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Is today's Honda Accord cheaper than it was back in 1989?

Whether you're shopping at the grocery story or on a car lot, everything seems to be getting more expensive these days. However, when all the factors are considered, that might be more an issue of perception than of fact. The American Public Media radio show Marketplace recently tackled the question whether modern vehicles were actually more expensive once you factored in important variables like inflation and cost of ownership. The result was pretty surprising.
For its example, Marketplace chose the Honda Accord, because in August, it was one of the bestselling vehicles in the US, with 51,075 of them sold. Winding back the clock 25 years to 1989, Honda's cheapest Accord cost $11,770, and that money bought you a stripped-out car with 98 horsepower, a manual gearbox, no air conditioning and hand-crank windows.
Fast-forward to present day, and a basic Accord starts at around $22,000 and gives buyers significantly more features, including a 185-hp engine, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth, cruise control, more space, refinement and much better safety. By Marketplace's math, when just figuring for inflation, that modern Honda would cost about $11,500 a quarter century ago, despite all of that extra equipment. But that's just one factor. Scroll down to listen to the full report for an explanation of how cost of ownership figures into the mix, and whether it throws all of the calculations off.

2016 Honda HR-V scores class-leading 35 mpg

Smaller cars generally net better fuel economy ratings, and while crossovers aren't generally as efficient as hatchbacks and small sedans, smaller crossovers are getting better EPA ratings all the time. The latest to join the pack is the new 2016 Honda HR-V. The US Environmental Protection Agency has just released its ratings for the littlest Honda crossover, and the figures are pretty impressive. In front-wheel-drive form with the optional continuously variable transmission, the HR-V is rated at 28 miles per gallon in the city, 35 on the highway and 31 combined. Those figures make it the most economical conventionally powered SUV on the market. (The EPA doesn't distinguish between truck-based sport-utes and car-based crossovers) Among crossovers, the FWD HR-V outperforms the Nissan Juke, Kia Soul, Chevrolet Trax, Buick Encore... the whole lot. Only the Mazda CX-5 matches it on the highway rating, which is noteworthy since it's a much bigger vehicle. Along with the forthcoming Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade, Mazda's nearly here CX-3 hasn't been rated yet (we predict it will score better than the HR-V, if only to improve on the fuel economy ratings of its larger CX-5 counterpart). Of course, there are hybrids that get better ratings than the Honda, but comparing a hybrid to a conventional vehicle is like comparing apples to electrically charged oranges. Naturally, the picture changes a bit if you go for all-wheel drive or the available six-speed manual. In AWD spec (only available with the CVT), the HR-V gets 27 city, 32 highway and 29 combined. The front-driver with the six-speed suffers a worse fate at 25 city, 34 highway and 28 combined. No matter which way you slice it, of course, the Fit hatchback upon which the HR-V is based, with its CVT hooked up to a smaller engine and with less weight to motivate, still sips fuel more lightly than the HR-V. But as far as crossovers go, Honda's new HR-V is looking pretty frugal. Featured Gallery 2016 Honda HR-V View 25 Photos News Source: EPAImage Credit: Honda Green Honda Crossover honda hr-v

Question of the Day: Ever consider driving a minivan?

Since I'm supposed to know something about cars, it happens all the time: friends and relatives ask me advice about what kind of vehicle they should get. Very often, the only type of vehicle that can check every item on their wish list (e.g., hauls lots of people and stuff, gets good fuel economy, has great crash-test ratings, can take four Great Danes camping, and so on) is a modern minivan... and, of course, nobody wants to hear this. I'm not a minivan person, they will wail, and so they end up with a cramped, fuel-swilling SUV or a not-so-space-efficient minivan-in-disguise CUV. So, is it worth becoming one of those minivan people in order to get the incredible usefulness of these masterpieces of vehicle engineering, or do you hold your head high and drive something that doesn't quite meet your needs? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chrysler Honda Toyota Minivan/Van question of the day questions