2000 Honda Insight Base Hatchback 3-door 1.0l on 2040-cars

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2015 Honda Fit delayed until June for quality checks

If you are looking forward to the launch of the 2015 Honda Fit and can't wait to buy one, we have some bad news. Honda is holding off on sales a little longer to make sure everything is just right. The brand's latest subcompact was originally scheduled to start arriving at dealers this spring, but the introduction was delayed due to issues at Honda's new factory in Celaya, Mexico.
Consumer Reports learned of the delayed launch when the Fit it ordered didn't arrive on time. It contacted Honda and was told that the problem had to do with a "shipping delay nationally." The company was taking "a measured approach" to getting the new models out of the new factory, thus delaying shipment to dealers until June.
Honda spokesperson Steve Kinkade gave a few more details about the situation to Autoblog. He indicated that the factory in Mexico is new and is producing these vehicles for the first time. Therefore, the company is taking the extra time "to do a final verification on quality," said Kinkade. He also confirmed the delay until the second week of June.

Lawsuit reveals gruesome details of Takata airbag victim's death

The accident was minor. The aftermath was horrific. Carlos Solis was waiting to turn left into a Houston-area apartment complex on January 28 when oncoming traffic struck the front-left corner of his 2002 Honda Accord, pictured above. He was stopped, according to a police report of the accident. The other car traveled at under 30 miles per hour. He should have walked away from the fender-bender. Instead, the 35-year-old married man was killed when a defective airbag exploded and sent a large piece of metal shrapnel into his neck, his estate's lawyers allege in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Harris County, Texas. He bled to death while his younger brother and an 11-year-old cousin tried to save him. Solis is one of at least six motorists killed by defective airbags made by Takata, a global automotive supplier. He may also be a posthumous poster child for federal legislation introduced earlier this week that would ensure car owners receive more timely information about safety recalls. Currently, federal law does not require car dealers to tell prospective buyers about open recalls on used cars or whether defects have been repaired. Legislation introduced by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wouldn't require that directly of dealerships, but it would mandate that car owners be notified of recalls when they apply for registration and at the time of registration renewal. "Important recall notices can get bogged down with legalese, and busy consumers can miss a life-saving update," Blumenthal said. "This legislation provides a common-sense avenue to ensure every driver is reminded and encouraged to make the necessary repairs." Such a law may have prevented Solis' death. Although his '02 Accord had been recalled in late 2011, his wife and lawyers say he had no knowledge of the recall when he bought the car used from All Star Auto Sales in 2014, nor did he know of the dangerous flaw when he set out to visit his parents on Jan. 18. Only one month earlier, Congress held hearings on Takata and Honda's long-standing inaction related to the defective airbags. Documents showed both companies were aware of problems with the airbags as early as 2004, and a report in The New York Times detailed secret airbag tests, the results of which alarmed Takata engineers. Yet the company withheld the information from federal safety administrators.

Honda Civic Tourer... now with bikes!

Honda is rolling in to the Frankfurt Motor Show this year with a version of its Civic Tourer wagon. Called the Active Life concept, the modified Euro-market estate is outfitted specifically for cyclists. To that end, the Japanese automaker has equipped the show wagon with a rack capable of holding a pair of full-size bicycles – not on the roof, where you'd expect them to be, but inside the vehicle. With the rear seats folded down, and thanks in no small part to innovative fuel tank placement, the Civic wagon can swallow nearly 60 cubic feet – several more than the Ford Focus estate, for example, albeit less than the VW Golf Variant. The Honda Civic Tourer Active Life Concept is also equipped with a retractable arm for bicycle maintenance, a built-in air pump, a retractable bench, and toolbox, water tank, and front wheel holder integrated into the side of the trunk. There's a sleek box on the roof for accessories, too. And it's all capped by a special blue paint job with metallic gradation, silver roof, custom rear bumper, 18-inch alloys, and a customized interior with blue stitching, black headliner, and suede and leather trim. It'll be displayed alongside the Civic Tourer that recently set a world record for fuel efficiency. The bigger news, however, will be the presentation of the all-new Civic sedan. In short, there'll be plenty of Civic action to check out at the Frankfurt Messe this year, and we'll be on hand to catch it all. But in the meantime you can scope out this concept right here.Related Video: HONDA TO SHOWCASE THE CIVIC TOURER ACTIVE LIFE CONCEPT AT 2015 FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW - Civic Tourer Active Life Concept makes its debut - GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title-holding Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC on display on Honda stand Honda will reveal the Civic Tourer "Active Life Concept" at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, underlining the Tourer's class leading cargo space and versatility within the C-segment. The Concept study shows that style and space can work together; a custom paint colour further enhances the sleek and sporty exterior and an accessorised interior demonstrates the Concept's suitability for an active lifestyle and the needs of its customers. Utilising the unique centre fuel tank layout, the Civic Tourer Active Life Concept makes full use of its 1668 litres* trunk space and a low loading height.