2005 Honda Element Clean One Owner We Finance No Accidents on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2015 Honda Fit set for Detroit reveal

We've got one more debut confirmed for next month's Detroit Auto Show, as Honda has announced that it will be showing off the 2015 Fit in the Motor City. Honda has released a singular image of the new Fit's rear taillight, above.
From the sole image, we can see that the American-spec Fit will share at least its taillights with the Japanese variant, which we've helpfully included an image of to the right. Now, technically, the blue car to the right is the Fit Hybrid, a car we aren't expecting to see in the US market. But the gallery of images we've included below should give those interested in the car a very good idea of what the new Fit will look like when it hits the auto show stage next month.
As for what will be under hood when it debuts in January, Honda is touting its Earth Dreams Technology engine, which we take to mean some sort of four-cylinder, gas-powered mill. Expect excellent fuel economy from the new car, and according to the Japanese brand, "leading-edge connected car technologies."

Honda, SolarCity expand sun-powered partnership with new $50 million fund

It must be solar-power announcement time. The DOE is ready to throw $25 million at concentrating solar power and New York State just announced $94 million for solar projects. At the broadly green-minded South By Southwest Eco festival in Austin, TX this week, Honda announced an expansion of its work with SolarCity to include a new fund that could finance up to $50 million in solar projects for dealerships and homes. Well, the homes of people who have purchased a Honda or Acura vehicle, at least. Stop us if this all sounds familiar. Honda and SolarCity announced back in early 2013 that they would work together on a $65-million fund to partially subsidize the installation of solar-panels at Honda dealers and on homes of Honda and Acura drivers. The new $50 million will be used to pay for not only the equipment but also the installation, which means that if you can get access to the money, you're looking at a pretty sweet 20-year lease deal to get solar energy for your home and could make it a bit more like the Honda Smart Home in Davis, CA (pictured). How sweet a deal? Well, there's zero down payment required and a 3-kW system starts could cost you just $25 a month, according to the fine print. Rates will vary, for sure, but if that sounds like something you're interested in, check out the Honda SolarCity site. The new fund builds on the previous work that, the two companies say, created enough solar capacity to offset "more than 400 million pounds of CO2 over a 30-year lifecycle." There's more in the press release below. SolarCity and Honda Announce $50 Million Commitment to Provide Solar Power to Honda and Acura Customers and Dealerships SAN MATEO and TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 8, 2014 – Today, at the SXSW Eco conference in Austin, TX, SolarCity® (Nasdaq: SCTY) and Honda have renewed their partnership with a new fund expected to finance $50 million in solar projects. The new commitment will make solar power more affordable and available to Honda and Acura customers and dealerships in the U.S. The companies have completed or initiated a range of solar projects for homeowners, dealerships and corporate facilities that total more than 12.5 MW of solar generation capacity. The two companies have already brought enough solar capacity online to offset more than 400 million pounds of CO2 over a 30-year lifecycle . The $50 million fund is a follow-up to a $65 million fund the companies created in 2013.

Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.