Honda Civic Gas Saver on 2040-cars

Auto blog

As US exports top 2 million, is America becoming the world's source of cheap cars?

North American auto production is booming with 2014 figures just shy of the of the 17.3-million vehicle record set in 2000. With more models being built on the continent, even more are being shipped overseas. Factories in the US exported 2.1 million cars last year – the highest number ever. About half of those went to Canada and Mexico, but more than ever have been heading to places like the Middle East and China. The upswing comes in part from from after-effects from the Great Recession, according to The Wall Street Journal. With a weak dollar and lower production costs after the financial crisis, building vehicles in the US was relatively cheaper and more competitive in the world. At the same time buyers around the world are going crazy for crossovers. According to the WSJ, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are already exporting the majority of their US production of these models overseas. Both automakers have also announced investments to expand production further here to send more vehicles abroad. Even Honda has been shipping more models out of the country than it imported here. There is a concern this international strength could start slowing because the dollar is strengthening against other currencies, though it's too early to know what the actual effect of this could be, according to the WSJ. "Of course, we closely watch currency exchange, but we don't make changes in production or allocation based on temporary fluctuations in the exchange rate," Ford North American boss Joe Hinrichs told the newspaper. Related Video: News Source: The Wall Street Journal - sub. req.Image Credit: BMW Plants/Manufacturing BMW Ford Honda Mercedes-Benz exports us auto production

2017 Honda Civic Si fills the performance gap between Sport and Type R

Yes, North America will finally get the hyper hot Civic Type R. But that doesn't mean Honda has dismissed the Si from duty. On the contrary, the Civic Si is back, and the Prototype coupe that's debuting at the Los Angeles Auto Show looks better than ever. Honda's senior VP and general manager Jeff Conrad says, "This will be, hands down, the fastest, best-handling Si we've ever offered to our customers." To do this, Honda has equipped the Si with a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder. The company didn't reveal output, but considering Conrad's statement, it's probably be safe to say it will make somewhere between 205 horsepower (the output of the previous Si) and 306 horsepower (the output of the previous Type R). That engine will send power through a six-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential. Also part of the Si package will be active steering and dampers, plus a high-performance tire option. View 16 Photos Honda made sure to upgrade the Civic Si's looks to match the performance, but not to the extremes of the Type R. The body appears to have the same overall width of the standard coupe, and it gets the front bumper and black grille from the hatchback along with a revised rear bumper. The front bumper gets a splitter, and the tail gets a wing. One of the most distinctive styling elements is the center-exit exhaust, which features a single hexagonal tip. Of course, both ends of the car get red Si badges, and the whole thing rides on 19-inch wheels. Surprisingly absent, though, are Honda's traditional "i-VTEC" stickers along the sides, which have appeared on Civic Sis since at least the 1999 model. The interior also gets a sporty treatment, and that apparently involves a healthy application of the color red. The floor mats, contrast stitching, instrument panel, and infotainment system are all finished in the hue. The seats are Si-exclusive, and feature the Si logo stitched into the seatbacks. Drivers will shift with an aluminum ball-shaped knob, and dance on aluminum pedals. There's a "sport" button next to the shifter, which we can guess probably sharpens up the shocks and steering. Honda says this prototype interior "closely previews" the final production version. Though Honda only showed a coupe version of the Si, the company will offer a sedan version for people who need the added practicality. There's so far been no mention of a hatchback version. Honda only provided a rough release window of next year and hasn't give any pricing.

Honda rolls out new N-Box Slash kei car in Japan

Honda may not compete with the likes of the expanding Fiat 500 and contracting Mini families in the North American or European markets, but back home in Japan it has a whole series of retro hatchbacks, grouped together as part of its N series. And now there is one more. Called the N-Box Slash (or N/ for short), the boxy but stylish new hatch is built to fit into Japan's rigid Kei car class, which means a tiny footprint no longer than 11 feet long and five feet wide. That makes it even smaller than the already-diminutive Smart Forfour or Renault Twingo, but into that compact form, Honda has fit five doors and four seats under a tall roof. In fact those front seats even fold flat and flush with the rear ones to make for as big a bed as you could possibly fit inside its compact dimensions. Technical details remain scarce, but power likely comes from the same 600cc three-cylinder engine - turbocharged or not, driving the front wheels or all four - as the rest of the N series, which already includes the N-One, N-Box, N-Box+ and N-WGN. Feel free to read the original Japanese or Google-translated press releases below, just don't expect it or any of its stablemates to show up in a North American showroom any time soon. 2014.11.27 ???????N-BOX SLASH(?????? ?????)????????????? Honda??12?22?(?)???????????N??????1?5?????????N-BOX SLASH(?????? ?????)?????????11?27?(?)?Honda????????????????? N-BOX SLASH?????????????N??????????????????????????????????????????????"???????"?"??????"??????????????????????????????????????????5???????????????Honda?????????? ???????????????N???????????????????? ?????????????????????? http://www.honda.co.jp/Nboxslash/new/ ?1 ?N??????????????????????????????????????Honda??????????????M?M(????????/???????)?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????N??????1?????N-BOX(??????)???2?????N-BOX +(?????????)???3?????N-ONE(????)???4?????N-WGN(?????)? ?????????????? ?????????? 0120-112010(???????)?????????? ### (translated) 2014.11.27 Preceding publish new mini passenger car "N-BOX SLASH (NTT box slash)" in the home page Honda is, December 22 (Monday) to have plans to release "N" series ? 1 information about the fifth installment of the new mini-car "N-BOX SLASH (NTT box slash)", November 27 ( I was preceded published in Honda's home page on the tree).