for the full press release on the new study.

Honda confirms 2014 Odyssey and Acura MDX for New York

Look beneath the seats of a Honda Odyssey and you'll likely find a handful of that iconic loop cereal loved by toddlers nationwide. And to show that Honda understands its minivan's target market, it is using the breakfast staple to announce its plans to reveal the updated 2014 model at next week's New York Auto Show. While the announcement is creative, it unfortunately lacks much in the way of information, leaving us with little more than a vague teaser alluding to "some innovative new features."
As expected, Honda has also confirmed we will see the production version of the 2014 Acura MDX in New York. We expect the 2014 MDX to look very much like the prototype we saw in January at the Detroit Auto Show with only slight differences. The 3.5-liter i-VTEC V6 will be offered with all-wheel drive or, in a first for MDX, front-wheel drive.
You'll find the official press snippets for both below, and we'll have live images and details on both from the New York show. Until then... Cheerio!