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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

Honda profit declines on semiconductor crunch and raw material costs

TOKYO — HondaÂ’s fiscal first quarter profit fell 33% from last year as a global computer chip shortage, a pandemic-related lockdown in China and the rising costs of raw materials hurt the Japanese automaker. Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. reported Wednesday that its profit totaled 149.2 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in the April-June quarter, down from 222.5 billion yen ($1.7 billion) a year earlier. Quarterly sales slipped 7% to 3.8 trillion yen ($28 billion). Honda kept its profit forecast for the full fiscal year through March 2023 unchanged at 710 billion yen ($5.3 billion). The semiconductor shortage has hurt all the worldÂ’s automakers, including Honda, despite strong demand, and the manufacturers have been scrambling to secure alternative suppliers. Honda, which makes the Accord sedan, Odyssey minivan and Civic compact, sold about 815,000 vehicles last quarter, down from 998,000 vehicles the same period a year earlier. Auto sales dropped in almost all regions around the world, including Japan, the U.S. and Europe. “I ask for the understanding from all those who are still waiting for their vehicles and vow that our whole company is doing its utmost to make the deliveries even a day sooner,” Chief Financial Officer Kohei Takeuchi said. Takeuchi said the semiconductor shortage curtailed motorcycle production as well as car production, adding to uncertainty about future prospects. Honda said the recent lockdown in Shanghai was among the causes of the shortage in computer chips supply but declined to give specifics. Although U.S. sales are potentially facing a dent from recession worries and other economic hardships, Takeuchi acknowledged he was more worried about the shortage problem and producing the cars customers were waiting for. Takeuchi noted that motorcycle sales for the quarter, which grew to 4.25 million motorcycles from 3.88 million a year earlier, were going strong, especially in India. The cheaper yen and cost cuts helped maintain profitability overall, he added. The yen has been at a two-decade low against the U.S. dollar. A cheap yen has historically worked as a boon for exporters like Honda by boosting the value of their overseas earnings when converted into yen. But it also increases costs for imported components and materials. JapanÂ’s top automaker Toyota Motor Corp. reported recently that its fiscal first quarter profit fell nearly 18%. Nissan Motor Co. saw its quarterly profit plunge to less than half of what it was a year earlier.

2022 Acura RDX pricing starts at $40,345, a $900 increase

Acura showed us the quieter, more featured, and better handling 2022 RDX five-seater crossover in September. With the model expected to drive onto dealer lots in about two weeks, it's time for pricing. The base price for a front-wheel drive RDX goes up by $900 to $40,345 after the $1,045 destination charge. Be warned, that price is only for a Lunar Silver RDX; the four other colors possible on the base trim cost $500, and the three pearlescent hues require both the $2,650 Technology Package and the $3,000 Advance Package. MSRPs for the entire 2022 RDX range are: RDX FWD: $40,345 RDX FWD with Technology Package: $42,995 RDX FWD A-Spec with Technology Package: $45,995 RDX SH-AWD with Advance Package: $50,345 RDX SH-AWD A-Spec with Advance Package: $52,345 RDX SH-AWD PMC Edition: $55,295 As indicated on Acura's pricing sheet, adding SH-AWD to the three front-wheel-drive models requires $2,200. Fyi, the RDX configurator on Acura's web site displays the price for SH-AWD as $2,000, but the summary actually adds the correct $2,200 figure to the tally.   Every RDX next year will be quieter thanks to a retuned Active Sound Control system and, as part of the MDX-inspired redesign, new front fender liners that reduce road noise. The new Technology Package cuts even more cacophony thanks to thicker carpet, acoustic glass in the front doors, more sound insulation throughout the cabin, plus it throws in features like perforated sport seats, 12-speaker ELS audio, parking sensors front and rear, swankier 19-inch wheels, and a rear camera washer. The A-Spec Package takes the rims up to 20 inches, and bundles gear like LED fog lights, heated front seats, a flat-bottom steering wheel, and 16-speaker ELS audio. For 2022, Acura will finally let customers combine the A-Spec with the Advance Package. The latter kit piles on even more sound deadening material, acoustic glass for the rear windows, plus bits like a heated steering wheel and rear seats, a hands-free tailgate, and adaptive dampers. Those dampers are drop wheel size back down to 19 inches, though. The 2022 RDX can be pre-ordered now, examples will be in showrooms come November 2. Related Video: