2000 Honda Civic Ex Coupe 2-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Sony Honda EV venture's plan for online sales has dealers squirming

TOKYO/DETROIT — A new joint venture formed by Japan's Sony Group Corp and Honda Motor plans to introduce a premium electric vehicle later this decade, and the automaker's U.S. dealers are anxious to be part of the sales process. Sony Honda Mobility said on Thursday it was aiming to deliver the first of the unnamed EV by 2026, starting in the United States, and will sell them online. The success of Tesla at selling EVs without franchised dealers is putting pressure on established automakers to overhaul their retail networks. That leaves dealers across most brands concerned about their place in the changing world and whether profits will be squeezed. The online aspect of the Sony Honda plan, as well as the lack of details around how the vehicle will be sold and serviced, has raised questions with the Honda and Acura brand dealers. Many nonetheless expect Honda to work through the existing retail network. "These issues are certainly a concern," said Brian Benstock, general manager and vice president of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Queens, New York. "The best path forward is with the dealers." "We have a role (automakers) can't replicate," said Benstock, who also is on the Acura national dealer advisory board and has spoken with Honda officials about the new vehicle. "There's no way that Honda wants to hurt their existing dealer body." Some dealers questioned why Honda would even consider trying to work outside the current U.S. sales network given its national reach. Honda has about 1,100 Honda dealers and 270 Acura dealers. A Honda spokesperson referred questions about the joint venture to the new company. Sony Honda spokesperson Mai Nagadome said there are still a lot of details to finalize, but selling through the dealers has not been ruled out and customers would feel uneasy without some kind of after-sales service process. "The cost of continuing to develop (internal combustion engine) products along with EVs and autonomous tech and software for the next generation vehicles is proving to be quite the challenge," said Peter Hennessy, dealer principal of Atlanta-based Hennessy Automobile Companies, which includes a Honda store. "I get teaming up with Sony, but it should be done in conjunction with the dealer network, not outside it," he added.

Honda reports $1.9 billion profit in first quarter despite sales lag at home

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have been living in a world of sunshine and buttercups after their April-through-June financials hit the newswire, and Toyota is doing pretty good as well. Honda? Not so much.
While Japan's third-largest manufacturer saw $1.9 billion in profits, the 5.1-percent jump was lower than expected thanks to a drop in its home-market sales. US sales also took a sting, as Honda hasn't been able to match the SUV and truck demand that are currently permeating the American market, despite an uptick in Accord sales.
Honda's initial forecasts targeted a take of 209.3 billion yen ($2.1 billion at today's rates), and while a $200 million shortfall is nothing to sniff at, we'd hardly take this as Honda being in trouble. And even with the dip, Honda hasn't adjusted its forecast for the fiscal year, which remains at 780 billion yen ($7.9 billion).

2020 Kia Soul vs. subcompact crossovers: How they compare on paper

At 10 years old, the 2020 Kia Soul has entered its third, and potentially best, generation yet. To get here, it fought off other boxy hatchbacks such as the Scion xB and Nissan Cube. But now it faces all new competition: subcompact crossovers. They offer similar sizes, prices and flexibility as the Soul, but with a veneer of ruggedness. But the Soul is ready with its own rugged trim, the X-Line, plus the return of its powerful turbocharged variant. To see how the Soul stacks up to the fresh competition, we've compiled vital stats on all the tall hatches. Considering the prodigious size of the subcompact crossover segment, we've limited our selection to a few options that are similarly priced and sized to the Soul, and that offer a bit of funky styling. They include the Toyota C-HR, Nissan Kicks, Hyundai Kona and Honda HR-V. There are of course many more options, and you can create your own comparisons using our Compare Cars feature. (You can also check out our Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross comparison that includes a few larger choices). In the meantime, though, check out all the numbers on our selected vehicles in the chart below, followed by analysis after. Performance, fuel economy and drivetrains The crossover segment is diverse when it comes to powertrains, with all different displacements, induction systems and drive wheels. A surprising number of these supposedly rugged and off-road-oriented vehicles (at least more than normal cars) are front-drive only. These include the Nissan Kicks, Toyota C-HR and Kia Soul. But the Kona and HR-V offer all-wheel drive, with the Hyundai offering it on both engine options. Speaking of engine options, only the Kia and Hyundai have two possibilities, either a base 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, or a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine. The base engines have identical outputs of 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque, but the turbo engines differ. The Soul has 201 horsepower to the Hyundai's 175, but both make the same 195 pound-feet of torque. The Kicks, C-HR and HR-V all offer just one engine option, and they're all naturally aspirated. The Nissan's engine is the smallest and least powerful: a 1.6-liter engine making 125 horsepower and 115 pound-feet of torque. The HR-V is next with a 1.8-liter engine making 141 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque. The C-HR rounds out the trio at 144 horsepower and 139 pound-feet of torque from a 2.0-liter engine.