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Honda Accord, Civic are America's most stolen cars

The National Insurance Crime Bureau has released its latest Hot Wheels study on the most popular stolen cars and trucks for 2012. The study has changed a bit from past years, with the new findings listing only the make and model of each vehicle, while taking into account all model years in its totals. Previous iterations only focused on the most stolen vehicles of a particular model year, with that make and model not appearing anywhere else on the list so as not to appear to call out a particular car. Confusing, eh? Said another way, in previous studies, if the three most stolen vehicles were the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Belchfire Turbo from Fictitious Motors, only the model year with the highest number of thefts would make the list.
The new study takes all model years into consideration while breaking down the number of vehicles stolen per model year in a full, in-depth report. Separately, the NICB is also listing the top 25 new vehicles stolen in 2012. That list is limited exclusively to model year 2012 entries.
Honda took the top two spots in the most stolen vehicles list, with 58,596 Accord models stolen and 47,037 Civic models stolen. The study is interesting, though, in that the most recent model year for the Accord is 1997, while the most recent the Civic is 2000. In fact, Hondas from 1990 to 2000 make up 16 of the top 20 cars stolen in 2012, according to the NICB. Compare that with the MY2012 list, where Honda's vehicles are eleventh and fifteenth, and it looks like the Japanese brand has been beefing up its theft control.

Honda Ridgeline sorta takes class victory on Baja race debut

The Ridgeline Baja Race Truck was unveiled at SEMA earlier this month to serve not only as Honda's new off-road racing platform, but also as a preview for the upcoming second-generation pickup. Technically, it scored a class victory on its race debut in the SCORE Baja 1000. To be fair, it was also the only vehicle in that class. Though clearly a purpose-built racer, not a modified from showroom stock truck, the Baja truck features bodywork patterned after the forthcoming production model – especially at the front end. It also uses the same block, cylinder heads, and crankshaft as the 3.5-liter V6 that powers the current Ridgeline and will power the upcoming one. In race trim, it's been twin-turbocharged up to 550 horsepower. Honda Performance Development and Proctor Racing Group entered the custom-built Ridgeline in Class 2 (for forced-induction engines up to 3.6 liters) at the Baja 1000 this past weekend. Driving duties were shared by Honda spokesman Sage Marie and experienced off-road racers Jeff Proctor and Jason LaFortune. They completed the 821-mile loop to and from Ensenada, Mexico, in 25 hours, 9 minutes, and 47 seconds. That's about ten hours behind the Ford F-150 trophy truck and the Honda CRF450X that won outright, but that's beside the point. It's impressive enough that the truck finished on its debut in such a grueling race under such punishing conditions, even if it didn't have any competition. Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck Conquers Baja 1000 Nov 22, 2015 - ENSENADA, Mexico - Off-road racing truck debuts with Class 2 victory - Completes desert endurance event in first attempt - Racing machine previews second-generation Honda Ridgeline Developed by Honda as a preview to the introduction of the new, second-generation Honda Ridgeline, the driving trio of Jeff Proctor, Sage Marie and Jason LaFortune piloted their Ridgeline Baja Race Truck to the Class 2 victory in this weekend's 48th running of the SCORE Baja 1000. Built jointly by Honda Performance Development, the North American motorsports arm of American Honda, and the Proctor Racing Group, the tube-frame Unlimited Class 2 off-road Ridgeline Baja Race Truck made its competition debut at the brutal Baja event, which this year consisted of an 821-mile loop that started and finished in Ensenada, Mexico.

2016 Honda Civic Coupe First Drive

[A Honda spokesperson confirmed to Autoblog today that the Honda Civic Coupe equipped with the 2.0-liter engine, which is reviewed below, is not affected by the engine-assembly issue that is at the heart of the stop-sale order currently affecting Civic Sedans. That particular issue was corrected before the Coupe began production. We expect to have more news about a recall involving the 2.0-liter Civic Sedans as soon as the NHTSA officially responds to Honda. - Ed.] Let's not beat around the bush – mechanically, this Honda Civic Coupe is the same as the new-for-2016 sedan, minus a couple of doors. For a lot of consumers, that lack of utility is a big problem, and it's why compact sedan-based coupes are a dying breed. Why spend the same amount of money on a car that drives identically but is less practical? But in the case of the Civic Coupe, we offer this: When a car looks this good, screw logic. The new Civic is one of the most competent vehicles to wear the H-badge in at least a decade. And this new two-door does nearly everything the four-door can do while looking like an absolute stunner. From the A-pillar forward, this is the same reserved but handsome Civic that broke cover in 2015. The new Civic is one of the most competent vehicles to wear the H-badge in at least a decade. Like a mullet (stay with us...), the Civic only gets more interesting as we proceed toward the back. The rear window sits 0.8 inches lower than on the Sedan, but that's only part of what makes the two-door more dramatic. The Coupe is 5.4 inches shorter than the sedan, but all of that is behind the rear axle – the wheelbase is identical. So while the rear window and roofline aren't dramatically lower than the sedan, you just run out of car far more suddenly. The downside, of course, is that you lose three cubic feet of cargo volume, but we think that's a fair price to pay for something that looks this good. Climb inside and feast your eyes on the cabin, which – you guessed it – is essentially exactly the same as what you find in the sedan. The seats get a standard two-tone color scheme and the door panels are ever so slightly different, but that's about it. The big change, of course, is in the backseat, which in this case should really just be reserved for passengers under five feet, five inches. In the video below, you can see your author go from front to back in a Civic Sedan, and then attempt the same feat in the Coupe. It's not pretty.