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Former Honda CEOs chide current boss about quality

Taking charge of a major corporation will never be without its challenges, and one of those - as Honda CEO Takanobu Ito is finding out - is filling the big shoes of those that came before. Ito's predecessors are apparently not pleased with what he's doing to the company, and are wasting no time in telling him so.
According to Reuters, two former Honda chiefs have recently visited Ito (pictured above with his predecessor Takeo Fukui) to talk to him about the Japanese automaker's quality issues, which they apparently regard as eroding the company's image. Nobuhiko Kawamoto, who served as CEO from 1990-98, reportedly came to Honda headquarters in Tokyo to deliver "stern words" to Ito last month. Kawamoto's immediate successor, Hiroyuki Yoshino, reportedly met with Ito under similar circumstances earlier this year.
Kawamoto and Yoshino are part of a larger group of former Honda executives who are concerned with the declining quality of the company's products under Ito's leadership. Where Honda once focused more on quality, collaborating more closely with parts suppliers,more recently the company has, in the eyes of those former executives at least, shifted its focus to quantity and to new technologies. That's what, the report alleges, has led to Honda recalling so many of its vehicles in recent years.

2016 Honda Civic colors and interiors leaked

UPDATE: Honda enthusiast forum Temple of VTEC also reported the 2016 Civic color information. We're just a short time away from our first test of the new Honda Civic, which should be when we get the full slate of details. We are, however, impatient and imagine that you are, too. That's why we're stoked about a discovery from 10thCivicForum.com, which shows the entire interior and exterior color slate, along with their specific combinations. There will be nine exterior paint colors, including some that fans of the current Civic will be familiar with. Taffeta White, White Orchid Pearl, Crystal Black Pearl, Modern Steel Metallic (shown above), are all carry overs from the current-gen four-door, while Rallye Red is an addition from the current two-door Civic. Other colors can be found on other products in the Honda catalog, including Lunar Silver Metallic from the Accord and Aegean Blue Metallic from the Fit. New shades include Cosmic Blue Metallic and Burgundy Night Pearl. Every color will be offered on every trim, except for Taffeta White, which is only offered on the basic 2.0-liter LX model. The interior colors are, of course, more predictable. You can choose from black, gray, or ivory. Exciting, we know. You can check out the entire color matrix, which breaks down which interior colors pair with which paints on the entire Civic range, over at 10thCivicForum.com. Check it out, and keep an eye out for our first drive of the latest Civic Sedan, coming soon.

Here are the best-selling cars and trucks from January 2015

Every month, Autoblog slogs through all the sales figures reported by automakers that do business in the United States, and, after a little bit of sorting, we put it into an easy-to-read chart in an attempt to make it as easy as possible to follow the ins and outs of sales and shipments. But that only covers the brands themselves, not the individual models they sell. And we think you'd all be interested in knowing which vehicles beat their rivals in sales from month to month, so we've put together this handy gallery to keep you in the know. While the leader of the pack may not come as much of a surprise, the order that the top ten finishes in changes frequently – due to automaker deals, the price of gas, etc. – and we've included some statistics to help you see how their current performance stacks up to month's past. Click here to see January 2015's Top Ten Best-Selling Cars And Trucks In America. By the Numbers Chevrolet Ford GM Honda Nissan RAM Toyota Car Buying