2014 Honda Civic Lx on 2040-cars

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Sales incentive growth clustered around brands with few CUVs, trucks

While it's arguably been around the longest, the dominance of the four-door sedan has been under threat for many years. As a further sign of the hurtin' that SUVs and crossovers have put on today's four-doors, a new report from Automotive News points to the increasing use of incentives by brands reliant on cars and light on CUVs and pickups.
Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and Kia have all been stung by double-digit increases in their incentives-to-transaction price ratio, according to AN, which cites data from TrueCar. Honda's ratio is up 14 percent, while Toyota, VW and Kia are up 18, 15 and 19 percent, respectively.
"Most of the incentive growth we have seen is in product segments with low demand - midsized or large sedans," TrueCar CEO John Krafcik told AN. "As this trend goes on, the brands with three-sedan strategies are going to be in worse shape on incentive spending than the crossover brands."

Honda Wander Walker, Stand will roam around, around, around [w/video]

They do things differently in Japan, and we're not just talking about the adorable kei car. No, the concept vehicles that debut at the Tokyo Motor Show are decidedly different than what you might see in Geneva or Detroit. Case in point – the Honda Wander Walker and Wander Stand Concepts, which we previewed late last month. Despite its name, the Wander Walker is quite obviously a four-wheeled scooter that'd look right at home being driven by the elderly IKEA enthusiast in some futuristic metropolis. The front wheels turn to darn near 90 degrees, blessing the Wander Walker with a mere one-meter turning circle. The impressive maneuverability is down to this thing being tiny. Check out the picture if it next to everyone's favorite robot, Asimo, for scale. That makes it a prime mobility solution for the cramped confines of urban Tokyo, a fact that's reinforced by its super-model skinny 21.25-inch width. That size allows the Walker to squeeze through the turnstiles to board Japan's ultra-efficient train network. It's unclear what kind of power is in use here, but it's almost certainly electric. The top speed is a leisurely 3.7 miles per hour. (A quick Wikipedia search reveals humans walk at about 3.1 mph, so yes, this is at least a bit faster than walking.) If the Wander Walker is a futuristic scooter, the Wander Stand looks like a waiting room on wheels. Unlike the Walker, it'll accommodate two adults who can ride side-by-side in a 72.8-inch tall, 49.2-inch wide, and 78.4-inch long box. Like so many futuristic bits of tech, the Wander Stand throws information up on the windshield, which sits atop a futuristic dash. What sets this concept apart from the average kei car, is the Honda Omni Traction Drive System, which allows the usual movement forward and back, but also gives drivers the ability to drive laterally or even diagonally. Again, Japan is a tight place, and this kind of ability grants drivers a lot of leeway in urban driving. We've got a few images direct from Honda available above and below, while you can also look forward to a full array of live images, direct from the floor of the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show.

F1's Fernando Alonso gets 35-place penalty for latest Honda engine change

MONZA, Italy — McLaren's Fernando Alonso will collect a 35-place grid penalty for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix after Honda announced changes to his car's power unit. The penalty means the double world champion, whose future at McLaren remains uncertain due to the team's continuing engine woes, will start at the back of the 20-car grid for the last European race of the season. His chances were limited anyway at Monza's 'Temple of Speed,' the fastest circuit on the calendar where engine performance is crucial. His Belgian teammate Stoffel Vandoorne suffered a similar fate when he was handed a 65-place penalty for his home race at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend. Such meaningless penalties incurred through no fault of the driver have come increasingly under scrutiny in Formula One with some saying the system has got out of control and must change. "I hate the fact that we're having to affect the racing because of the technical issues," Formula One managing director Ross Brawn, a title-winning former team principal and ex-Ferrari technical director, told motorsport.com. "I know you can say if a car breaks down in a race that's a technical issue and you've affected the race, but I think the fans understand that. "For a fan to stomach that his hero is on the back of the grid because he had to change the engine, that's not great sport," added the Briton. Brawn suggested a different form of penalty, or removing it altogether, but acknowledged that the sport might have to wait until 2021 when new engine regulations will come into force. The current Formula One regulations stipulate that each driver may use no more than four power units during a championship season, with that number due to be reduced to three next year. Each power unit is made up of six separate elements; the engine, the motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K), the motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H), the energy store, turbocharger and control electronics. Grid penalties are imposed if a driver uses more than four of any one of the elements during the course of a season, and for successive breaches. Honda said Alonso was now on his seventh engine and MGU-K, his ninth turbocharger and MGU-H, his sixth energy store and fifth control electronics. Alonso retired from the Belgian Grand Prix but some components of the power unit used there will be run again in Friday's second practice after Honda said they could find no obvious problem.