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Honda finance to pay $24M for discriminatory lending practices

Honda has found itself in hot water in the United States over allegations of discriminatory lending practices. However the Japanese automaker's American subsidiaries are taking actions to not only alter its practices, but compensate the victims of such past discrimination. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, some Honda dealers were found to have offered less preferential loans to customers of African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander ethnicities than they have offered to white customers, irrespective of their individual financial situations. The American Honda Finance Corporation has allowed dealers to mark up individual loans by two percent or more, depending on the length of the loan's contract, thereby opening the door for dealers to set interest rates at their discretion. And that discretion, according to the CFPB and the Department of Justice, has been applied in a discriminatory fashion, in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Honda, for its part, refutes the allegations and maintains that its practices have not been racially or ethnically discriminatory. The company is nevertheless taking measures to address the charges. For one thing, Honda's US financial arm is reducing the amount of wiggle-room it gives its dealers to only 1.25 percent above the buy rate for short-term loans (5 years or less), and one percent for longer-term loans. It has also set up a $24-million fund to compensate victims of the alleged discrimination, coordinating with the CFPB on the dispersal of said funds. The CFPB reports that "because of Honda's responsible conduct," it is not seeking penalties to be levied against the company for the alleged discrimination. STATEMENT BY AMERICAN HONDA FINANCE CORPORATION RE: Settlement with the Department of Justice and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Jul 14, 2015 -- American Honda Finance Corporation (AHFC) has reached an agreement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) that shows our commitment to work together to be part of the solution and to establish the path forward that best supports our Honda and Acura customers and dealers with clear and convenient financing options. AHFC strongly opposes any form of discrimination, and we expect our dealers to uphold this principle as well. We firmly believe that our lending practices have been fair and transparent.

Formula 1 seeking independent engine supplier

Formula 1 could get a new engine supplier in the near future, if Bernie Ecclestone and the independent teams gets their way. According to Autosport, the FIA is soon to open the contract up for bids, and there are already several manufacturers that have expressed interest. Currently Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Honda supply engines – both to their own premier teams (Red Bull and McLaren for the latter two) but also to other teams like Williams, Sauber, and Toro Rosso. Because the new turbocharged V6 hybrid power units cost those four suppliers so much to develop, they're charging their customer teams big bucks – around $20-30 million per season – to provide the engines. These costs are much higher than the $10 million or so it used to cost to purchase a V8 engine under the previous regulations. Ecclestone figures it's time to bring in another supplier who will not run their own team and not play favorites, but will supply engines to private teams at a lower cost. There are already a number of potential suppliers under consideration. One of them is said to be Cosworth, which has a long history in the series stretching back to 1963. The British firm stepped back between 2007 and 2009, returned in 2010, and dropped out again after 2013. The development could be of particular benefit to Red Bull, which has been unable to find an engine supplier and could be forced out of the series as a result. The team has long been powered by Renault, but that relationship has grown sour. And the other three engine manufacturers have not been forthcoming in offering an alternative arrangement for the team. Related Video: News Source: AutosportImage Credit: Cosworth Motorsports Ferrari Honda Infiniti McLaren Mercedes-Benz Renault F1 engine contract

Acura NSX roadster finally on its way this year?

Autobild put together a slideshow forecasting various convertibles due to arrive from 2018 to 2023. The long-prophesied Acura NSX roadster graced the first slide, reportedly prepped for market launch later this year at a price of 200,000 euros. That's about 13,000 euros more spendy than the hardtop, a relative bargain. Don't call your Goldman private banker yet, though — that Autobild slide is likely as close as any of us will get to said roadster this year. We've been doing the hokey pokey with the droptop NSX for at least six years now. In 2012 an eager enthusiast corps thought a European patent might have revealed the convertible supercar, only to realize it was Acura protecting Tony Stark's screen gem in The Avengers (pictured). In 2016, Autocar reported that Honda viewed the NSX as a platform for experiment and tests of developing technology that "help [ Honda] understand where the brand is going." Those brand explorations meant Honda was "contemplating convertible, lightweight, non-hybrid and all-electric versions." In 2017, Internet snoopers happened on patent images for a droptop coupe first dubbed the "Baby NSX," then potentially the ZSX after more snooping dug up a trademarked name. Even though production plans for a "Small NSX" actually did exist, dated to before 2008, the Small NSX/BabyNSX/ZSX turned out to be the Honda Sports Vision GranTurismo entry when Honda couldn't make a business case for the genuine article. Here we are staring down the same wishing well. Last year Acura sold 137 NSXs in the U.S. through the end of Q1, and so far this year only 67 coupes found buyers in that time. We know the NSX is a halo car, but halos work to best effect when they're visible. So all we know now is that the talented hybrid would do well with any variant that would get it more visibility, of the top-down kind, the Type R kind, perhaps a road-legal, non-hybrid GT3 kind, or any other. Related Video: