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Honda reports $1.9 billion profit in first quarter despite sales lag at home

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have been living in a world of sunshine and buttercups after their April-through-June financials hit the newswire, and Toyota is doing pretty good as well. Honda? Not so much.
While Japan's third-largest manufacturer saw $1.9 billion in profits, the 5.1-percent jump was lower than expected thanks to a drop in its home-market sales. US sales also took a sting, as Honda hasn't been able to match the SUV and truck demand that are currently permeating the American market, despite an uptick in Accord sales.
Honda's initial forecasts targeted a take of 209.3 billion yen ($2.1 billion at today's rates), and while a $200 million shortfall is nothing to sniff at, we'd hardly take this as Honda being in trouble. And even with the dip, Honda hasn't adjusted its forecast for the fiscal year, which remains at 780 billion yen ($7.9 billion).

Honda Rebel, cult beginner bike and urban cruiser, reborn for 2017

Back in 1985, Honda rolled out the original Rebel, which housed the Nighthawk 250's workaday parallel twin in a seriously '80s-style "factory custom" cruiser. It was a hit, being simultaneously cheap, extremely economical, and very easy to ride. With an exceptionally low step-over height, it was popular with younger and shorter riders too. And still is ... a full generation later, you can buy a brand-new Rebel 250 for $4,510. If that's simply too retro for you, there's a much more compelling option on the way: the all-new Rebel 300 and 500, just unveiled and going on sale next year. The 300 will use the water-cooled single found in the lower-end CB and CBR models, and the 500 will use a water-cooled parallel twin from the mid-sized CB and CBRs. It's a smart plan: a full range of smaller bikes in several different body styles, so there's something that should appeal to every entry-level rider (or any experienced rider who just wants a bang-around bike). The new Rebels look pretty cool, too. The radiator isn't all that prominent in profile. The wheels look like classic motorcycle alloys, but lean and modernized. The trellis-style frame supports an upright and shapely tank, and the solo saddle blends well with the pre-bobbed rear fender. The overall look is surprisingly upscale, and should also be a great basis on which to build inexpensive custom bikes of every shape and style you can think of. If you are a new rider, or just like little bikes, this is a great new option from Honda. Both bikes will have safety features riders want right now, like optional ABS. The colors at launch will be silver, yellow, black, and red – unless you want ABS, in which case black is the only choice. The 300 is expected to start at $4,399 and the 500 at $5,999, and both of these prices likely don't include an expected delivery charge of around $300. We'll get more exact pricing in December, and the bikes will hit dealers in April of 2017. Related Video:

Honda Civic Coupe to join 2016 Red Bull Global Rallycross season

Red Bull Global Rallycross is about to get another competitor. Honda has announced that it will campaign the 2016 GRC season with its new Civic Coupe, and rather than just put out a press release, it's gone ahead and given us a look at the two-door's racing livery. Ford, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, and Subaru – be prepared. Based loosely on the production Civic Coupe, Olsbergs MSE and Honda Performance Division put in the wrench time to turn the ho-hum standard road car into a 600-horsepower, all-wheel-drive monster that can hit 60 in a hypercar-humiliating 1.9 seconds. And like all GRC cars, it will have no trouble managing some serious jumps. Piloting this hilariously potent coupe will be Sebastian Eriksson and 2014 series champion Joni Wiman. Wiman is Finnish, so his GRX championship should come as no shock. We have to say, compared to the GRX cars found in Europe, this Civic looks remarkably tame. We'd have no issue visualizing the body tweaks on this racer on a production Civic Type R. Then again, we're comparing it with the last big-time GRX entry we heard about – Ken Block's Ford Focus RS, which is running in FIA rallycross. According to Honda, OMSE and HPD will have the Civic Coupe GRX car ready for the season opener on May 21 and 22 at Phoenix's Wild Horse Pace Motorsports Park. View 4 Photos Related Video: Honda Debuts 2016 Civic Coupe Racing Livery to Compete in 2016 Red Bull Global Rallycross Series Will campaign the all-new Civic Coupe in partnership with Red Bull and Olsbergs MSE Mar 22, 2016 - NEW YORK Today Honda unveiled the new racing livery for its Civic Red Bull Global Rallycross racecar, announcing plans to campaign the all-new turbocharged 2016 Civic Coupe in the 2016 series in partnership with Red Bull and championship-winning race team Olsbergs MSE. The Honda Civic Red Bull GRC team will begin racing on May 21 in Phoenix at the first event of the season. Developed from a production-model 2016 Civic Coupe chassis by renowned builders and racers Olsbergs MSE (OMSE) with technical assistance from Honda Performance Development (HPD), the all-new Civic Red Bull GRC car is built to withstand the rigorous demands of racing in a series that emphasizes repeated aggressive acceleration and varied terrain. The car will boast more than 600 horsepower, turn in a 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds and is designed to handle the 70 foot table-top jumps featured on each racetrack.