2012 Honda Civic Ex-l Sedan 4-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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Honda spinning off Acura as stand-alone division in bid to wake up brand

Every major automaker has a different way of relating between its various divisions and brands. At Volkswagen, for example, the individual brands seem to operate with a large degree of autonomy. Under the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the two units share a common chief executive, but little else. The relationship between Honda and its luxury division Acura has always been rather close, but that's all about to change.
American Honda Motor Company has always handled sales and marketing in the North American market for both the Honda and Acura divisions, but new reorganization plans call for the two units to be separated under their own direction. Leading the Acura division will be Michael Accavitti, who moves into the position from his role as Senior Vice President for Auto Operations at American Honda. The Honda division will meanwhile be taken over by the current head of Acura sales, Jeff Conrad.
Both will report to John Mendel, the current executive vice president of the Automobile Sales Division that is being rebranded as the American Honda Auto Division. Unlike rivals Lexus and Infiniti - two brands that Acura beat to the market - Honda barely markets its luxury brand outside of North America. Its overseas presence is felt only in China, though we've yet to receive word on how the reorganization might effect that market - or for that matter, any potential of expanding into others.

2016 Honda Civic Coupe is a functional, fuel-efficient fastback

Listen, everyone was all excited when Honda introduced the new Civic Sedan, because it was a huge step forward over the previous generation. But while everyone was busy praising the new styling, more refined interior, and turbocharged engine, they were secretly pining for a more literal translation of the New York Auto Show concept car. People wanted the Civic Coupe. We wanted the Civic Coupe. And ahead of the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Honda has delivered. The new Coupe shamelessly apes the Civic Concept from New York, featuring a similarly svelte front end. In back, the fastback roofline and overarching taillight compete for attention without appearing busy or unnecessary, while the profile presents a more rebellious take on the greenhouse and character lines of the current Accord Coupe. Like the Civic Sedan, the Coupe gets an overhauled interior that puts emphasis on material quality and focuses on tech. That includes soft-touch, contrasting details, as well as more practical stuff like the optional TFT main gauge and seven-inch touchscreen display. Expect the powertrain options to mirror the Civic Sedan, with a naturally aspirated, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder as a base entry and a turbocharged, 1.5-liter four-pot as the higher-end engine. Outputs and fuel economy figures are identical to the four-door Civics, while CVTs remain the transmission of choice – the only way you can snag a manual box is with the 2.0-liter engine. If you were one of the fans hoping Honda would see the light and at least offer the turbo with a manual trans for Coupe buyers, we understand that this is rather devastating news. We feel your pain. And we're sure you, like us, are looking forward to sportier iterations of Honda's little coupe, specifically the Si and Type R. Honda has provided an array of images of the new two-door, although you can count on our live images in the near future. Take a peek up top for the stock stuff, and then scroll below for the official press release. Dynamically Styled, More Powerful and Fuel-Efficient 2016 Honda Civic Coupe Makes First Public Appearance at Los Angeles Auto Show Nov 17, 2015 - TORRANCE, Calif.

Honda MC-? prototype

Honda is less an automaker, it has been said, and more of a motor company that builds vehicles into which to put its engines. That sort of perspective goes a long way towards explaining the mind-boggling diversity of the company's product lineup. The Japanese industrial giant makes lawnmowers, marine engines, robots... even jet aircraft. It's also one of only a handful of companies that makes both cars and motorbikes. We recently had the chance to sample something that falls in between.
It's called MC-β - shorthand for Micro Commuter Beta, which already tells you it's Honda's second stab at the formula. The first Micro Commuter prototype was announced a year prior and, though marginally larger, struck us as a more complete product than its successor. But it'll likely still be a while before the formula is perfected and put into production, and even then it isn't likely to find its way any time soon to Honda's American showrooms - whether those showrooms are selling cars, bikes or ride-on mowers.
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