2003 Honda S2000 Silverstone on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2018 Honda Accord charges into slumping sedan market

DETROIT - Honda on Friday revealed its newest-generation Accord, one of four re-engineered midsize sedans that Asian automakers are betting on to win market share as Detroit automakers shift focus to SUVs, crossovers, and pickup trucks. The new Accord, like rival Toyota's all-new Camry arriving this month, offers major improvements in fuel economy, technology, styling and safety. Honda declined to discuss details ahead of Friday's event in Detroit. The Accord and Camry are pillars of their manufacturers' US businesses, each selling well over 300,000 vehicles a year. In the coming months, Nissan is expected to launch a new Altima midsize sedan, and Hyundai will launch a new Sonata. Both are popular marques that will be promoted heavily. "There has been no new news on the midsize sedan side for three years, and we think this is a great opportunity to bring attention back to the segment," said Jack Hollis, Toyota's head of marketing for North America. Year to date, US passenger car sales are down 11.4 percent, and sales of midsize sedans are down 14.2 percent. Still, Americans bought 7.1 million sedans in 2016. With General Motors and Ford cutting sedan production, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles abandoning the segment, Honda and its Asian rivals could boost sales with updated models, dealers said. "They could take share from other brands, which is traditionally what happens when a new product is launched," said Pete DeLongchamps, vice president for manufacturer relations at Group 1 Automotive Inc, the third-largest US auto dealer group. "NOT FINDING A PLACE WITH CONSUMERS" The Accord for years was Honda's top-selling model in the United States. Within the past year, US sales of the Honda CR-V have eclipsed the aging Accord, and Honda has expanded production capacity for the compact crossover. Passenger-car sales have steadily declined since 2012, when they made up 51.2 percent of the US market. Sedans have sagged to a 38.1 percent share in the first half of this year. IHS Markit said US consumer loyalty to SUVs and pickup trucks has risen since 2012, but declined for sedans. The new Accord and Camry "may stem the decline," said IHS Markit's Tom Libby. "I don't think they will cause a marked reverse." Improvements to the Accord should boost sales at Galpin Honda in San Fernando, California, general manager Ed Hartoonian said.

Honda to compete in seven Pike's Peak classes in 2014

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is one of the greatest events on the international motorsports calendar. Its Unlimited class harkens back to the old days of racing, when teams built vehicles to be the fastest with whatever they had. Honda is returning to the event for 2014 for its second year as a sponsor and participant, and it's bringing some cool machines of its own.
The company is fielding seven entrants this year, which is somewhat smaller than last year. In 2013, it brought 11 factory-supported vehicles in 10 classes, including an insane Honda Odyssey with a 532-horsepower turbocharged V6 engine. There's no need to be too disappointed by the shorter list, though. Former 24 Hours of Le Mans-winner Romain Dumas is back piloting a Honda-powered Norma chassis up the hill in the Unlimited class. Dumas attempted to race the car last year, but it broke down during his run. Other competitors include an NSX (pictured above), Fit B-Spec and an S3700, which is an S2000 with a 3.7-liter V6 engine.
In its role as sponsor, Honda says it has also worked with the sanctioning body to add an AirFence safety barrier along some corners for the motorcycle and ATV riders. This year's Pikes Peak is being held on Sunday, June 29. Scroll down to read the full details about Honda's team and start getting excited for this year's running.

Honda's Acura NSX masterstroke: building the factory in Ohio

When Honda announced it was going to build its NSX supercar in Ohio instead of Japan, it caught everybody in the industry by surprise. No one expected this proud Japanese company to build its most technologically advanced sports car anywhere but in its home country. Now Honda has a supercar production facility in rural Ohio that would be the envy of any Formula One team. The people at Honda call it the PMC, but its official name is the Performance Manufacturing Center. It's a building that started out as a shipping facility for suppliers, but Honda invested $70 million to transform it into a showcase facility that will build the NSX. Honda benchmarked the assembly operations at Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, and Bentley before work began on its facility. The 200,000 square-foot building will also double as a customer reception center – Honda will open the doors for customers to come see their car being built. It's also going to offer them high-speed test drives at the gigantic Transportation Research Center just down the road. No one expected this proud Japanese company to build its most technologically advanced sports car anywhere but in its home country. Inside, the layout is wide open and well lit. There are no stripes or lines on the floor and none of the different departments are walled off. This creates a more welcoming appearance and lets you get a comprehensive view of the entire process at a glance. And with an eye towards future lessons learned, most of the equipment is of a modular design that can be easily reconfigured or moved. The body shop and paint shop are enclosed by glass walls so that anyone can see what's going on inside. And while you'll see some automation here and there, the idea was to achieve a blend between man and machine, not to try and automate everything. This is a low-volume facility with production targeted at only eight to ten cars a day. The plant runs four days a week with one ten-hour shift. Don't expect to see rows of new NSXs parked on any dealer's lot. The car will only be built to order. Honda is obsessed with ensuring the NSX is built to the most exacting quality standards. The plant people pored over the JD Power Appeal study to determine what supercar customers care about the most, then looked at which aspects of that directly tie into manufacturing. They developed their quality control strategy with three goals in mind. First, they wanted to build everything right the first time with no adjustments.