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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.

In 2014, living with a hydrogen car is fun, challenging

Read his lips: more hydrogen stations, please. That's the crux of the commentary from a Southern California gentleman who's been tooling around in a Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle since 2005. Jon Spallino, the first "retail customer" to lease the Clarity, tells The Wall Street Journal that he enjoys "everything about the car," including the peppy acceleration from the car's electric powertrain. The added bonus, of course, is the fact that the car's emissions are nothing more than water vapor. He pays $600 a month to lease the car, including the hydrogen refueling costs, and says he can go about 230 miles on a full tank. The flipside is the paucity in hydrogen refueling stations, which is understandable considering that they cost an estimated couple million dollars a pop to open. It's no accident that Spallino is one of the early hydrogen drivers, though, since there are eight public refueling stations in Southern California (and one in Northern California), more than any other state, according to US Department of Energy records. The only other public station is in South Carolina, so road trips are tough. Spallino, a resident of Redondo Beach, joins higher-profile folks such as actress Jamie Lee Curtis and former pro hockey player Scott Niedermayer among those who've gotten the opportunity to lease the super-low-volume fuel-cell vehicle. How low? Honda leased out 10 of them last year and just five in 2012. You can read more of Spallino's hydrogen-powered thoughts here.

2016 Honda Civic Coupe starts at $19,885, Touring for $26,960

Honda has posted prices for the 2016 Civc Coupe, which we liked quite a bit during our First Drive. The base LX trim starts at $19,885 (after $835 destination for all models). That's $410 more than the 2016 sedan in LX guise, which goes for $19,475. The previous-gen 2015 Civic Coupe LX went for $19,125. Honda keeps the features of the respective trim levels largely the same between the coupe and sedan. Even base cars come with amenities like LED running lights and a five-inch infotainment system. Where the two-door differs slightly is the unique LX-P version, which costs $21,685. It uses the same 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 158 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque, but gets the CVT standard. The LX-P also includes a moonroof, keyless entry with push-button start, and a remote engine starter. If you want to experience Honda's lauded 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder's 174 hp and 162 lb-ft in the coupe, the least expensive option is the EX-T trim for $23,135. It also includes a seven-inch infotainment system, automatic climate control, and heated seats. The model is also only $100 more than the same version of the sedan. According to the numbers currently on Honda's site, the top two coupe trims are actually cheaper than their four-door counterparts. The EX-L with leather upholstery and an auto-dimming rearview mirror costs $24,260 as a two-door versus $24,535 as a sedan. The range-topping Touring model costs $26,960 and includes the Honda Sensing active safety suite, navigation, LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers and heated mirrors. In comparison, the Touring sedan sells for $27,335. We'll have to wait a little longer before the actual configurator is available to pretend that we're building our own. Related Video: