2014 Honda Accord Ex-l on 2040-cars

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Affordable, lightweight Honda roadster revival in the works?

There's a joke phrase from a popular movie that gets tossed around the Autoblog offices when ever a big change or announcement is coming: "Hold on to your butts." It's usually accompanied by a video of Samuel L. Jackson. That's the advice we'd recommend for reading this article. GTChannel is reporting that a new, small, lightweight, quick successor to the Honda S2000 is being "seriously considered."
Citing an unnamed source within the Japanese automaker, GTChannel goes on to list a few interesting tidbits about the new vehicle. From the sounds of it, though, if Honda is planning a new roadster, it's in the absolute earliest stages of development.
What's apparently being discussed is a car that's smaller than a Mazda MX-5, in terms of its dimensions. Under hood would be a VTEC engine, displacing anywhere from 1.3 to 1.5 liters, with GT Channel making the apt suggestion that the 1.5-liter, 132-horsepower mill from the Honda Fit could make its way into the new roadster. Curb weight would be in the realm of 2,000 pounds, which would make a 130-odd-hp engine seem absolutely heroic. Rear-wheel drive would be a given, although we aren't sure about the site's suggestion that a five-speed manual will be on offer. Styling could draw from the N-One, a popular, Honda-badged kei car.

Honda will build 2014 Accord Hybrid in Ohio

Honda has announced that it will invest $23 million in its Marysville, Ohio facility to support production of the upcoming 2014 Accord Hybrid sedan. According to the manufacturer, this means approximately 50 new jobs will be created, and the whole investment will result in a 95,000-square-foot expansion of the Marysville plant.
The Accord Hybrid joins the decidedly homely Accord PHEV (pictured) this fall, using a 2.0-liter i-VTEC Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine mated to a 124-kilowatt electric motor. Honda has yet to release official power or fuel economy figures for the non-plug-in hybrid version of the Accord.
Honda currently operates four manufacturing facilities in Ohio, with the combined capacity to build up to 700,000 cars and light trucks each year. The Japanese automaker also has a facility in Greensburg, Indiana, where the Civic Hybrid and Acura ILX Hybrid are built.

Analysts say Honda's growing woes in Europe not just the economy

There is no denying that the European auto market is taking its lumps right now - just ask Peugeot - but Honda might be taking this downturn on the chin a little harder than some of the other Japanese automakers doing business on the continent. Automotive News Europe is reporting that things have gotten so bad for Honda that it will be cutting 800 workers from Swindon, England plant that builds the CR-V, Civic and Jazz (a.k.a. Fit). This will be the first time Honda has made such cuts in more than 20 years.
Despite an increase in output last year over 2011 (165,607 units compared to 97,459), the Swindon plant is still running well below its full capacity (250,000/year), and its 66 percent capacity is less than the expected breakeven point of industry analysts (75 to 80 percent). Unlike in the US, however, Honda's new CR-V and Civic aren't selling well, and the similarly sized Nissan Qashqai is outselling the CR-V at a rate of more than five to one. Slow CR-V sales are blamed on a relatively high price and the crossover's conservative styling. On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, the report notes that Nissan continues to experience growth at its UK operations, leading analysts to suggest that Honda can't blame the sour economy for much of its woes.