2015 Honda Cr-v Ex-l on 2040-cars

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2015 Australian Grand Prix all about grooves and trenches [spoilers]

We can't remember the last time 90 percent of the action in Formula One had nothing to do with cars setting timed laps. Yet that's was the situation at the Australian Grand Prix, continuing the antics from a scarcely believable off-season with blow-ups, driver and team absences, a lawsuit, and a clear need for some teams to get down and give us 50 pit stops. Nothing much has changed from a regulation standpoint, and at the front of the field nothing has changed at all. Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas claimed the first position on the grid like someone put a sign on it that read, "Reserved for Mr. Hamilton;" teammate Nico Rosberg was 0.6 behind in second, Felipe Massa in the Williams was 1.4 seconds back in third. Sebastian Vettel proved that Ferrari didn't do another Groundhog Day routine this off-season, slotting into fourth. His teammate Kimi Raikkonen was not even four-hundredths of a second behind, ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the second Williams, Daniel Ricciardo in the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing, and rookie Carlos Sainz, Jr. in the first Toro Rosso. Lotus, now powered by Mercedes, got both cars into the top ten with Romain Grosjean in ninth, Pastor Maldonado in the final spot. However, even though the regulations are almost all carryover, in actual fact, everything has changed this year. Mercedes is even faster. Renault is even worse. Ferrari and Lotus are a lot better. Toro Rosso is looking like anything but a junior team. And McLaren is – well, let's not even get into that yet. Furthermore, this weekend was shambles: 15 cars started the race, the smallest naturally-occurring grid since 1963. Manor couldn't get its cars ready before qualifying. Bottas had to pull out after qualifying when he tore a disc in his back and couldn't pass the medical clearance tests. The gearbox in Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull gave out on the lap from the pit to the grid, and to give misery some company, the Honda in Kevin Magnussen's McLaren blew up on the same lap. When the lights went out, Hamilton ran away and was more than a second ahead of his teammate at the end of Lap 1. The advantage disappeared, though, because behind him, at the first corner, we got our first pile-up. As Raikkonen drove around the outside of Vettel at the right-hand Turn 1 it looked like Vettel, going over the kerbing, hopped to his left and bounced into Raikkonen.

Japanese automakers ramping production for renewed American sales

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan took quite the toll on the automotive industry in that nation. Not content to lean on that tragedy as excuse for slagging sales, the Japanese automakers are planning on a major production expansion in North America. The aim is to reclaim the market share lost from the Tsunami-based dip, and overcome a dollar/yen exchange rate that makes exporting to America unprofitable.
Following the Tsunami, Japanese automakers ramped up production in their North American facilities to compensate, but according to Automotive News, Nissan, Honda and others have all reported plans for still-further increased production in the year ahead. As part of this ramp-up, Mazda will open a facility in Salamnca, Mexico before March of 2014. Part of that increase in output is 50,000 units of a Toyota-badged compact car, which Mazda will produce.
Other Mexican production facilities opening include a Honda plant, which will open in Spring 2014 in Celaya, and a Nissan plant, set to open later this year in Aguascalientes. Nissan also said that it will need another plant in North America within the next five years. According to Nissan Boss Carlos Ghosn, the company aims to raise its stake in the US market from 8 percent to 10, and adding production will help achieve that goal. Even Mitsubishi is aiming to boost production at its Normal, Illinois plant. Production of the Outlander Sport is currently at 50,000, which Mitsubishi wants to raise to 70,000.

Honda rolls out production S660 roadster in Japan

Honda doesn't do convertibles often, but when it does, they tend to be pretty small. No Cascadas or Continentals here; just nimble little two-seat roadsters like the S2000, del Sol and the legendary Beat. That's the line into which it tapped with the reveal of the S660 concept at the Tokyo Motor Show late in 2013, and now it's rolling it out in dealerships across Japan. Picking up where the Pininfarina-designed Beat left off in 1996, the S660 is heir to a proud tradition of Japanese roadsters like the Suzuki Cappuccino and Daihatsu Copen – two-seat convertibles designed to Japan's Kei car specifications and even smaller than the Mazda MX-5 Miata or Toyota MR2 Spyder. The new S660 joins Honda's minicar lineup alongside the N Series and adopts the same 660cc inline-three, but spins it around to mount it amidships and adds a turbocharger. It's got a roll-up canvas roof and a two-tone cabin that gives driver and passenger seats of different shades. 45/55 front-rear weight distribution promises to keep it fun but friendly, with brake-based torque vectoring to keep it all under control - all wrapped in a package that has barely changed any on the road to production. The Japanese automaker has still yet to reveal full specifications, including overall dimensions, output and performance. But while it won't be outperforming the Civic Type R or new NSX anytime soon, the combination of turbo power and compact dimensions promise to deliver what we can only imagine will be a fun ride. And imagine is what we'll just have to do, because for the time being, Honda will only offer the S660 in its home market. There buyers will be able to choose between a six-speed manual or continuously variable transmission, two trim levels, six paint colors and even a Concept Edition that adopts a similar color scheme as the show car. The manufacturer expects to move 800 of these little roadsters every month, but no more than 660 examples of the special edition. Related Video: Honda to Begin Sales of All-New S660 Open-top Sports-type Mini-vehicle TOKYO, Japan, March 30, 2015 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will begin sales of the all-new Honda S660, a 2-seater open-top sports car, on April 2, 2015, at dealerships across Japan. In addition, on the same day Honda will begin sales, in a limited quantity, of the S660 CONCEPT EDITION, a special model that commemorates the market launch of the S660. Only 660 units of this special edition will be sold in Japan.