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Watch Obama kick the ball around with Honda's latest ASIMO

Bend it like Obama. The Commander-In-Chief was just in Japan for a state visit, and his trip took him to a science expo, where he played a bit of soccer with Honda's latest ASIMO robot. The entire scene was captured on video, and showed the innovative robot as it ran, hopped and kicked a soccer ball to a bemused President Obama.
ASIMO had a number of upgrades ahead of its meeting with the president, which were originally shown off to the crowds at the 2014 New York Auto Show. These tweaks to the 110-pound robot included a number of changes in both its upper and lower body to improve stability, speed and balance. Although not shown in this video, Honda claims the lower-body upgrades allow ASIMO to climb faster and more smoothly than ever before. Its hands are more dexterous and expressive, as well, while new sensors give it an even better sense of touch.
Before ASIMO smoothly and effortlessly jogged across the stage, the robot and the President had a brief chat. According to The Wall Street Journal, Obama later told students at the Miraikan Science Expo in Tokyo that ASIMO and the other robots at the fair "were a little scary. They were too lifelike."

Honda Accord Hybrid falls well short of 47 mpg, says Consumer Reports [w/video]

Do not poke Consumer Reports with the hybrid fuel economy stick. That seems to be the lesson illustrated here yet again. The Honda Accord Hybrid is the latest to arouse the ratings bear, returning "just" 40 combined mpg in CR testing. Even so, that makes it "a class leader for fuel economy among midsized sedans," besting even the Civic Hybrid in CR testing, but that's still a lucky roll of the dice short of its EPA rating of 47 mpg. Remember, it was back in December 2012 that CR knocked the Ford Fusion and C-Max hybrid models for the exact same failing: certified with an EPA-rated 47 mpg but delivering "just" 40 mpg.
Beyond that, while the Accord Hybrid earned a lower overall score than the traditional gasoline Accord because of its ride, handling and refinement issues, it gets unqualified applause from the institute for its "very impressive hybrid system."
It will be interesting to see if CR's findings will negatively impact the model's sales, which to this point have been impressive enough that demand is outstripping supply. In the meantime, you can check out CR's brief video review of the Accord Hybrid below, and check out the magazine's press release chiding its mpg rating.

Honda Civic Tourer sports forbidden facelift

Following up on a sextet of spy photos from June, we now have another batch of images of the facelifted Euro-spec Honda Civic undergoing testing in the United Kingdom. There's a bit more sheetmetal to this particular prototype, though, as our spy photographers have caught the upcoming Tourer model (pronounced "wagon" among us Yanks).
Like the hatchback we showed you last month, the new Tourer benefits from the same set of styling tweaks inspired by the Civic Type R Concept from March's Geneva Motor Show. That means it boasts a revised front fascia, albeit with a more heavily camouflaged version of the grille shown in last month's photos. It's a similar story below, where the intakes on this long-roof model wear more disguise, yet look to be virtually identical to what we've already seen.
While the headlights still look to be a straight lift from last month's car, the more upright nature of the Tourer's tailgate demands a more subdued character. Gone are the thin, curvy LED taillights, and in their place sit significantly more substantial units (with conventional bulbs), although they boast none of the design chutzpah shown on our last round of spy photos. Our spies claim LED taillights will be available, noting that they simply aren't fitted to this particular prototype, a distinction that suggests this is a lower-end model.