2014 Honda Accord Ex-l on 2040-cars

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Honda CEO says we shouldn't expect any new sports cars

It wasn't so long ago that Honda was known for its sporty two-door models, with models ranging from the Civic del Sol to the Prelude and from the Acura Integra and RSX to the Honda S2000. But look at its range today and all you'll see are the Civic and Accord coupes. Honda has essentially let competitors like the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ and Nissan 370Z take the place it once claimed as its own. But if you were hoping Honda would fight back with a new coupe or convertible of its own, we're afraid you're going to have to downgrade those hopes to pipe dreams.
While in Japan ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show, Autoblog had a chance to sit down with American Honda CEO Tetsuo Iwamura (pictured at right). When we asked about the potential for a new sports coupe or convertible in the Honda or Acura lineup, he pointed to the current Civic and Accord coupes - not to mention the upcoming new NSX - but said that Honda has no replacement for any of the aforementioned models (or a rival for the FR-S or 370Z) in the pipeline, saying only that the company is monitoring potential demand.
What Iwamura-san did note was that he's a personal fan of the new S660 roadster (pictured above) set to be unveiled tomorrow, and he is pushing (or at least hoping) that it will come to North America. Given that he's head of both Honda's American office and its global automobile operations, one might think that the only person he would have to persuade is himself (well... himself, and potential buyers), but the sporty droptop looks to be about kei-sized, which sadly suggests that it may be too small for American tastes and perhaps not designed with US crash-test standards in mind anyway.

Honda rolls out six-seat Jade Hybrid wagon in Japan

Honda has tried its hand at making hybrids of all shapes and sizes – whether dedicated or adapted to partial electric propulsion. There was the original two-seat Insight, the five-passenger Insight that followed, the 2+2 CR-Z hatchback and the hybrid version of the Vezel crossover – to say nothing of hybrid versions of the Civic and Accord. And now there's one more... in Japan, anyway. That would be the Jade, a wagon developed for the Chinese market but which Honda is now bringing home for the JDM, with a few key differences. For starters, while the Civic-based, low-slung wagon/minivan is produced under joint venture with Dongfeng principally in five-seat configuration, the Japanese version is being offered with three rows of two seats each for a total of (you guessed it) six chairs. The six-seat configuration, also offered on the conventional Chinese-market model, does away with the middle seat in the middle row in favor of more elbow room. The JDM Jade is also ditching the conventional 1.8-liter inline four in favor of the 1.5-liter hybrid and seven-speed DCT from the Vezel and Fit hybrids. Now if we could just get it Stateside with the Civic Type R engine, we could have a real sleek power wagon on our hands that would make us forget all about the Seat Leon ST Cupra unveiled just last week and let us play British touring car champion on our daily commute. Featured Gallery Honda Jade Hybrid (JDM) View 15 Photos News Source: Honda Green Honda Minivan/Van Wagon Hybrid JDM

Acura ILX headed for Civic-like early upgrades

The not-yet-ready-for-primetime 2012 Honda Civic saw it quickly returned to sender for refurbishment, now the Acura ILX is headed in the same direction in its very first year. Automotive News reports that the small, Civic-based sedan from Honda's luxury brand isn't meeting sales expectations, with an annualized rate of 22,000 to 24,000 sales instead of the 30,000 the company is after. More telling is that the ILX "is being outsold by the Buick Verano, Volkswagen CC and Audi A4," and, except for two months since it launched, it has also been outdone by the Acura TSX it is meant to replace.
Part of the cause has been the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine: its 150 horsepower to motivate a sedan that can weigh up to 2,970 pounds doesn't offer the kind of performance or value experience that buyers in the segment respond to. Another big issue is that the top-level 2.4-liter engine is only offered with a six-speed manual even though most buyers of the highest trim don't really want to shift their own gears. Lastly, the ILX might not put enough space between it and its frugal underpinnings - our first drive review pegged it as "the world's nicest Honda Civic."
An automatic transmission is on the way for the 2.4-liter, but it isn't clear when. And while Honda admits that the 2.0-liter is underpowered and Automotive News says it's on the way out, the company hasn't yet said how that situation will be corrected.