1991 Honda Civic Crx on 2040-cars

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Honda adopts English as its official language in meetings worldwide

Japanese was clearly the language of operation while we visited Honda's global headquarters in Tokyo last week, as well as its newest factory and principal test track. Chief executive Takanobu Ito (pictured above) spoke to us through an interpreter. But according to the latest reports, the Japanese language is being phased out at Honda in favor of English.
This according to Bloomberg, which points out that tire manufacturer Bridgestone and rival automaker Nissan have implemented similar measures, as have Japanese retail giants Fast Retailing Co. and Rakuten Inc. Honda's shift from Japanese to English comes as part of a shift in focus from central decision-making to a more regional model, but while English has clearly emerged as the international language of business, it's no coincidence that it's also the dominant language here in America. Bloomberg points out that over the 12-month period that ended this past March, North America accounted for a massive 47 percent of Honda's revenues worldwide.

Subaru and Honda set all-time single-month U.S. sales records in August

While the U.S. and Japan continue to hash out the details for a new trade deal, American customers showed just how much they love Japanese automobiles. Both Honda America and Subaru of America exceeded expectations in August and set all-time sales records for units moved in a single month. The booming business was led, in part, by the Honda CR-V and Subaru Crosstrek, both of which posted their best sales months ever.  For Subaru, August 2019 marked the best sales month in company history and a claimed 93 straight months of yearly, month-over-month growth. Subaru sold 70,039 vehicles, which beats the December 2018 record of 64,541 vehicles. Top sellers were the Outback (17,110), the Forester (17,076), and the Crosstrek (15,860). The Ascent notably saw a 72.8 percent increase in sales compared to August 2018 with 7,319 sold.  Honda America, which includes Honda and Acura, sold 173,993 total vehicles, 158,804 of which were Hondas. That's up from 147,903 total sales in August 2018. Honda achieved these numbers with strong sales across its lineup, despite the less consumer interest in sedans in general. In August 2019, Honda sold 44,235 CR-Vs (the most ever in a single month) 14,381 Pilots, 10,190 Odysseys, 34,808 Civics, and 30,558 Accords. Acura's SUVs continue to be the company's best-sellers with 5,976 MDXs sold and 5,459 RDXs moved.  By the Numbers Earnings/Financials Honda Subaru Car Buying Crossover Sedan sales subaru crosstrek

2020 Hyundai Palisade vs. Ascent, Pilot, Highlander and CX-9: How they compare on paper

We've finally had our first drive of the 2020 Hyundai Palisade and found it to be well-equipped for sales success. It nails the formula that some of the most successful three-row crossovers have, the aforementioned seating capacity, high driving position, all-wheel-drive availability and a V6 engine. Of course, it also offers a unique and menacing-looking exterior that ought to stand out in the parking lot. To dig deeper into how it compares to other three-row family crossovers, we've fired up the old Autoblog Comparo Generator 3000 (™) and lined the all-new 2020 Palisade up against the 2019 Subaru Ascent, 2019 Honda Pilot, 2019 Toyota Highlander and 2019 Mazda CX-9. Besides being two of last year's best-selling three-row SUVs, the Pilot and Highlander are also the closest in general concept to the new Palisade, while the Ascent and CX-9 also offer a comparable turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain. The CX-9 is also one of our favorites in the segment, and the Ascent is one of the newest entrants on the scene. There are of course numerous other worthy contenders, including the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, Volkswagen Atlas, Nissan Pathfinder, Hyundai Santa Fe and the best-selling Ford Explorer, so if you want to see their specs, check out the Autoblog compare tool. Performance and fuel economy The Subaru, as is so often the case, is the oddball. It has a 2.4-liter turbocharged horizontally opposed four-cylinder (aka a flat-four or a boxer-four) that produces a comparatively modest horsepower rating, but a greater amount of torque. That's typical for turbocharged engines such as Mazda CX-9's turbo inline-four that produces 250 horsepower on premium fuel (227 hp on 87 octane) and 310 lb-ft of torque (the VW Atlas also offers a base turbo-four). The Hyundai, Honda and Toyota, meanwhile, go about it the old-fashioned way, with naturally aspirated V6 engines displacing 3.8 liters in the Hyundai, and 3.5 liters with the two Japanese crossovers. The Toyota and Hyundai lead the pack in horsepower, with the Toyota taking top honors by just 4 horses. The Honda weighs less, though, so their acceleration should be comparable. The Subaru actually accelerates on par with its V6-powered competitors, probably due in part to its continuously variable transmission. The fuel economy trophy goes to the Ascent.