1995 Honda Accord Ex Sedan 4-door 2.2l on 2040-cars

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2014 Honda Civic Hybrid now available nationwide, CNG model in 37 states [UPDATE]

As promised, the 2014 Honda Civic is about to get a little green update. A hybrid gas-electric version will join the standard 2014 Civic in Honda showrooms nationwide tomorrow and a natural gas-powered model will join the party on February 15th, but only in 37 states. Both new models will get the updates that Honda applied to the other 2014 Civic models, including a seven-inch touchscreen display audio and expanded view driver's mirror, which are both now standard. Read our review of the 2013 Civic Hybrid here but note that enough has changed with the new model to go from an EPA rating of 44 miles per gallon across the board to 44/47/45 city/highway/combined. The CNG model is rated at 31 mpg in all three categories. The 2014 Civic Hybrid will start at $24,635, while the compressed natural gas (CNG) Civic aims a bit higher, starting at $26,640. More details on these new vehicles is available below. If you're happy with earlier versions of the CNG Civic, then you'll be happy to know that 2012 MY vehicles at participating Honda dealers still comes with a $3,000 fuel credit that can be used at Clean Energy stations, the largest brand of public compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in the US. If you don't have a Clean Energy station in your area, the Civic CNG comes with a $2,000 prepaid debit card to be used at other refueling stations. We've asked Honda for information on which 13 states will not offer the CNG model and will update this post when we get that information. UPDATE: The 37 states are now available below. These are the 37 states where the Civic CNG is available: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New England, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. That leaves the following 13 states without the Civic CNG: Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming. Honda Launches 2014 Civic Hybrid and Civic Natural Gas, Enhancing a Diverse Lineup of Fuel Efficient and Alternative Fuel Models Text Only 2014_Honda_Civic_Hybrid-CNG_Rls_FINAL.docx Add to Basket Printer Friendly 02/04/2014 - TORRANCE, Calif.

Honda reveals XR-V crossover in Chengdu

Global automakers have been moving largely towards global products, but that doesn't mean it can't tweak them for local tastes. Take Honda, for example, and its new compact crossover. Unveiled late last year as the Vezel, the crossover is expected to arrive in Europe and North America as the HR-V. But in China, it's being called the XR-V and adopts the form you see here.
Presented by Dongfeng Honda at the Chengdu Motor Show, the new XR-V is based closely on the Vezel but adopts some unique bodywork for a more rugged look. The front end gets a more SUV-like grille and bumper, while the side flanks are less swoopy but with more muscular wheel arches. The result may not be as bonkers as the Mugen version that debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon tuner show, but reminds us more of the similarly named and ruggedized Subaru XV Crosstrek.
Though technically billed as a concept, the Chinese-market XR-V looks just about ready for production as it is. Both 1.5- and 1.8-liter engines are specified, and while there may not be a wealth of other details available, you can read what there is in the press release (presented in original and translated forms) below.

Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.