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Honda Gear concept explored at Montreal Auto Show

Our friends at Autoblog Canada have just come away with a closer look at Honda's surprise Gear Concept at the Montreal Auto Show. The little three-door hatchback is arguably the automaker's first real shot at the North American city car market (the Gear is much smaller than the Fit) and may be an indication that Honda is getting serious about going after Scion on this side of the world after the CR-Z hybrid failed to deliver. Honda says the Gear Concept takes its inspiration from the fixed-gear bicycle scene, and should allow buyers an unprecedented level of customization. Designers also wanted to show that a car can be both fun and practical.
We're all for a compact stylish three door with functional room inside, but given Honda's propensity for draining the personality from its concepts on the way to production (at least the ones that don't look showroom ready), we don't hold much hope for the Gear. You can check out the full press release below for more information.

Honda thumbs nose at fleet sales, claims it leads in key vehicle segments

Fleet sales are a way of life in the automotive industry. There are many non-retail customers that need vehicles, but going too far can reduce brand image and vehicle resale value. While some of its competitors have fleet sale that account for up to 20 or 30 of overall sales, Honda is bragging that it has the lowest fleet sales of all mainstream automakers for the first five months of 2013.
After calculating new-car registration data from R.L. Polk, Honda says that just two percent of its sales through went to fleet customers compared to an industry average of 19 percent. Even though this means Honda leaves plenty of sales on the table each month, it also claims to have the highest resale value and lowest cost of ownership among its competitors. In terms of retail sales, Honda says that the Civic, Accord, CR-V and Odyssey all lead their respective segments, and it breaks down/brags about its retail sales success in the press release, which is posted below.

Is today's Honda Accord cheaper than it was back in 1989?

Whether you're shopping at the grocery story or on a car lot, everything seems to be getting more expensive these days. However, when all the factors are considered, that might be more an issue of perception than of fact. The American Public Media radio show Marketplace recently tackled the question whether modern vehicles were actually more expensive once you factored in important variables like inflation and cost of ownership. The result was pretty surprising.
For its example, Marketplace chose the Honda Accord, because in August, it was one of the bestselling vehicles in the US, with 51,075 of them sold. Winding back the clock 25 years to 1989, Honda's cheapest Accord cost $11,770, and that money bought you a stripped-out car with 98 horsepower, a manual gearbox, no air conditioning and hand-crank windows.
Fast-forward to present day, and a basic Accord starts at around $22,000 and gives buyers significantly more features, including a 185-hp engine, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth, cruise control, more space, refinement and much better safety. By Marketplace's math, when just figuring for inflation, that modern Honda would cost about $11,500 a quarter century ago, despite all of that extra equipment. But that's just one factor. Scroll down to listen to the full report for an explanation of how cost of ownership figures into the mix, and whether it throws all of the calculations off.