2007 Front Wheel Drive 4cyl Low Miles on 2040-cars

Auto blog

OK Go ride Honda UNI-CUB ? in latest amazeballs music video

When Honda unveiled the slimmed-down ?eta version of its Uni-Cub last year, it might have thought the minimalist electric vehicle would find its most enthusiastic audience inside office buildings, where it would simultaneously lighten the load of worker drones and perhaps inject a bit of rolling robotic tech-type fun into an otherwise drab and dreary day. It was wrong. Clearly, this personal mobility machine was destined for greater things. Honda paid for the new video, which was shot a half-speed. When you watch it, you'll know why. For instance, it could be used for electric unicycle square dancing (Okay, technically the Uni-Cub ? employs one wheel and a caster-type ball, thereby disqualifying it from unicycle status, but whatever.) Or even better, it could be a platform upon which the power pop group OK Go and a few hundred Japanese school girls could perform awesome maneuvers, including the aforementioned electric unicycle square dancing, in their latest totally amazeballs video. Honda reportedly paid for the new video, which was shot at half-speed and when you watch it, you'll know why. Where before we thought this curious device, with its intuitive steering and self-balancing, would only really ever find a place as a demonstrator of Honda's engineering prowess, we now see it as a foregone conclusion that it will infest our daily lives and fill them with fantastic choreographed journeys of art. Thank you for opening our eyes, Ok Go. To have your own eyes opened, just scroll below for the visual accompaniment to I Won't Let You Down from the new album, Hungry Ghosts. As is the band's wont, it's all done in one take, and is sure to drop your jaw. Ok, go! This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Why Japan's government is looking to curb its adorable kei car market

Each region around the world has its stereotypical vehicle. The US has the pickup and Europe the five-door hatchback; but in Japan, the kei car reigns supreme. These tiny cars are limited to just 660cc of displacement but they've also come with lower taxes to make them more affordable. To make of the most of their small size, they've often had quite boxy styling like the Honda N-One shown above, and because they're Japanese, they've often had quirky names like the Nissan Dayz Roox. However, if the Japanese government has its way, the future popularity of these little guys might be in jeopardy. The problem facing them is that Japan is an island both literally and figuratively. After World War II, the Japanese government created the class as a way to make car ownership more accessible. The tiny engines generally meant better fuel economy to deal with the nation's expensive gas, and the tax benefits also helped. It's made the segment hugely popular even today, with kei cars making up roughly 40 percent of the nation's new cars sales last year, according to The New York Times. The downside is that these models are almost never exported because they aren't as attractive to buyers elsewhere (if indeed they even meet overseas regulations). So if an automaker ends up with a popular kei model, it can't really market it elsewhere. The government now sees that as a threat to the domestic auto industry. It believes that every yen invested into kei development is wasted, and the production takes up needed capacity at auto factories. The state would much rather automakers create exportable models. To do this, it's trying to make the little cars less attractive to buy, and thus, less attractive to build. The authorities recently increased taxes on kei cars by 50 percent to narrow the difference between standard cars, according to the NYT. If kei cars do lose popularity, it could open the market up to greater competition from foreign automakers. Several companies complained about the little cars stranglehold on the Japanese market last year, but since then, imported car sales there have shown some growth thanks to the improving economy. Featured Gallery 2013 Honda N-One View 20 Photos News Source: The New York TimesImage Credit: Honda Government/Legal Honda Nissan JDM kei kei car

Honda ditching Takata for next Accord's airbags

Today brings unsurprising news that Honda will move away from Takata and source airbags for the next-generation Accord, among other models, from one of the embattled company's competitors. Both companies have been in headlines of late after the former recalled millions of vehicles that were fitted with the latter's airbag inflators, which had the unpleasant tendency to spew shrapnel at consumers. The move, as Reuters explains it, is particularly devastating for Takata. Honda is the company's largest customer, and the Accord represents its biggest product, accounting for over a quarter of the company's sales last year. It gets worse, though, as a confidential source with knowledge of the situation is reporting to Reuters that both the 2016 CR-V and Odyssey will source their airbags from Toyoda Gosei. If true, that'd mean that Takata will be losing out on more than half the cars Honda sells in the US market. At this point, Takata, Honda and Toyoda Gosei have all passed on opportunities to comment to Reuters.