2004 Honda Cr-v Lx Sport Utility 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2014 Honda Civic Coupe

Honda lifted the covers off its refreshed Civic Coupe at SEMA earlier this month, showing off its updated styling and redesigned 18-inch wheels, but didn't unveil its interior or mechanical upgrades until today at the LA Auto Show. Eager to show off its latest arrival, Honda allowed me to check out and drive the new coupe a few weeks ago.
The interior, which was hidden beneath heavily tinted glass at SEMA, features new colors, upgraded seating materials and new technology. The interior themes are now more color coordinated and feature upgraded Tricot soft weave. Black is the standard interior color, with a choice of black or gray seats. A new display audio system is also found on the EX/EX-L trims. The seven-inch capacitive-touch screen, with a matte finish to reduce the annoyance of greasy fingerprint marks, allows users to not only tap once for a function, but to double-tap, slide, flick and pinch - as if they are using a familiar smartphone or tablet. The new infotainment interface not only accepts USB and Bluetooth data exchange, but has also been configured with HDMI for future upgrades. Some of you may have also noticed the exterior mirrors on the SEMA car, as they were fitted with cameras for Honda's blind spot minimizing Lanewatch system. It is now offered on the Civic Coupe for EX trims and above.
Mechanically, the new Civic Coupe rides on an upgraded suspension system that features revised spring rates (front up by four percent, rear up by three percent), a stiffer rear stabilizer (up by 25 percent) and larger 16-inch wheels (wearing 205/55R16 tires). The engineering objective was to improve handling and responsiveness while flattening cornering. According to Honda, the tweaks should give the Civic Coupe better linear steering feel than either the Hyundai Elantra or the Ford Focus.

Ariel to revive motorcycle business with debut at Goodwood

If you're a parent, the name Ariel might conjure up one of the Disney princesses, but auto enthusiasts know it as a hardcore, boutique British sports car maker. Before being revived to make the skeletal Atom, the business was also a British motorcycle company best known for its four-cylinder bikes. Now, the modern iteration is looking to the past with plans to unveil its own cycle at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed from June 26-29.
Given Ariel's cars, you might expect an absolutely minimalist motorcycle weighing practically nothing. However, according to its boss speaking to Visor Down, there's no point in trying to build another racer; that market is sewn up. Instead, it's developing a performance cruiser with a more tailored design approach. Buyers can select a variety of different components to adapt the cycle to their style. It shouldn't be lacking for too much speed though; power comes from the 1,237cc V4 engine from the Honda VFR1200F with around 170 horsepower on tap, and it also offers the VFR's six-speed, dual-clutch gearbox as an option.
Ariel admitted that bike on display at Goodwood would just be a test mule and didn't say when the production version would be ready. It seems this idea has been a long time coming, though - we reported in 2011 that the company was working on a bespoke motorcycle with multiple design options around a Honda engine. Pricing at the time was rumored to sit around 20,000 pounds.

Honda finance to pay $24M for discriminatory lending practices

Honda has found itself in hot water in the United States over allegations of discriminatory lending practices. However the Japanese automaker's American subsidiaries are taking actions to not only alter its practices, but compensate the victims of such past discrimination. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, some Honda dealers were found to have offered less preferential loans to customers of African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander ethnicities than they have offered to white customers, irrespective of their individual financial situations. The American Honda Finance Corporation has allowed dealers to mark up individual loans by two percent or more, depending on the length of the loan's contract, thereby opening the door for dealers to set interest rates at their discretion. And that discretion, according to the CFPB and the Department of Justice, has been applied in a discriminatory fashion, in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Honda, for its part, refutes the allegations and maintains that its practices have not been racially or ethnically discriminatory. The company is nevertheless taking measures to address the charges. For one thing, Honda's US financial arm is reducing the amount of wiggle-room it gives its dealers to only 1.25 percent above the buy rate for short-term loans (5 years or less), and one percent for longer-term loans. It has also set up a $24-million fund to compensate victims of the alleged discrimination, coordinating with the CFPB on the dispersal of said funds. The CFPB reports that "because of Honda's responsible conduct," it is not seeking penalties to be levied against the company for the alleged discrimination. STATEMENT BY AMERICAN HONDA FINANCE CORPORATION RE: Settlement with the Department of Justice and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Jul 14, 2015 -- American Honda Finance Corporation (AHFC) has reached an agreement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) that shows our commitment to work together to be part of the solution and to establish the path forward that best supports our Honda and Acura customers and dealers with clear and convenient financing options. AHFC strongly opposes any form of discrimination, and we expect our dealers to uphold this principle as well. We firmly believe that our lending practices have been fair and transparent.