2014 Honda Cr-v Ex-l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Auto sales in March and first quarter down nearly across the board

Nearly every major automaker reported weak U.S. sales for March and the first quarter of 2019, citing a rough start to the year, but said a robust economy and strong labor market should encourage consumers to buy more vehicles as 2019 rolls on. GM, which no longer releases monthly sales figures, saw first-quarter sales fall 7 percent, with declines across all brands. Sales of Silverado pickup trucks fell nearly 16 percent and the high-margin Chevy Suburban large SUV dropped 25 percent. Ford also no longer releases monthly sales numbers, but is due to release its first-quarter sales figures on Thursday. According to industry data, Ford's sales fell 2 percent in the quarter and 5 percent in March. Ford representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FCA reported a 7 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and a 3 percent drop for the first quarter. All of FCA's brands dropped in March, except for Ram, which saw a 15 percent increase in pickup truck sales. "The industry had a tough first quarter, but with spring finally starting to show its face and continued strong economic indicators ... we are confident that new vehicle sales demand will strengthen going forward," FCA's U.S. head of sales, Reid Bigland, said in a statement. Toyota reported a 3.5 percent fall in U.S. sales in March and 5 percent for the first quarter, hurt by declining demand for its Corolla sedans and Camry vehicles. "While some of our competitors are abandoning sedans, we remain optimistic about the future of the segment," Toyota said in a statement. Nissan posted a 5.3 percent drop in sales in March, and its first-quarter sales were down 11.6 percent. Honda and Hyundai bucked the trend. Honda's U.S. sales rose 4.3 percent in March and 2 percent in the quarter, while Hyundai's were up 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Passenger-car sales suffered throughout the January-March quarter compared with the same period in 2018 as Americans continued to abandon them in favor of larger, more comfortable pickup trucks and SUVs, which are far more profitable for automakers. The battle for market share in the particularly lucrative large-pickup truck market intensified in the quarter, as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand outsold the U.S.' No. 1 automaker General Motors' Chevrolet-brand trucks. The two automakers have both launched redesigned pickup trucks.

2014 Honda Civic Coupe

Honda lifted the covers off its refreshed Civic Coupe at SEMA earlier this month, showing off its updated styling and redesigned 18-inch wheels, but didn't unveil its interior or mechanical upgrades until today at the LA Auto Show. Eager to show off its latest arrival, Honda allowed me to check out and drive the new coupe a few weeks ago.
The interior, which was hidden beneath heavily tinted glass at SEMA, features new colors, upgraded seating materials and new technology. The interior themes are now more color coordinated and feature upgraded Tricot soft weave. Black is the standard interior color, with a choice of black or gray seats. A new display audio system is also found on the EX/EX-L trims. The seven-inch capacitive-touch screen, with a matte finish to reduce the annoyance of greasy fingerprint marks, allows users to not only tap once for a function, but to double-tap, slide, flick and pinch - as if they are using a familiar smartphone or tablet. The new infotainment interface not only accepts USB and Bluetooth data exchange, but has also been configured with HDMI for future upgrades. Some of you may have also noticed the exterior mirrors on the SEMA car, as they were fitted with cameras for Honda's blind spot minimizing Lanewatch system. It is now offered on the Civic Coupe for EX trims and above.
Mechanically, the new Civic Coupe rides on an upgraded suspension system that features revised spring rates (front up by four percent, rear up by three percent), a stiffer rear stabilizer (up by 25 percent) and larger 16-inch wheels (wearing 205/55R16 tires). The engineering objective was to improve handling and responsiveness while flattening cornering. According to Honda, the tweaks should give the Civic Coupe better linear steering feel than either the Hyundai Elantra or the Ford Focus.

2016 Acura NSX aimed at Ferrari 458 for the price of Audi R8

Acura has done a good job of keeping the next-generation NSX under the wraps for the past few months, especially after a fiery little incident during testing at the Nürburgring earlier this year. But UK's What Car? recently got a chance to speak with development boss Ted Klaus, and he unleashed a few new details about the much-anticipated supercar to make it even harder for us to wait.
Among the info was a strong estimate of the NSX's performance potential. "We have to achieve the type of acceleration that the customer is achieving with the Ferrari," said Klaus to What Car?. "More importantly we have to achieve this every day and also at the Nürburgring." Assuming Acura's supercar is as actually quick as a 458 Italia, then it could hit 60 miles per hour in around 3.5 seconds.
Klaus also claims that the wickedly fast performance could come at a relative bargain for the class. The price is reportedly being benchmarked against the Audi R8, which would put the NSX around $130,000 in the US. While hardly cheap, it would still be a healthy discount off a 458.