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Honda Civic overtakes Toyota Corolla as America's best-selling compact

The battle to claim October's best-selling compact sedan title has been won by the Honda Civic. The Japanese four-door sold 27,328 units, leaving the Toyota Corolla - September's title holder - in its wake with 23,637 units sold. In terms of year-to-date sales, the Civic sits at 280,899 units, with the Corolla trailing at 257,184 vehicles.
Sitting in third place, separated by a significant gap from the leaders, is the Chevrolet Cruze with 16,087 units sold. The Ford Focus earned fourth, with 15,108 units moved out of showrooms. (It is interesting to note that while the Civic and Corolla have both enjoyed double-digit sales increases year-over-year, the Cruze and Focus have seen significant decreases during the same period.)
Sales of the Hyundai Elantra hit 14,876 units, putting it in fifth place, with the Volkswagen Jetta earning sixth place with 11,710 units. Rounding out the ten top sellers were the Nissan Sentra (8,399 units), Mazda3 (7,647 units), Dodge Dart (5,617 units) and Subaru Impreza/WRX (4,923 units). The Kia Forte (4,706 units) and Volkswagen Golf (2,249 units), eleventh and twelfth respectively, have fallen behind.

Honda not ready to give up on CR-Z, Civic Hybrid in US just yet

Honda has already killed off the CR-Z in Europe, so news that the car is no longer going to be sold in Australia isn't exactly a surprise. In fact, Car Advice says that both the CR-Z and the Civic Hybrid are coming to the end of the line Down Under following disappointing sales. Honda sold only 370 CR-Zs in Australia in 2012 and then 58 in 2013 and 86 in 2014. These cancellations got us thinking: what does the future look like for these vehicles in the US? Well, stateside, CR-Z sales dropped almost 20 percent in 2014, compared to 2013, to 3,562 units. The Civic Hybrid sold just 5,070 units, a drop of almost 35 percent. Both of these vehicles use the aging Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) mild hybrid system, which the company's other hybrids (like the Accord) do not. Does that mean Honda hybrid fans will soon no longer be able to buy a CR-Z or Civic Hybrid? Not so fast, says Angie Nucci, Honda PR's senior environment and safety specialist. "The 2015 CR-Z went on-sale in early October and the 2015 Civic Hybrid went on-sale the following month in November," Nucci said. "Since these vehicles went on-sale fairly recently, it is simply too early to discuss future models at this time." Still, in Australia, the CR-Z and Civic Hybrid are both officially leaving the line-up. The company say that three new "Hybrid Sport" models will be coming at some point, starting with the Accord Hybrid later this year. The next one will be the NSX and then the Jazz Hybrid. The Jazz is another name for the Fit, which we do not get in a hybrid version in the US. Featured Gallery 2014 Honda CR-Z Hybrid View 14 Photos News Source: Honda, Car Advice via Green Car Reports Green Honda discontinued

Honda helps Santa take his sled into the 21st century

If you had put nearly 75 billion miles on your only company car, it would most likely be pleading for retirement in every rickety way it knew how. That's Santa's situation, so St. Nick heads to his not-exactly-local-at-all Honda dealer for a new sled, and the company obliges with a red rider fit for the new millennium. But Honda doesn't try to shoehorn he of the white beard into an Civic on rails. Working from Crayon sketches of safe sleighs and wanting to insure a lengthy stint on Santa's "Nice" list, the Honda reps work up a bespoke offering from a block of clay, but still give it features like a rear-view camera and a cargo bay ejector platform fitted with a parachute. You can see their gift to Santa in the video above. And for some even more far out holiday offerings from Honda, check out their Honda Days videos featuring Skeletor singing a bro hymn to He-Man, G.I. Joe serenading Gem, and Gumby and Pokey singing whatever they can think of. News Source: Honda via YouTube Honda Videos