2008 Honda Accord Ex-l V6 4-door / One Owner / 23k Miles On Complete New Engine on 2040-cars

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Honda Wander Walker, Stand will roam around, around, around [w/video]

They do things differently in Japan, and we're not just talking about the adorable kei car. No, the concept vehicles that debut at the Tokyo Motor Show are decidedly different than what you might see in Geneva or Detroit. Case in point – the Honda Wander Walker and Wander Stand Concepts, which we previewed late last month. Despite its name, the Wander Walker is quite obviously a four-wheeled scooter that'd look right at home being driven by the elderly IKEA enthusiast in some futuristic metropolis. The front wheels turn to darn near 90 degrees, blessing the Wander Walker with a mere one-meter turning circle. The impressive maneuverability is down to this thing being tiny. Check out the picture if it next to everyone's favorite robot, Asimo, for scale. That makes it a prime mobility solution for the cramped confines of urban Tokyo, a fact that's reinforced by its super-model skinny 21.25-inch width. That size allows the Walker to squeeze through the turnstiles to board Japan's ultra-efficient train network. It's unclear what kind of power is in use here, but it's almost certainly electric. The top speed is a leisurely 3.7 miles per hour. (A quick Wikipedia search reveals humans walk at about 3.1 mph, so yes, this is at least a bit faster than walking.) If the Wander Walker is a futuristic scooter, the Wander Stand looks like a waiting room on wheels. Unlike the Walker, it'll accommodate two adults who can ride side-by-side in a 72.8-inch tall, 49.2-inch wide, and 78.4-inch long box. Like so many futuristic bits of tech, the Wander Stand throws information up on the windshield, which sits atop a futuristic dash. What sets this concept apart from the average kei car, is the Honda Omni Traction Drive System, which allows the usual movement forward and back, but also gives drivers the ability to drive laterally or even diagonally. Again, Japan is a tight place, and this kind of ability grants drivers a lot of leeway in urban driving. We've got a few images direct from Honda available above and below, while you can also look forward to a full array of live images, direct from the floor of the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show.

Acura NSX prototype gets back on track

Developing a new vehicle is not without its complications, we're sure, but usually things follow a fairly predictable progression: you develop a prototype, you test it, test it and test it again, then you put it into production. What you don't expect is that your prototype will burn to the ground, but that's what famously happened to the NSX which Honda engineers were testing a few months ago.
Fortunately, the Acura NSX prototype is back on track, both literally and figuratively, as you can see from this latest batch of spy shots snapped at the Nürburgring. This camouflaged prototype looks pretty much the same as the last one, only, you know... less crispy. Which is to say, it looks pretty much ready to hit showrooms.
The naysayers may point out that Honda chose colder and damper weather to put the NSX back into testing - thereby mitigating the risk of another fire - but we're sure the Japanese automaker has been working hard to fix the flammability issues, whatever may have caused them, over the past few months. At least, we hope they have.

Honda S660 proving popular with middle-age Japanese buyers

The S660 roadster has been a success so far for Honda. (At least, that is, insofar as a niche-market sports car limited to the Japanese Domestic Market can be considered a big seller.) It just hasn't resonated with the customers that the company expected. Honda revealed the S660 in concept form at the Tokyo Motor Show nearly two years ago, and subsequently put it into production. The convertible Kei car pays homage to models like the S500, S2000, and Beat. It packs a tiny 660cc three-cylinder engine mounted amidships and driving the rear wheels. Despite its connection to past models, the S660 features an entirely modern design that, along with its low price, was expected to appeal to younger buyers. But while Honda has already sold out all 8,600 examples it's slated to build this year, a surprising 80 percent of them have been snapped up by customers over the age of 40 who are mostly buying them as second cars. The development is not entirely isolated. As Bloomberg points out, the number of licensed drivers in Japan "under the age of 40 has fallen 46 percent over the last 13 years." Those are rather startling numbers that dwindle the market down for youth-oriented vehicles like the S660. Honda is expected to begin taking orders for next year's allocation of S660s in October. At that point, the company anticipates the average age of its customer base will drop. But with fewer young drivers on the road in Japan, it shouldn't expect it to drop by much.