2011 Honda Touring on 2040-cars

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Honda, Volvo, Lincoln are North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year

The Detroit Auto Show has officially kicked off, as it always does, with the announcement of the North American Car, Utility Vehicle and Truck of the Year winners. For 2018, those are the Honda Accord, Volvo XC60 and Lincoln Navigator, respectively. The Honda Accord beat out two other finalists, the Toyota Camry and the new Kia Stinger. The Accord stood out for its styling, drivability and standard equipment. The Volvo XC60 came out ahead of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Honda Odyssey minivan. It was chosen for its luxury, ride and value when equipped well. The Lincoln Navigator, a heavily updated model that remained true to the concept car on which it was based, beat the Ford Expedition, as well as the only pickup in the list, the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 (which was a finalist for Autoblog's own Technology of the Year Award). NACTOY juror Ron Sessions complimented the "more dramatic update" compared to the Expedition. "With its design now aligned with the Continental, the Navigator becomes an even more important image — and the profit-maker for Lincoln," he said. The NACTOY Awards have been around since 1994. A panel of 60 judges, all automotive journalists, whittle the list down to three finalists in each category before announcing the winners in January. The Utility Vehicle category was added for 2017. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2018 Honda Accord Touring 2.0T View 106 Photos Related Gallery 2018 Volvo XC60: First Drive View 22 Photos Related Gallery 2018 Lincoln Navigator: First Drive View 53 Photos News Source: NACTOY Auto News Detroit Auto Show Honda Lincoln Volvo Truck Crossover SUV Luxury Sedan 2018 detroit auto show north american car of the year NACTOY north american truck utility of the year

Andretti Autosport switches to Honda power

The IndyCar grid was split pretty evenly this season between Honda and Chevy power. Thing is, most of the front-running teams have been running Chevrolet engines. Except for Chip Ganassi Racing, the team that fields the likes of Ryan Briscoe, Scott Fixon and Dario Franchitti - but earlier this month Chip Ganassi announced it was switching to Chevy engines too, just like most of the other pack-leading teams.
Honda insisted it didn't need a flagship team to replace Ganassi, but that's exactly what it announced this weekend with the signing of Andetti Autosport. The team run by Michael Andretti won a few IndyCar Series titles under Honda power (in 2004, 2005 and 2007), and two Indy 500 wins (in 2005 and 2007), but switched to the Bowtie two seasons ago, winning the championship last season. But the vast majority of the team's victories - 39 out of 48 race wins - have been powered by Honda, and the two outfits undoubtedly hope they'll return to the winner's circle again with their new multi-year partnership that takes effect next season.

Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.