2008 Honda Civic Dx-g Sedan 4-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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Honda scraps 2017 sales target amid concerns over quality

Honda CEO Takanobu Ito thinks that the automaker he leads needs to go back to basics to avoid continuing quality concerns. To do that, the boss is making the radical shift of entirely chucking the company's six-million vehicle annual sale targets through 2017, and there's no intention to include the goals in the next midterm plan, either, according to Bloomberg. The move comes soon after last month's announcement to set aside about $425 million to pay for recalls and slice forecasts by about 17,000 cars for the fiscal year. The complete shift from the way most automakers do business stems from the significant number of recalls from Honda last year. While the most glaring example is the Takata airbag problems affecting roughly 5.4 million of the company's vehicles in the US, that's hardly the only one. In Japan, the Fit Hybrid needed five repair campaigns in 12 months to fix various issues, and according to Bloomberg, the Vezel (similar to the HR-V in the US) has needed three. Honda also had to pay $70 million to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failing to submit 1,729 safety reports to the agency. The Japanese automaker has been working on ways to right the ship for months. In the wake of the Fit recalls, top executives took a three-month, 20 percent pay cut and created an independent position to monitor vehicle quality. Previous Honda CEOs have also offered stern words to Ito. The problems haven't had quite such a dire effect in the US, though. Sales in 2014 were up one percent, and January 2015 showed a year-over-year improvement of 11.5 percent

Honda announces 2015 Pilot Special Edition

Honda doesn't have any exciting new mechanical or aesthetic changes for the 2015 Pilot eight-passenger crossover, but it is adding a new trim level to give families a compromise between the EX and EX-L models.
The new Special Edition trim is available on either the front-wheel or all-wheel drive versions of the Pilot, and it adds Pewter Gray aluminum wheels, a power moonroof, a rear seat entertainment DVD system and Sirius XM radio. Prices come to $33,950 for the two-wheel drive version, after the $830 destination charge, or $35,550 for all-wheel drive after destination.
Prices for the rest of the trims are up $200 over last year, and they all still come standard with remote entry, a rearview camera and Class III trailer hitch. Power is still provided by a 3.5-liter V6 with 250 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque with a five-speed automatic. Fuel economy is unchanged as expected with front-wheel drive models rated at 18 miles per gallon city, 25 mpg highway and 21 mpg combined, and four-wheel drive models make 1 mpg less at 17 mpg city, 24 mpg highway and 20 mpg combined. Scroll down to read the official release.

Which car companies are creating new jobs in America?

Since January, automakers have announced investments totaling $9.5 billion in U.S. plants, creating or retaining more than 12,000 jobs. Some of those companies have yet to announce just how many jobs will be created given their investments, with the location of many of those jobs still to be determined. Specifically, the 4,000-job Toyota-Mazda joint venture plant still hasn't announced its location, with numerous states jockeying for it. Hyundai has plans to invest $1 billion but has not announced a jobs number yet. And likewise Ford is investing $1.2 billion in Michigan without specifying a number of jobs. Volvo this week announced plans to add a second line to its factory under construction in South Carolina, spending another $500 million and adding 2,500 jobs to the 2,000 it was already trying to fill. Then Thursday, Daimler announced a $1 billion expansion to its facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to produce EV batteries and electric SUVs, a move that will add 600 jobs to its hiring this year. Above, we've created a handy pie chart showing you which companies have announced new jobs and how many there will be. Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit News Source: Reuters Plants/Manufacturing BMW Chrysler Ford GM Honda Hyundai Mazda Mercedes-Benz Toyota Volvo jobs