2016 Honda Accord Sport on 2040-cars

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Honda getting in on the Daytona Prototype racing action

Racing fans at Sebring are plenty used to seeing Honda powering into the winner's circle, the Japanese motor company having claimed class victories at the endurance race in Florida in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Those were all in the LMP2 category, but with the Twelve Hours of Sebring now part of the combined United SportsCar Championship, Honda is branching out into another class: Daytona Prototypes.
The purpose-built racing machinery that were once part of the Grand-Am series are now racing alongside the LMP2 prototypes from the American Le Mans Series under the united championship. So far Ford and Chevy have signed on to power the Daytona Prototypes, and now Honda's joining their ranks as the only manufacturer to field entries in both categories of the championship's Prototype class.
The competition-spec 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 revealed last month is based on the same J35 engine that powers everything from the Honda Accord to the Acura RLX and MDX. Now it will power the Riley chassis fielded by Starworks Motorsports, competing alongside the pair of Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-03b chassis which Extreme Speed Motorsports will campaign under LMP2 regulations, giving Honda a two-pronged, three-car assault on the top class of the new American sports car racing series.

China's auto sales continue to drop

The days of unending growth of carmakers in China look to be over, and some analysts are even forecasting a net drop in volume this year, The Detroit News reports. After falling numbers in June and July, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers tallied total sales, including trucks and buses, in August to 1.7 million, down 3 percent from 2014. There were some tiny specs of good news in China, but there's no turnaround in sight. Total vehicle sales from January to August are actually still up but only 2.6 percent. Like the rest of the world, SUVs are booming with numbers up 45.6 percent from the previous year. Honda managed a very impressive 50.7 percent gain on the strength of the CR-V and Vezel (the HR-V here), according to The Detroit News. Also, the country's domestic automakers, which generally offer less expensive products, posted a 2.5 percent growth in sales. The news continues to look bad for Detroit's automakers, though. Volume from General Motors dropped 4.8 percent in August, and Ford fell 3 percent in August. Both of them have invested significant amounts there in the past years. The vehicle industry in China grew last year, but there was burgeoning evidence of weakness. At the end of 2014, dealers there pushed back against huge inventories pushed by automakers. Even before the big drops began in June, GM saw the writing on the wall and started cutting prices. BMW responded to the slump by cutting back production to deal with the changing demand. News Source: The Detroit NewsImage Credit: Mark Schiefelbein / AP Photo BMW Ford GM Honda Car Buying

Honda shows off Civic Tourer ahead of Frankfurt debut

This is the new Honda Civic Tourer that will be appearing at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month and that will go on sale in Europe early next year. Created by Honda's European studio, it tweaks the lines and the glasswork of the five-door Civic to create a more muscular profile below the shoulder.
When it's time to haul, a lower load height allows access to a slightly higher floor, arranged so that it creates a flat surface when the rear seats are folded. Honda says the Civic Tourer offers class-leading interior space, the cargo area able to swallow 624 liters from the floor to the window line with the rear seats up, 1,668 liters with the rear seats down and items piled up to the roof. Extra storage can be had in below-floor spaces, and even the rear seat bolsters can flip up to make space for tall goods. An included tonneau cover hides valuables in the back and can be stored out of the way when not in use.
Under the hood will be either the Earth Dreams 1.6 i-DTEC diesel engine or the 1.8 i-VTEC petrol engine, working through a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. An adaptive damper system aims to provide handling to match the looks, with available comfort, normal and dynamic settings.