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United States drivers buying fewer Mexican-made cars

Crossovers and pickup trucks are not only growing in market share, they're also more profitable than cars. A crossover on the same platform as a sedan retails for thousands more, despite similar components. It's one of the reasons we've seen automakers rapidly shifting production of their sedans and hatchbacks to Mexico, where cheap labor preserves the thin profit margins on these inexpensive vehicles. But as the market continues to shift in the United States, Mexico is getting burned by its lack of product diversity. The country's auto exports, which are heavy on cars, suffered a 16-percent drop last month, Automotive News reports. In total, year-over-year exports fell from 233,515 to 197,020 last month, while year-to-date exports are down by 7.4 percent, from 922,029 to 854,118. The number one culprit? America – which usually accounts for 75 percent of Mexico's exports – and its appetite for crossovers and pickup trucks bolstered by cheap gas prices. While Mexico does build some light truck models – AN specifically calls out the Ram 2500, Honda HR-V, GMC Sierra, and Toyota Tacoma as export leaders – the vast majority of vehicles rolling out of its factories are sedans and hatchbacks. In fact, the three biggest drops in Mexican exports came from companies whose south of the border factories only build cars – Ford (Fusion/Lincoln MKZ and Fiesta), Mazda (Mazda3), and Volkswagen (Golf and Jetta). Mexican Automotive Industry Association President Eduardo Solis told AN the export shortfall will likely be sorted out sooner rather than later, thanks to a pair of new factories – a Kia car factory and an Audi SUV plant – that are coming online by year's end. The two facilities will add around 100,000 vehicles to the country's export totals, which Solis said should leave the industry on the verge of breaking another export record in 2016. But how sustainable will these record-breaking years be? Slapping an "Hecho en Mexico" sticker on a new German SUV won't be enough to change the fact that Mexico's product mix is tilted too heavily towards body styles that are not growing in volume. Mexico's record-breaking export years probably aren't at an end, but we'd argue they're certainly under threat. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Omar Torres / AFP / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing Ford GMC Honda Mazda RAM Volkswagen Truck Crossover SUV Mexico

2016 Civic Coupe: The Prelude is back!

Honda used to sell a coupe loosely based on the Accord architecture that was sporty yet economical, it was called the Prelude. Many Honda aficionados have fond memories of the Prelude, it was more than just a sportier Accord, but not quite a true sports car. It was a car you could take out and toss around on the weekend, but also drive to work every day of the week. It was a testbed for new Honda technologies while still being a car you could put hundreds of thousands of miles on. The Prelude was a sporty car, not overly powerful, but just balanced enough to be a slow car you could drive fast. It handled extremely well, it had an interior that was no-nonsense and controls that were equal to or better than any of it's contemporaries. Sadly as the market waned for sporty coupes the venerable Prelude lost sales and Honda altered their focus to selling CR-V's and Pilot's. In 2001 Honda shelved the Prelude, but now it is making a comeback, well not exactly, but after sampling a new Civic Coupe I believe the spiritual successor of the Prelude has finally arrived at Honda. You might be wondering why the new generation Civic Coupe has more Prelude DNA than any of the Civic models which have come before it? The answer comes down to several objective and subjective factors. Objectively the new Civic Coupe hits the sweet spot on Prelude dimensions. When the Prelude debuted in 1978 it had a wheelbase of 91.3 inches and an overall length of 161 inches. Over five generations the Prelude grew to a wheelbase of 101.8 inches and an overall length of 178 inches. The new Civic Coupe rides a longer wheelbase of 106.3 inches but has nearly identical overall length at 176.9 inches. Width of the new Civic is 70.8 inches vs. the last generation Prelude at 69 inches, the new Civic matches the Prelude of yore with a curb weight range of 2750-2900 lbs vs. the 2950-3000 lbs range of the Prelude. In the engine department Honda is offering two units, a 158 HP naturally aspirated 2.0 liter 4 and a 174 HP 1.5 liter turbo mill. The five Prelude generations featured Horsepower ranging from less than 100 in gen 1 to 200 by gen 5 from a naturally aspirated 2.2 liter 4. The last generation of Prelude would hit 0-60 in about 7 seconds, the current model Civic with a CVT and the 1.5 turbo will hit 60 slightly faster. Many cars today feature similar specs to these two coupes and so did some of the prior model year Civic's so what makes this one the heir to the Prelude name?

Honda S660 Kei car makes you want to jump in and drive

We want the Honda S660. In fact, after seeing the freshly debuted production model, it's fair to say the kei roadster has already leapt to the very tip-top of our forbidden fruit list. Considering our newfound love for the tiny two-seater, you, dear reader, are going to have to put up with a lot of S660 content in the coming weeks. First up, we have what's called nori-setsu, or "riding instructions." Honda recruited a pair of gymnasts, who use their talents to slide, creatively, into a mockup of the S660. While the acrobats make it look easy, we imagine the amount of space in the S660 makes slotting into the driver's seat off a pommel horse is somewhat dangerous, hence the padding and mocked-up roadster. Fortunately, when an actual S660 is brought out to play, the gymnast finds a more conventional means of getting behind the wheel. Check out the video.