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April 2014: The ramping-up-for-summer edition

Americans appear to be gearing up for further increases in US gas prices, as green-car sales last month had their largest year-over-year gains of 2014. Domestic customers bought almost 56,000 hybrids, plug-ins and diesels in April, marking a 2.6 percent increase from April 2013. Plug-in sales were particularly strong, jumping 41 percent from a year earlier, as sales of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in and Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S battery-electric vehicles all showed gains. April's big winner among the automakers was Honda, moving 1,442 units of its newer Accord Hybrid And April's big winner among the automakers was...Honda? Yes, Honda, which has long operated in the advanced-powertrain shadow of fellow Japanese automakers Toyota and Nissan, came up big by moving 1,442 units of its newer Accord Hybrid. And while sales of the Civic Hybrid, CR-Z and Insight all fell, the Accord Hybrid drove Honda to boost its green-car sales by 78 percent from a year earlier to 2,839 units. Per usual, Nissan and Tesla also showed year-over-year gains. Nissan boosted Leaf sales by 7.8 percent to 2,088 units. And while Tesla won't release its first-quarter results until May 7, the California-based automaker would've increased Model S sales by 34 percent to 2,300 just by maintaining its fourth-quarter 2013 sales pace. Volkswagen and low-volume advanced-powertrain vehicle makers like Audi, Porsche and Daimler AG's Smart division also fared well in April. VW increased its diesel and Jetta Hybrid sales by 25 percent to 9,583 units. Audi's diesel sales quadrupled to 2,088 units. Smart sold 203 units of its newer Smart ED battery-electric vehicle. Such gains more than offset sales declines from General Motors, Ford and Toyota, though Toyota's April was less painful than previous months. GM's big mild-hybrid sales declines more than offset the 19 percent increase in Chevy Volt sales to 1,548 units and the sales of 491 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel vehicles. All told, GM's green-car sales declined 25 percent to 3,103 units. Fusion Energi Plug-in Hybrid sales doubled and C-Max Energi PHEV sales jumped 28 percent. Ford's green-car sales were down 12 percent to 7,554 vehicles. While Fusion Energi Plug-in Hybrid sales doubled and C-Max Energi PHEV sales jumped 28 percent, Fusion Hybrid sales were little-changed while C-Max Hybrid sales tumbled 50 percent to 1,586 units.

2014 Honda Civic Si gets more power, priced from $22,790*

Honda officially debuted the refreshed 2014 Civic SI Coupe at the SEMA Show last November, but it has taken until now for the Japanese automaker to share full pricing and specs for its high performance coupe and sedan.
The Si Coupe will go on sale at dealers on March 12 starting at $22,790, and the Si Sedan will follow on March 26 for $22,990 - both prices include a $790 destination charge. Buyers can opt to add summer tires for and additional $200 and navigation for $1,500. While the updates are relatively small, they are welcome.
Both body styles are fitted with a slightly tweaked 2.4-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder engine with 205 horsepower and 174 pound-feet, an increase of 4 hp and 4 lb-ft of torque, and they only come with a six-speed manual. Fuel economy is unchanged from last year at 22 miles per gallon city, 31 mpg highway and 25 mpg combined. Honda didn't reveal performance specs, so we can't be sure if the small boost helps acceleration at all.

2016 Honda Pilot to pack 280 hp, new Intelligent Traction Management system

Honda has released a spate of details on the all-new, third-generation Pilot, building on the information that was distributed way back at the car's 2015 Chicago Auto Show debut. Included in this latest release are power figures for the 3.5-liter Earth Dreams V6, a breakdown of trim levels and details on the new Intelligent Traction Management system. Let's start with that V6, which makes the Pilot the latest vehicle to be fitted with Honda's Earth Dreams technology. Regardless of whether it's mated to the standard six-speed automatic or the optional nine-speed gearbox, the 3.5-liter mill produces 280 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. That's 30 more hp and 7 more lb-ft than the current model. While Honda isn't quite ready to release fuel economy figures, we have high hopes for the V6/9AT combo. The other big announcement coming today regards Honda's new Intelligent Traction Management system. The technology functions a lot like Land Rover's Terrain Response, Jeep's Selec-Terrain and Ford's Terrain Management System, providing owners with a number of condition-specific presets for the throttle response, shift mapping and stability control to maximize performance on the selected terrain. What makes the Honda system different, though, is that it's not limited to all-wheel-drive models. That said, the front-drive model is neutered to a degree, with its ITM only offering a Snow mode, compared to the all-wheel-drive Pilot's Mud, Sand and Snow settings. Still, considering the big Honda's role as a family hauler, a dedicated setting for driving in the snow will likely be welcomed by family types, especially in northern climates. Speaking of that AWD model, it uses a new system, called i-VTM4 (short for Intelligent Variable Torque Management for all Four Wheels). If you dig past the marketing speak, though, you'll find this system has a lot in common with the Acura Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system, in that it transfers torque not only between the front and rear axles, but laterally between the rear wheels. We reached out to Honda to see what, if any, differences there are to the system, but they didn't get back to by press time. Check out the official press release from Honda, available below.