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Pair of perfect Honda NSX Type Rs go up for auction in Tokyo

While the original Acura NSX is a brilliant supercar in any of its iterations, we never got the best version of it here in America: the Type R. Those came with Honda badges and are right-hand drive only. Unless you're in Japan or are lucky enough to come see an imported example elsewhere, you're not going to come across one of these. To see two practically perfect examples go up for auction at the same time is an even rarer sight. Some first-generation NSX Type R models (1992-1995 model years) can be imported to the U.S. now that they have surpassed the 25-year mark. However, this 1995 model is still a hair too new. Should that stop you from buying it and waiting a few months to take U.S. delivery? Certainly not. This car being offered at Tokyo's BH Auction with a grand total of 534 miles on its odometer. The seller claims it's 100% original and in pristine condition. Honda did a lot to transform the NSX into the first Type R of many to come. To start, engineers cut 308 pounds out of the car by using aluminum in even more places than before, deleting sound deadening, eliminating the A/C and stereo and using carbon-kevlar Recaro bucket seats. The 3.0-liter V6 was balanced and blueprinted. Then the suspension was given a full makeover with stiffer dampers, springs, bushings and a larger front sway bar. There were plenty of other little things throughout, but we'll spare you the long list. The number you need to know most is the estimated auction price. BH Auction thinks this NSX Type R will go for $227,000 - $272,000. 2005 Honda NSX-R View 21 Photos Next up is the ultra-rare 2005 Honda NSX-R. This R was based-off the NA2 NSX, so it has a 3.2-liter V6 and six-speed manual transmission with the new bodystyle that ditches the pop-up headlights. The 2005 model year was the last for the first-gen NSX, meaning this R is just about as new as they come. Many of the modifications that Honda did for the first Type R were repeated here. This model used carbon fiber more judiciously, though, replacing the hood, deck lid and spoiler with the lightweight material. The auction house claims just 140 NA2 NSX-Rs were made, so this is an incredibly rare car. Sadly, nobody here will be able to import it and drive it on American roads for quite some time yet. The price is estimated to come in at $345,000 - $436,000. That's pricey but this NSX has an even lower odometer reading than the other at just 348 miles.

Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.

A look inside Honda’s “Safety For Everyone” research and development operation

RAYMOND, Ohio—As part of its long-running “Safety for Everyone” campaign, Honda has established the audacious goal of what it calls a “zero-collision society.” But rather than making big claims about developing a fully-autonomous vehicle, which Honda hasnÂ’t done, the company is trying to chip away at the more than 37,000 vehicle-related fatalities that occurred in the U.S. in 2017 with a multi-pronged approach. Here in central Ohio, engineers are working with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to boost active safety systems like its HondaSensing suite of safety technology with old fashioned passive systems like structural steel frames or new airbag designs that protect passengers in a crash. Honda provided members of the press with a rare tour inside its Honda R&D Americas headquarters this week. Honda officials say that increasingly, safety — and specifically, third-party ratings from the likes of the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety — figure into the top three factors consumers weigh when purchasing a vehicle. Honda and Acura have 10, 2019 models that have earned IIHSÂ’s Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ ratings, and all 15, 2019 model-year Honda and Acura vehicles that have undergone NHTSA crash testing have earned a 5-star overall rating. And Honda prides itself on its growing list of safety firsts, including the first upward-deploying front passenger airbag, in 1990 in the Acura Legend; first omni-directional crash-test facility, in 2000; and the first autonomous braking system, in the 2006 Acura RL. It hopes its new three-chamber airbag goes industry-wide and joins that list. “ItÂ’s part of our companyÂ’s culture,” said Art St. Cyr, business head unit and vice president of auto operations for American Honda Motor Co. “We have a philosophy at Honda that we want to be a company that society wants to exist. That means we have to protect our customers. ThatÂ’s part of the whole mantra of doing this.” Opened in 1984, the 1.6 million square-foot Honda R&D Americas facility, located in the countryside about 45 miles northwest of Columbus, employs around 1,600 people and is HondaÂ’s largest research-and-development facility outside of Japan. Its Advanced Safety Research facility opened in 2003.