2022 Honda Civic Si on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Honda Civic Type R spied closer to production

If there's a car that proves Honda cares about performance it's not the NSX; it's the Civic Type R. And with the next-generation Type R coming stateside, Honda is officially back in the hot hatch game in the United States. These latest spy photos give us a solid look at the four-door hatchback before we see the official photos. With the current European version Type breaking lap records all around the continent, we expect similar bonkers performance when the update model debuts as either a 2017 or 2018 model. Some rumors have claimed the turbochaged 2.0-liter will hit as much as 340 horsepower. In the photos above it's easy to see the current US-market style headlights and front styling on this update Civic Type R. And the big opening in the lower bumper on the driver's side suggests some kind of secondary cooling system, perhaps an oil cooler (we assume the turbo intercooler is mounted front and center). The Civic Type R is expected to go on sale sometime in 2017, and we could see the production sheetmetal before the end of the year.Related Video: Featured Gallery Spy Photos Honda Hatchback Performance honda civic type r civic type r

Honda opening first new motherland plant in almost 50 years

Despite opening dozens of overseas plants in the past several decades in locations all over the globe, Honda Motor Co. has not expanded its car manufacturing capabilities in its home market of Japan since opening a facility in Sayama back in 1964.
But all of that is set to change this July when Honda opens the doors to a new assembly plant in Yorii, about two hours north of Tokyo. According to Bloomberg, the new facility has a projected annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles. The plant is part of the automaker's reorganization efforts, plans that include scaling back its older Sayama plant and bringing Yorii online with more efficient and innovative technology. There are additional benefits, too, as the Yorii plant is expected to create 3,800 jobs, both on-site and at its suppliers, and boost the local economy as other businesses ramp up to accommodate the influx of new workers.
While the automaker has not released specifics about which models will be produced at Yorii, Honda is expected to consolidate production of models including the Fit, a best-seller in its domestic market.

Honda is first Japanese carmaker to be a net-exporter from US

Over the last decade or so, many foreign automakers have challenged the idea of what defines an "American car," but Honda took things a step further last year by exporting more cars out of the US than it imported in. Reuters is reporting that in 2013, a total of 108,705 Honda and Acura models were exported from the US with only 88,357 being shipped in. This gives Honda a net exporter status here, and makes it the first of such among the major Japanese automakers.
Honda's US imports have been dropping over the last five years while its exports have been steadily increasing. In 2008, the report indicates that Honda shipped 187,000 vehicles to the US and exported only 20,000, and even by 2012 Honda still favored imports with 136,000 imports and 74,000 exports. The article says that US-made Honda and Acura vehicles were exported to 50 countries with most ending up in Mexico, but the big news is that the Honda's US production set a record in 2013 with 1.3 million units built.