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Petition to bring Honda Civic Type R to US picking up steam

Never mind what the executives say - we've had a sneaking suspicion all along that the upcoming Honda Civic Type R won't be coming to North America. And with good reason: both the prototype we drove in Japan and the concept unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last week were based on the European-spec Civic hatchback - not to mention that some of the best hot hatches remain out of our reach.
Well it turns out we're not the only ones with that concern. There are legions of Honda hot hatch enthusiasts right here in the good old U S of A who want to see the new Civic Type R ripping up the Great American Road. And many of them are taking to the cyberclouds demanding that Honda bring it Stateside, post haste.
As of the time of writing, this online petition has gotten over 6,000 digital signatures, needing less than 1,500 more to get to the author's target of 7,500 votes. Of course, if and when the petition reaches its target, that still won't mean that Honda will bring it over, but it could mean that extra bit of encouragement the Japanese automaker's executives would need to tip the scales in our favor.

Honda signs on as Pikes Peak sponsor, race participant

Honda plans to storm the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 30, entering ten cars in nine classes at the race to the sky, and signing on as a corporate sponsor. Part of the company's return to grassroots racing - if that's what you can call factory-backed efforts - the banners of Honda R&D and Honda North America will fly on these entries: a first-gen Acura NSX, an Acura TL SH-AWD, Honda CR-Z, Honda Fit EV, one CRF450R and two CRF250R motorcycles, a CBR1000RR motorcycle and a TRX450 ATV.
One more entry, details of which are to be announced later, will be driven by IndyCar pilot Simon Pagenaud of Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports. LoveFab (pictured above during practice last year) will be there with its new, NSX-based Enviate, but as a privateer entry.
Honda's been to the mountain before, with high-powered gear in 2012 and record-setting EVs in 1994 and 1999, but it's never made noise like this. Have a read of the press release below for more info.

2017 Honda Accord Hybrid comes with $300 price hike

The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid went on sale at US dealerships today with an MSRP of $29,605, or $300 more than the 2016 model. Among other new bells and whistles, the sedan, which is available in three trims, includes features such as front and rear parking sensors, remote engine start, heated rear seats, and rain sensing wipers, not to mention the "elegantly contoured" aluminum hood. Honda Sensing driver-assist features are now part of the standard equipment package, while the EX-L version includes touchscreen interface with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. Honda revealed details about the model in April, saying at the time that it had a combined fuel-economy rating of 48 miles per gallon. Honda notes that rating can't be compared to the 2016 model-year's fuel economy because of "new more stringent ratings requirements enacted by the US EPA," though has estimated that, apples to apples, the fuel-economy of the 2017 version is up about four percent. That, even though the car's horsepower is also increased about eight percent to 212. The new price tag means the Accord Hybrid will start about $1,600 higher than the Toyota Camry Hybrid. That model kept its pricing at $27,625 for the 2017 model year. Regardless, Honda is hoping to goose its hybrid sales with the updated model. Honda and its Acura division's hybrid sales through May plunged 79 percent from a year earlier to 1,975 units. Last year, Honda sold 11,063 Accord Hybrids, down 21 percent from a year earlier. By comparison, Toyota sold 30,640 Camry Hybrid's last year, marking a 22 percent drop from 2014. Meantime, take a look at Honda's press release below. Related Video: Honda Launches 2017 Accord Hybrid: America's Most Sophisticated, Powerful and Fuel Efficient Midsize Hybrid Sedan Jun 15, 2016 - TORRANCE, Calif. Next-generation two-motor hybrid powertrain with class-leading 212 horsepower and top-in-class EPA fuel economy ratings of 49/47/48 mpg1 Dynamic new styling and advanced features including standard Honda Sensing™ technology, plus available Display Audio with Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ America's best-selling midsize sedan bolsters its resume for 2016 with the arrival of the restyled and reengineered 2017 Accord Hybrid, America's most powerful and fuel-efficient midsize hybrid sedan, launching today at Honda dealerships nationwide.