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Sonic-themed Honda Civic spin-dashes into Comic-Con

Prepare to feel old video gamers – Sonic the Hedgehog, the speedy, spiky avatar of early 1990s Sega enthusiasts turns 25 this year. And in celebration of Sonic being old enough to rent a car, Honda put together a celebratory Civic in time for the awesome nerd fest that is San Diego Comic-Con. The Sonic Civic, as Honda's taken to calling it, features a vinyl wrap over parts of the Sonic Blue body, while the Sonic Yellow accents add some pleasant contrast. Honda went with two different wheel colors for the Civic – the rears honor Sonic's iconic red-and-white sneakers and the fronts are reminiscent of the long-running series' gold rings. It's pretty obvious Honda aggressively lowered the Sonic Civic's ride height, too. We don't have interior images, but Honda claims the blue theme carried over to the Katzkin leather seats. In the trunk is a pair of ten-inch, 500-watt Rockford Fosgate subwoofers, a pair of 400-watt amps, and a flip-up, 32-inch TV for play throughs of Sonic's classic adventures. Cool upgrades, but where's the performance stuff? Speed is Sonic's defining characteristic, so it seems a little strange that a car built in his honor is rocking a base 1.5-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder. Related Video: Featured Gallery Honda Sonic Civic for Comic-Con 2016 News Source: HondaImage Credit: Honda Auto News Toys/Games Honda Economy Cars Sedan sega

Honda S660 proving popular with middle-age Japanese buyers

The S660 roadster has been a success so far for Honda. (At least, that is, insofar as a niche-market sports car limited to the Japanese Domestic Market can be considered a big seller.) It just hasn't resonated with the customers that the company expected. Honda revealed the S660 in concept form at the Tokyo Motor Show nearly two years ago, and subsequently put it into production. The convertible Kei car pays homage to models like the S500, S2000, and Beat. It packs a tiny 660cc three-cylinder engine mounted amidships and driving the rear wheels. Despite its connection to past models, the S660 features an entirely modern design that, along with its low price, was expected to appeal to younger buyers. But while Honda has already sold out all 8,600 examples it's slated to build this year, a surprising 80 percent of them have been snapped up by customers over the age of 40 who are mostly buying them as second cars. The development is not entirely isolated. As Bloomberg points out, the number of licensed drivers in Japan "under the age of 40 has fallen 46 percent over the last 13 years." Those are rather startling numbers that dwindle the market down for youth-oriented vehicles like the S660. Honda is expected to begin taking orders for next year's allocation of S660s in October. At that point, the company anticipates the average age of its customer base will drop. But with fewer young drivers on the road in Japan, it shouldn't expect it to drop by much.

Green self-driving cars take center stage in Tokyo

Visions of cars that drive themselves without emitting a bit of pollution while entertaining passengers with online movies and social media are what's taking center stage at the Tokyo Motor Show. Japan, home to the world's top-selling automaker, has a younger generation disinterested in owning or driving cars. The show is about wooing them back. It's also about pushing an ambitious government-backed plan that paints Japan as a leader in automated driving technology. Reporters got a preview look at the exhibition Wednesday, ahead of its opening to the public Oct. 30. Nissan Motor Co. showed a concept vehicle loaded with laser scanners, a 360 degree camera setup, a radar and computer chips so the car can "think" to deliver autonomous driving. The Japanese automaker called it IDS, which stands for "intelligent driving system." Nissan, based in Yokohama, Japan, said it will offer some autonomous driving features by the end of next year in Japan. By 2018, it said vehicles with the technology will be able to conduct lane changes on highways. By 2020, such vehicles will be able to make their way through intersections on regular urban roads. Nissan officials said they were working hard to make the car smart enough to recognize the difference between a red traffic light and a tail light, learn how to turn on intersections where white lane indicators might be missing and anticipate from body language when a pedestrian might cross a street. Nissan's IDS vehicle is also electric, with a new battery that's more powerful than the one currently in the automaker's Leaf electric vehicle. Although production and sales plans were still undecided, it can travel a longer distance on a single charge and recharge more quickly. A major challenge for cars that drive themselves is winning social acceptance. They would have to share the roads with normal cars with drivers as well as with pedestrians, animals and unexpected objects. That's why some automakers at the show are packing the technology into what looks more like a golf cart or scooter than a car, such as Honda Motor Co.'s cubicle-like Wander Stand and Wander Walker scooter. Instead of trying to venture on freeways and other public roads, these are designed for controlled environments, restricted to shuttling people to pre-determined destinations. At a special section of the show, visitors can try out some of the so-called "smart mobility" devices such as Honda's seat on a single-wheel as well as small electric vehicles.