2022 Honda Accord Sport on 2040-cars

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April 2014: The ramping-up-for-summer edition

Americans appear to be gearing up for further increases in US gas prices, as green-car sales last month had their largest year-over-year gains of 2014. Domestic customers bought almost 56,000 hybrids, plug-ins and diesels in April, marking a 2.6 percent increase from April 2013. Plug-in sales were particularly strong, jumping 41 percent from a year earlier, as sales of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in and Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S battery-electric vehicles all showed gains. April's big winner among the automakers was Honda, moving 1,442 units of its newer Accord Hybrid And April's big winner among the automakers was...Honda? Yes, Honda, which has long operated in the advanced-powertrain shadow of fellow Japanese automakers Toyota and Nissan, came up big by moving 1,442 units of its newer Accord Hybrid. And while sales of the Civic Hybrid, CR-Z and Insight all fell, the Accord Hybrid drove Honda to boost its green-car sales by 78 percent from a year earlier to 2,839 units. Per usual, Nissan and Tesla also showed year-over-year gains. Nissan boosted Leaf sales by 7.8 percent to 2,088 units. And while Tesla won't release its first-quarter results until May 7, the California-based automaker would've increased Model S sales by 34 percent to 2,300 just by maintaining its fourth-quarter 2013 sales pace. Volkswagen and low-volume advanced-powertrain vehicle makers like Audi, Porsche and Daimler AG's Smart division also fared well in April. VW increased its diesel and Jetta Hybrid sales by 25 percent to 9,583 units. Audi's diesel sales quadrupled to 2,088 units. Smart sold 203 units of its newer Smart ED battery-electric vehicle. Such gains more than offset sales declines from General Motors, Ford and Toyota, though Toyota's April was less painful than previous months. GM's big mild-hybrid sales declines more than offset the 19 percent increase in Chevy Volt sales to 1,548 units and the sales of 491 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel vehicles. All told, GM's green-car sales declined 25 percent to 3,103 units. Fusion Energi Plug-in Hybrid sales doubled and C-Max Energi PHEV sales jumped 28 percent. Ford's green-car sales were down 12 percent to 7,554 vehicles. While Fusion Energi Plug-in Hybrid sales doubled and C-Max Energi PHEV sales jumped 28 percent, Fusion Hybrid sales were little-changed while C-Max Hybrid sales tumbled 50 percent to 1,586 units.

2015 Honda Civic Type R First Drive [w/video]

"VTEC just kicked in, yo." What's now a tired meme was once the greatest part of Honda ownership: the abrupt switch in power and tone as the engine's variable valve timing switched to the high-rev profile. The original VTEC gave way to i-VTEC, a continuously-variable system that works better on paper, but lacked the two-mode thrill. Fast forward to the 2015 Civic Type R, which combines modern VTEC with turbocharging for the first time on this nameplate. It's a pair as perfect as peanut butter and jelly. Or Han and Chewie. With ratings of 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet, it's the most powerful Civic ever sold. Boost just kicked in, yo. The Civic Type R has always been an object of unfulfilled desire for enthusiasts in the US and Canada. While Europe and Japan have had multiple generations of the hottest Civic, we made do with the less powerful versions carrying the Si badge. Unfortunately, the 2015 model is another one we can't have. That said, this Euro-spec car's heart will form the basis of a new Civic Type R that's coming to America, possibly as early as 2016 as a 2017 model. The US will even get a cool five-door hatchback shell similar to the one you see here. If the next North American model – previewed by the coupe concept from this year's New York Auto Show – is any indication, our tenth-generation Civic is headed in a welcome styling direction. And before the Type R arrives, sweet turbo/VTEC goodness is promised in the form of a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that will power less sporty Civic models, including an Si that will slot below the Type R. There is an anchor's worth of stopping power available. Proving how focused the new Type R is towards gearheads, the sole transmission option is a six-speed manual, which makes it easy to exploit the engine's 7,000 rpm redline and 6,500 rpm power peak. This engine-speed ceiling is a thousand revs lower than the last naturally aspirated Type R. Indeed, the era of turbocharging seems like the end of Honda's history of screaming high-rev motors. But forced induction trades revs for torque. The new car has more than twice the oomph of the previous, 198-hp Type R. Our question then, is if that power and torque come with any character. The 2015 Honda Civic Type R is a very capable car, both on the street and at the track. We expected a stiff ride, but it's not bone-jarring. Double-jointed front struts and a clever knuckle design isolate steering from the up-and-down movement of the suspension.

U.S. auto sales fall in July, as Detroit dials back on inventory, rental sales

DETROIT — U.S. carmakers said on Tuesday they continued to slash low-margin sales to daily rental fleets in July as General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles struggled to curb a slide in retail sales. July is on track to be the fifth straight month in which the annual pace of car and light truck sales declined from the same month a year ago, in part because of fewer fleet sales, analysts and industry executives said. July 2016 sales hit a strong 17.9-million-vehicle pace. GM said the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate fell to an estimated 16.9 million vehicles in July. At midmorning on Tuesday, GM shares were down 3.4 percent at $34.77, Ford was down 2.8 percent at $10.91, and Fiat Chrysler shares were down 0.3 percent at $12.05 in New York. GM sales dropped 15 percent from a year ago to 226,107 vehicles, as the company cut rental fleet sales more than 80 percent. The automaker said inventories of unsold vehicles at month's end were 104 days, down from 105 days at the end of June. GM has promised investors to reduce inventories to 70 days by year-end. Ford said its July sales dipped 7.5 percent to 200,212 vehicles, as it cut fleet sales more than 26 percent. Inventories fell to 77 days from 79 the previous month. Fiat Chrysler said sales dropped 10 percent to 161,477, as it also cut back sales to daily rental fleets. Among the top Japanese companies, only Toyota reported a year-to-year gain, with sales up 4 percent to 222,057 — just 4,000 units behind GM. Honda sales were down 1 percent to 150,980 — its first-quarter sales continuing to decline in North America but seeing a big increase in China. And Nissan sales fell 3 percent to 128,295. GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler have cautioned that second-half financial results likely will be lower than first-half results, in part reflecting production cuts in North America and pricing pressures. The automakers this year have been deliberately dialing back sales to rental-car companies, which often generate little to no profit, while struggling to keep retail sales from sagging further, according to industry analysts. Industry consultant LMC cut its full-year forecast for new vehicle sales to 17 million vehicles. Automakers sold a record 17.55 million vehicles in the United States in 2016.