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Sony Honda EV venture's plan for online sales has dealers squirming

TOKYO/DETROIT — A new joint venture formed by Japan's Sony Group Corp and Honda Motor plans to introduce a premium electric vehicle later this decade, and the automaker's U.S. dealers are anxious to be part of the sales process. Sony Honda Mobility said on Thursday it was aiming to deliver the first of the unnamed EV by 2026, starting in the United States, and will sell them online. The success of Tesla at selling EVs without franchised dealers is putting pressure on established automakers to overhaul their retail networks. That leaves dealers across most brands concerned about their place in the changing world and whether profits will be squeezed. The online aspect of the Sony Honda plan, as well as the lack of details around how the vehicle will be sold and serviced, has raised questions with the Honda and Acura brand dealers. Many nonetheless expect Honda to work through the existing retail network. "These issues are certainly a concern," said Brian Benstock, general manager and vice president of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Queens, New York. "The best path forward is with the dealers." "We have a role (automakers) can't replicate," said Benstock, who also is on the Acura national dealer advisory board and has spoken with Honda officials about the new vehicle. "There's no way that Honda wants to hurt their existing dealer body." Some dealers questioned why Honda would even consider trying to work outside the current U.S. sales network given its national reach. Honda has about 1,100 Honda dealers and 270 Acura dealers. A Honda spokesperson referred questions about the joint venture to the new company. Sony Honda spokesperson Mai Nagadome said there are still a lot of details to finalize, but selling through the dealers has not been ruled out and customers would feel uneasy without some kind of after-sales service process. "The cost of continuing to develop (internal combustion engine) products along with EVs and autonomous tech and software for the next generation vehicles is proving to be quite the challenge," said Peter Hennessy, dealer principal of Atlanta-based Hennessy Automobile Companies, which includes a Honda store. "I get teaming up with Sony, but it should be done in conjunction with the dealer network, not outside it," he added.

Acura TSX Sport Wagon on the way out?

With Acura widely expected to consolidate its TSX and TL sedans into one model line in the near future, the fate of the TSX Sport Wagon is unsurprisingly in doubt. The long-rumored one-for-two sedan replacement is said to be dubbed TLX, and will sit above the Honda Civic-derived ILX, a model that already encroaches on the TSX's pricing and size. According to Ward's Auto, Acura officials are refusing to confirm that today's TSX wagon - effectively a re-schnozzed European-market Accord estate - is facing extinction. Reading the tea leaves, however, things certainly don't look good - the European Accord itself is said to be on the bubble and may not be replaced.
The TSX Sport Wagon was brought to the US as a niche play for the 2011 model year, with Acura of Canada taking a pass on the bodystyle. Officials said at the time that it hoped to shift 4,000 units per annum, roughly a 10-percent sliver of US TSX sales. And while Acura doesn't normally break out the wagon in its sales reports, Autoblog was able to obtain the model's totals for the last two years: the company sold 3,210 Sport Wagons in 2011, improving to 4,234 units last year. The current 2013 model began trickling into showrooms in December, but some dealers are still looking to clear out remaining 2012 models at handsome discounts.

2023 Acura Integra looks a little Civic-like in spy photos

After a couple of fairly revealing teasers, we finally have a good look at what seems to be the real-life 2023 Acura Integra. It comes to us via a member of IntegraForums.com, and, certainly a number of the styling cues match up to the teasers, but we're also detecting a bit of Civic influence. Of course, that wouldn't be a surprise considering the size of the upcoming Integra, or even the model's history. Up at the front, the Integra is Acura business as usual. It has the hawk-eye headlights and wide pentagonal grille with a sort of starburst grille mesh. The hood has nice creases and curves that flow into the front fascia. Along the sides are where we see a bit of what seems like Civic influence bleed through, mainly with the greenhouse. The shape of the windows and frames in the doors look very close to those on the Civic hatchback. Even the door-mounted mirrors look similar. But there are aspects that differentiate it. Most notably, there seems to be a diagonal crease that starts low on the front wheel well and rises up toward the rear fenders. It gives the car a lower, more curvy look than the square-shouldered Civic. It also helps add some visual heft to the rear fenders. At the back, the hatchback design is obvious, and also lends further credence to our theory the car is Civic-based. But obviously it's been majorly tweaked for the Acura. The bottom sill for the hatch looks much higher than on the Civic, and the shut line matches the slender taillights (which seem to be dead ringers for the teaser rendering). All of this helps the tail of the Acura look low and wide, including the location of the license plate in the bumper instead of the hatch. So it seems like the Integra will be based on the Civic, but with plenty of changes. And that's pretty much how the Integra and even its interim replacement, the ILX, have been. They've all been derived from the Civic, often with major design and mechanical differences. Also, with how excellent we've found the new Civic, it's a great starting point for Acura's new entry-level model. The car will be revealed fully next spring, and we should have many more details then. Related Video: 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring Inside and Out | Autoblog