2006 Honda Pilot Ex-l Navi Sunroof Back Up Camera Clean Carfax We Finance!! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hurricane Sandy cost automakers 15,000 vehicles, may have ruined up to 200k

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic storm in US history, and its total economic impact is just now coming into view. According to Automotive News, Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda are set to scrap around 15,000 new vehicles ruined by the storm. Nissan alone accounts for about 40 percent of those, with 6,000 Nissan and Infiniti models deeded "un-saleable" due to damage. The company saw 56 dealerships shuttered due to the storm, but 51 of those have since reopened.
Toyota, meanwhile, had some 4,000 vehicles at its Newark port facility, and of those, 3,000 may be scrapped. An additional 825 were dealer inventory when they were ruined. Honda and Acura dealers are reportedly sending 3,440 vehicles to the salvage yard. By comparison, Chrysler weathered the storm fairly well with 825 units destroyed, while Hyundai suffered only 400 lost units and Kia scrapped around 200.
As you may recall, Fisker also suffered some losses, and Automotive News reports the manufacturer saw 320 Karma models damaged beyond repair. Ford and General Motors have yet to come up with estimates, and no automaker has commented on the full cost of replacing the vehicles.

Honda rolls out various oddities for 2015 Tokyo Auto Salon

On January 9 the doors at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba will open for the 2015 Tokyo Auto Salon. and you know what that means, boys and girls: that's right, all sorts of strange mod jobs. Not to be confused with the Tokyo Motor Show that's Japan's main automotive expo, the Tokyo Auto Salon is the Nipponese equivalent of SEMA. Honda is among the first to announce its lineup for the show, and, well... let's just say they're not all hideous and leave it at that. The H brand has got a whole array of customized machinery in store for the tuner expo, starting with the new N-Box Slash that just went on sale in Japan as the company's latest Kei car. One version of the tall wagon on the tiny wheelbase is obviously inspired by America, or at least a Japanese impression of what American car culture is like: it's decked out in red with racing stripes, flame graphics, a highway road sign and strange checkerboard wheels. Another N-Box Slash dubbed the Cyber Code:89 concept looks like something from anime, all decked out in futuristic graphics and glowing lights. A third example is rather more tastefully done up in teal with yellow accents. Of course Honda hasn't put all its eggs in the Slash basket, turning its attention as it has to other models in the JDM lineup. There's a retro N-One concept with a low-key grey and white exterior but with a zany multicolor interior, a tasteful white N-WGN with Modulo accessories, an Odyssey Absolute 20th Anniversary edition minivan, a take on the NM4 cruiser bike that'd look right at home in Akira and – one of our favorites from the lot – a Mugen take on the Honda Legend that we know as the Acura RLX. Whether your plans will take you to Tokyo for the show or not, you can scope 'em all out in the high-res image gallery for a closer look.

eBay Find of the Day: 1985 Honda City Turbo II is JDM forbidden fruit you can own

It's always fun to cruise different global eBay Motors sites and check out the cars that we never got here. Thankfully, America's 25-year import limit on cars means that some of the rarities from the 80s are finally legal on these shores. This 1985 Honda City Turbo II is a great example of a fun, little car that we never got new but can be made legal here now.
The City was basically the Japanese company's '80s equivalent of today's Fit, albeit significantly smaller. The little urban runabout was so popular in its basic form that Honda decided to take things up a notch and turbocharge it. That car sold enough to warrant an even higher performance version called the Turbo II, which added an intercooler and the flared fenders you see here. The latter helped it earn the nickname "bulldog" for its boxy, aggressive appearance.
Honda claimed at the time that its little 1.2-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder produced 109 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque with a five-speed manual. In a car that weight just 1,620 pounds, you can imagine it was a very entertaining little package.