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2016 Honda Civic is a newly competitive compact [w/video]

It's fair to call the last-generation Honda Civic, built from 2012 to 2015 (with a quick refresher in the middle), a disappointment. It came out using an old compact car formula – going cheap and lightly equipped – at almost the exact moment its competitors embraced high technology and refined, expressive designs. We spent some time today with the vehicle meant to correct this mistake, the all-new, tenth-generation Civic. Easily the most discussed thing about the new Civic is its handsome new sheet metal, which we actually showed you last week. The expressive profile, with strong arches over the front wheels and a handsome, almost fastback-like roofline is a major departure from the duller, three-box look of the current Civic. The front fascia's highlight is the prominent chrome grille, backed by the optional LED headlights. In back, that tiny decklid is outshined – no pun intended – by a set of LED taillights that should present a very impressive look at night. The overall balance of the design is impressive. The ninth-generation Civic was widely panned for its crummy interior quality. Designed at a time of global financial crisis, Honda opted for more affordable materials that lacked the soft-touch goodness of many competitors. The new Civic addresses this shortcoming, fitting not only more impressive plastics, but the technology to back them up. From the EX trim on up, the instrument cluster's focal point is a large TFT display, flanked by a pair of traditional gauges. Yep, that's right. Honda is getting rid of the Civic's multi-tiered dash, and we couldn't be happier. On the center console, there's a seven-inch touchscreen display that uses the same Android-based operating system as the new Pilot. And speaking of Android, the Civic will play nice with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. As for the actual driving experience, we can't tell you much about it for another couple weeks, but we can talk briefly about the seats. The hip point has been dropped by a full inch in front, and has the effect of creating a sport-driving-ready seating position. Those seats are comfortable, too, although we'll need more than the few minutes we got with the new Civic to make an informed judgment. We don't, however, need any extra time to talk about the backseats. That plunging roofline is not conducive to rear headroom, a fact that overshadows the extra two inches of rear legroom. You're probably wondering when we'll talk about the powertrains.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla is for Mistresses; Yo, free Smart ED rides!

Smart used the Yo app to give free test rides to San Franciscans last week. Yo is a free app wherein users tap a username to send a notification that simply says "Yo" to the recipient. Signs at locations in the Mission and SoMa neighborhoods gave instructions to send a Yo to SmartUSA for a free ride anywhere in the city. Three of the eight Smart vehicles used for the promotion were the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive. The event allowed people to see how well suited the cars are to the city, particularly when it comes to San Francisco's parking problems. It also saved users the fare of an Uber or Lyft hire. Read more at TechCrunch. Zipcar has added the 2014 Honda Fit EV to its UC Davis fleet near Sacramento, California. The cars will go to the school's West Village, a planned zero net energy community, which plans to generate as much energy as it uses within a year. "Innovations like solar power to help generate the electricity needed to charge the EV," says Dan Sperling, founding director of the school's Institute of Transportation Studies, "and fully zero emission car sharing moves us aggressively toward a sustainable future." The addition of the Fit EVs will also give cash-strapped students access to affordable emissions-free driving. Read more in the press release, below. California is one step closer to adding 15,000 new green HOV stickers after a bill was approved by the state Senate. Now the bill must go up before the California State Assembly for approval before it can be signed by Governor Jerry Brown. The bill will raise the total number of the green HOV stickers for plug-in hybrids to 70,000. Raising the cap on the green decals, which allow owners use of the carpool lanes, could encourage more California drivers to buy a PHEV. Read more at Inside EVs. The Tesla Model S made a star appearance on the ABC television show Mistresses. In the episode "Choices," the character Joss receives the car as a gift from her fiance, but is not all too happy about it, seeing it as putting her in a position of dependency. "I could never in a million years afford that Tesla," Joss complains to her friend. "How am I ever supposed to get mad at him when he can hold a Tesla over my head?" The luxury EV makes an on-screen appearance in the episode complete with an interior shot of the car's touchscreen display. See a clip from the episode below or read more at Green Car Reports. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences.

Mitsubishi to join alliance with Honda and Nissan, Nikkei reports

TOKYO — Japan's Mitsubishi Motors is set to join an alliance between Honda Motor and Nissan Motor, creating a tie-up between automakers with combined sales of more than 8 million vehicles, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday. Mitsubishi Motors, which is 34% owned by Nissan, will work with Honda and Nissan to finalize the details of their strategic partnership, Nikkei said, adding the three firms intend to standardize in-vehicle software that controls cars. Mitsubishi Motors declined to comment on the report, while a Nissan spokesperson would only say the report was not based on something either of the companies had announced. Spokespeople for Honda did not respond to a request for comment. The push comes as Nissan, Japan's third biggest automaker, has been steadily losing market share in its two largest markets, the United States and China, which together accounted for half of its global sales in the year to March. On Thursday, the company slashed its annual outlook after heavy discounting in the U.S. almost completely wiped out its first-quarter profit. Nissan and Honda said in March they were considering a strategic partnership to collaborate on producing electric vehicle components and artificial intelligence in automotive software platforms. Mitsubishi Motors is already part of a long-standing alliance with Nissan and France's Renault that the three automakers last year agreed to restructure, aiming for a downsized but more pragmatic and agile partnership. Separate collaboration between Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi Motors could help Japan's automakers cut costs and beef up to battle tough competition in EVs, dominated by companies like China's BYD and Tesla. In China, the world's largest auto market, Japanese brands previously were strong but are now up against domestic automakers that have rapidly increased production and won over consumers with low-priced vehicles loaded with software.