1999 Honda Prelude Base Coupe 2-door 2.2l on 2040-cars

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Kayaba, Sumitomo to pay millions for price-fixing in US

Kayaba Industry Co, which does business in the US as suspension parts maker KYB, and Sumitomo Electric Industries are facing payments in the millions to settle price-fixing cases about the components that they make. As part of the Department of Justice's ongoing crackdown of price fixing in the auto industry, KYB agreed to pay $62 million and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to set the cost of shock absorbers from the mid '90s through 2012. The company allegedly worked with co-conspirators to keep the cost of the parts high, and those components then made it into vehicles from Honda, Kawasaki, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota. "Any collusive agreement among competitors to restrict price competition undercuts our free enterprise system and violates the law," said Carter M. Stewart, US Attorney of the Southern District of Ohio, in the DoJ's announcement. Over the past few years, the DoJ has brought cases against 37 parts suppliers and 55 executives, leading to over $2.6 billion in fines. The investigations haven't always been so successful – some of the Japanese execs fled from the US to avoid prosecution. Critics allege that price fixing is simply how business is done. According to Automotive News, Sumitomo Electric Industries is also facing a $50 million settlement in a civil lawsuit that's related to price fixing of parts like wiring harnesses and heater control panels. The plaintiffs include owners and dealers that purchased vehicles with these parts. The company asserts that the violations are from before 2010, and it now has different process in place to avoid further violations. KYB Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $62 Million Criminal Fine for Fixing Price of Shock Absorbers Kayaba Industry Co. Ltd., dba KYB Corporation (KYB) has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $62 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix the price of shock absorbers installed in cars and motorcycles sold to U.S. consumers. According to charges filed today, KYB conspired from the mid-1990s until 2012 to fix the prices of shock absorbers sold to Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (manufacturer of Subaru vehicles), Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Nissan Motor Company Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Company, including their subsidiaries in the United States.

Honda showcases the letter R in cool new ad campaign

Okay Honda, you've won the Internet for the week. This cool "double-sided" video, featuring the new Civic and Civic Type R Concept, is one of the more interesting YouTube spots we've seen.
On the surface, "The Other Side" shows a regular dad, simply going about his day and picking his daughter's up from school. But press the "R" key while watching the video, and it transitions into an alternate video. The dad is now in a Civic Type R Concept, and he's not on the school run. Instead, he's involved in something... a bit more devious.
We won't spoil the ending, but suffice it to say, you'll want to watch this video through to its conclusion. Also, because of the unique nature of this video, we can't embed it here, so you'll need to hop over to Honda's UK YouTube channel.

2017 Honda Ridgeline: Not a 'youth truck'

When the Ridgeline debuted back in 2006 I predicted it would be a game changer, that it would shake up and redefine the truck market, much like Honda's CB750 four-cylinder motorcycle redefined the big bike market back in 1969. Boy was I wrong. Or perhaps more accurately stated – hang on, because I still think it could happen with this new model. Maybe not to the same degree of the CB750, but I definitely think this gen-two model has the right stuff to make truck buyers give it a second look this time around. Also, the truck market has changed over the last decade. People have had a chance to see the Ridgeline in action, and many have come to the conclusion that, used as intended, it's really not so bad. ...And then look what's happened to the commercial van market: Euro-style vans – which are dramatically different from Detroit-style vans – have virtually taken over that market segment. Typically conservative truck buyers have shown that they are willing to accept new thinking – if they prove to be better mousetraps. In the last 10 years, Honda – and specifically Honda marketing – has learned a lot about what worked and what didn't work with the gen-one model. Yeah, it barely sold, but those who bought the truck absolutely loved it. So Honda was indeed on to something. The problem was not enough people knew about it. I blame Honda corporate and their marketing department squarely for that. After the initial customer reluctance, Honda gave up on it. There was virtually no money spent on advertising this truck. It literally died on the vine because it wasn't watered. Also, there were a number of factors going on here not specifically related to the Ridgeline. Honda, the corporation, was in a severe crisis. Sales were sliding, many of its products disappointed, and the styling of many of its vehicles was polarizing. Also, the Acura division was in a free-fall. In short, Honda had lost its mojo; and as such, money and efforts were re-diverted to righting the ship, and marginal models (Ridgeline) were abandoned in terms of promotion; or just abandoned, period. So here we are now in 2016. Honda has been in the process of exorcizing all the evil from it's products, and is again showing signs of life. They have a slew of new vehicles that look good and are getting good if not excellent reviews, and a new Ridgeline is soon to hit showrooms. The Honda mojo is back. This time around there is no attempt to hide its parentage.