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Sony Honda EV venture's plan for online sales has dealers squirming

TOKYO/DETROIT — A new joint venture formed by Japan's Sony Group Corp and Honda Motor plans to introduce a premium electric vehicle later this decade, and the automaker's U.S. dealers are anxious to be part of the sales process. Sony Honda Mobility said on Thursday it was aiming to deliver the first of the unnamed EV by 2026, starting in the United States, and will sell them online. The success of Tesla at selling EVs without franchised dealers is putting pressure on established automakers to overhaul their retail networks. That leaves dealers across most brands concerned about their place in the changing world and whether profits will be squeezed. The online aspect of the Sony Honda plan, as well as the lack of details around how the vehicle will be sold and serviced, has raised questions with the Honda and Acura brand dealers. Many nonetheless expect Honda to work through the existing retail network. "These issues are certainly a concern," said Brian Benstock, general manager and vice president of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Queens, New York. "The best path forward is with the dealers." "We have a role (automakers) can't replicate," said Benstock, who also is on the Acura national dealer advisory board and has spoken with Honda officials about the new vehicle. "There's no way that Honda wants to hurt their existing dealer body." Some dealers questioned why Honda would even consider trying to work outside the current U.S. sales network given its national reach. Honda has about 1,100 Honda dealers and 270 Acura dealers. A Honda spokesperson referred questions about the joint venture to the new company. Sony Honda spokesperson Mai Nagadome said there are still a lot of details to finalize, but selling through the dealers has not been ruled out and customers would feel uneasy without some kind of after-sales service process. "The cost of continuing to develop (internal combustion engine) products along with EVs and autonomous tech and software for the next generation vehicles is proving to be quite the challenge," said Peter Hennessy, dealer principal of Atlanta-based Hennessy Automobile Companies, which includes a Honda store. "I get teaming up with Sony, but it should be done in conjunction with the dealer network, not outside it," he added.

Honda Civic Tourer sports forbidden facelift

Following up on a sextet of spy photos from June, we now have another batch of images of the facelifted Euro-spec Honda Civic undergoing testing in the United Kingdom. There's a bit more sheetmetal to this particular prototype, though, as our spy photographers have caught the upcoming Tourer model (pronounced "wagon" among us Yanks).
Like the hatchback we showed you last month, the new Tourer benefits from the same set of styling tweaks inspired by the Civic Type R Concept from March's Geneva Motor Show. That means it boasts a revised front fascia, albeit with a more heavily camouflaged version of the grille shown in last month's photos. It's a similar story below, where the intakes on this long-roof model wear more disguise, yet look to be virtually identical to what we've already seen.
While the headlights still look to be a straight lift from last month's car, the more upright nature of the Tourer's tailgate demands a more subdued character. Gone are the thin, curvy LED taillights, and in their place sit significantly more substantial units (with conventional bulbs), although they boast none of the design chutzpah shown on our last round of spy photos. Our spies claim LED taillights will be available, noting that they simply aren't fitted to this particular prototype, a distinction that suggests this is a lower-end model.

A journey to our driving future | Autoblog in Japan

TOKYO — We here at Autoblog recently went to Japan to drive cars, ride trains and talk to people about the past and future of mobility. In 1964, Japan hosted the Summer Olympics. To showcase to the world how far they had come since WWII, Japan launched its latest marvel in mobility, the Shinkansen (or as we call it, the Bullet Train). In 2020, Japan is hosting the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and this time the nation is prepared to showcase a huge push toward autonomous cars. Green Editor John Beltz Snyder, Senior Producer Christopher McGraw and Associate Producer Alexander Malburg traveled there to get a sense of the country's transportation ecosystem with the 2020 Games on the horizon, and we filmed the experience along the way. In this series of videos, you'll see us try out car features that aren't yet available in the U.S., talk to an expert at Nissan about electric and autonomous mobility, ride the incredibly fast Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Kyoto, pay homage to Soichiro Honda — and Ayrton Senna — at the Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi, and see some beautiful and historic sites along the way. Here's what we'll be showcasing from our trip to Japan. Check back here as we update the list with links to all the videos: Driving a Subaru WRX equipped with EyeSight with Touring Assist Reviewing the 2018 Nissan Leaf on the roads of Japan Testing ProPilot Park on the Nissan Leaf Talking with Nicholas Thomas, Nissan's director of electric vehicles How to ride the Shinkansen in Japan (We love trains!) Touring the Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi Check out the travelogue video at the top of this page for a taste of what's to come, then join us for a journey to Japan, Autoblog style. Related Video: Auto News Green Honda Nissan Subaru Green Driving Technology Autonomous Vehicles Electric Videos Original Video