2011 Honda Cr-v Se Sport Utility 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Honda wins Commercial of the Decade, but not for the ad you think [w/VIDEO]

Honda's Commercial of the Decade: "Grrr" - Click above to watch video
The mad men at Adweek recently voted for the Commercial of the Decade (Super Bowl commercials not included) and Honda took top honors over memorable ads from the last ten years by companies like Nike, Budweiser and Sony. That's not a big surprise considering Honda often puts a huge amount of effort into its on-air spots. However, the Japanese automaker didn't win for the commercial you might have expected: "Cog." Though Honda's famous commercial that breaks down a European Accord Tourer into a Rube Goldberg-esque machine was also a finalist, it was beaten by another Honda commercial called "Grrr" that's narrated by Garrison Keillor of all people. You've probably never seen it, but you can after the jump.
Volkswagen also made the list of finalists, but the particular ad chosen out of all the comical VW ads we've seen was unexpected as well. Most surprising carmaker with a commercial in the finals: Saturn. Who knew...

Hurricane Sandy cost automakers 15,000 vehicles, may have ruined up to 200k

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic storm in US history, and its total economic impact is just now coming into view. According to Automotive News, Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda are set to scrap around 15,000 new vehicles ruined by the storm. Nissan alone accounts for about 40 percent of those, with 6,000 Nissan and Infiniti models deeded "un-saleable" due to damage. The company saw 56 dealerships shuttered due to the storm, but 51 of those have since reopened.
Toyota, meanwhile, had some 4,000 vehicles at its Newark port facility, and of those, 3,000 may be scrapped. An additional 825 were dealer inventory when they were ruined. Honda and Acura dealers are reportedly sending 3,440 vehicles to the salvage yard. By comparison, Chrysler weathered the storm fairly well with 825 units destroyed, while Hyundai suffered only 400 lost units and Kia scrapped around 200.
As you may recall, Fisker also suffered some losses, and Automotive News reports the manufacturer saw 320 Karma models damaged beyond repair. Ford and General Motors have yet to come up with estimates, and no automaker has commented on the full cost of replacing the vehicles.

Honda working on mid-engine sports car?

The NSX and new Civic Type R might not be the end of Honda's performance push. Patent images obtained by Autovisie in the Netherlands show the Japanese brand's possible design for another mid-engine sports car with what looks to be a removable top. According to Autovisie, the patent was registered on May 27 and was just released. However, nothing else official is known about the vehicle at this time. We can think of several possibilities as to what this might be. Honda is reportedly already working on the design for a future NSX convertible, although these images show significant changes to the overall shape compared to the coupe, which makes this possibility dubious. The automaker is also considering a performance model to slot below its halo car in the future, but without any scale, the size is hard to judge here. The S660 coming to North America is rumored as well, and maybe these shots are a redesign. Of course, the company's designers might just be toying around and patenting the shape for something else. This design definitely has a familial resemblance with the NSX and S660, and it looks great. Let us know in Comments what you think the vehicle might be.