2005 Honda Civic Lx Sedan 4-door 1.7l Rebuilt Title on 2040-cars

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Honda introducing all-new EV, PHEV models by 2018

Honda finally showed off its FCV Concept (with our first glimpse of its interior) to a North American audience at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show today, but the big news from the Japanese automaker was that the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will be joined in the market by two new alternative fuel vehicles by 2018. One is an all-new pure battery electric vehicle and the other is an all-new plug-in hybrid. Details on the new vehicles were slimmer than the skinniest hipster jeans in all of Detroit, but the announcement shows that Honda wants to grow its portfolio of alt-fuel powertrains in the not-too-distant future. Honda currently sells the Fit EV and various Accord hybrids, and also showed off the upcoming Acura NSX here in Detroit this week. Ryan Harty, Honda's manager of environmental business development, said that these vehicles are all in service of the upcoming stricter CAFE fuel economy requirements. "Leading up to 2025 [the 54.5 mpg level], in order to meet regulation – not just US but globally – and more to meet our customer's expectations, we think big improvements in ICE engines can meet those," he said. "But also very exciting to all of us at Honda is our upcoming electromobility products. We really are building the foundational blocks to get to where we need to go after 2025." "We want to bring these vehicles to market in significant volume." - Ryan Harty That means vehicles that devour electricity. "Honda is very optimistic about the future of electromobility," Harty said, "not just the hybrids that we've already brought out but how those hybrids and our experience with fuel cell vehicles and battery electric Fit EV and Accord plug-in hybrids is giving us the confidence to launch a brand-new generation of battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. This will be a new sales pillar for American Honda. We want to bring these vehicles to market in significant volume." Honda says that it will also use, "further application of two- and three-motor hybrid systems" in the US. The fuel cell concept will arrive as a production version after March 2016. That is when it is scheduled to launch in Japan, with US deliveries happening some time later. In the near-term, though, expect better VTEC turbo engines to power more Honda vehicles while using comparatively less fuel. Honda says it will invest $340 million at the Anna Engine Plant in Ohio to build a new 4-cylinder engine. Down the road, though, its electrons over petroleum.

Sunday Drive: And now for something completely different

This past week played host to a wide assortment of automotive news, highlighted by our first drive of the 2018 Volvo XC40. The Swedish crossover is targeted at young, successful Millennials, but it offers cool styling, fun dynamics, and all of today's must-have technology, so we think it ought to appeal to a much wider swath of the automotive marketplace. From there we answer the question, "What are hard on the outside and soft on the inside?" as we take a look at the next Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV. We expect the German automaker's flagship luxury SUV to remain boxy on the outside, but the interior is going to be soft, supple, and luxurious. And then there's the Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid, which starts at starts at $34,290 and boasts 212 total system horsepower, 232 pound-feet of torque, 47 miles of electric driving range, and a total range of 340 miles. EPA rates it at 110 MPGe in EV mode, and 44 city/40 highway/42 combined overall. We compare it to other plug-ins like the Chevy Volt and Toyota Prius Prime. And finally we have some more spy photos of the 2019 Ram 1500. It doesn't have a traditional crosshair grille, but it's got plenty of chrome and an attractive upright stance that's sure to tempt future truck buyers looking for some sophistication to go with their work gloves. As always, stay tuned to Autoblog this week to see all the automotive news that's fit to print. 2018 Volvo XC40 First Drive Review | The Masspirational crossover Mercedes-Benz G-Class gets the luxe, high-tech treatment 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid Review | It's what's on the inside that counts 2019 Ram 1500 shows chrome grille and more production parts Green Honda Mercedes-Benz RAM Volvo Technology Truck Crossover SUV Luxury Performance Sedan volvo xc40 sunday drive

2015 Honda CR-V

Predicting the future direction of Honda's compact CR-V would have been difficult based on the Civic-derived model that first arrived on our shores for the 1997 model year. The newcomer, selling alongside the body-on-frame Passport (a hastily rebadged Isuzu Rodeo), was a cute compact crossover with four doors and an awkward curb-side hinged tailgate thanks to its Japanese home-market design. The five-passenger CUV offered generous interior room, but its wheezy 2.0-liter four-cylinder, with an output of just 126 horsepower and 133 pound-feet of torque, required 11.7 seconds to bring the 3,153-pound vehicle to 60 miles per hour. Rear drum brakes didn't help much in the stopping department, but Honda offered safety-minded consumers optional anti-lock brakes on the premium trim.
Nearly two decades after its introduction, the CR-V has matured in spectacular manner. The refreshed 2015 Honda CR-V, now in its fourth generation, is dimensionally within two inches of its ancestor in overall length and nearly identical in height and wheelbase. That consistency of dimension is impressive in this age of size and segment creep, and it stands as a testament to how 'right' Honda engineers got the model's original packaging. Of course, the CR-V hasn't stood still - nearly everything else about the best-selling compact CUV has improved in leaps and bounds.
But Honda is not the only player in this hotly contested segment today, so the automaker has taken the unusual step of updating its fourth-generation model just a few years after its introduction in an effort to keep it seated on the podium. To learn more about the automaker's improvements, and form our own impressions, we spent a day driving the CR-V in sunny Southern California.