Honda "Hands"

Honda and Project Drive-In Look to Save Theaters

We spend a lot of our time here at the Pacific Honda blog talking about new and upcoming models because, to be perfectly honest, that’s what the majority of our most loyal readers really care about. Sometimes, however, there are Honda stories worth covering even though they have nothing to do with a specific model.

In this case, we’re talking about Project Drive-In, an initiative Honda set up to save as many American drive-in theaters as possible.

2014 Honda Accord Pricing & EPA Data

Model	Transmission	MSRP*	EPA** City/Hwy/Combined MPG
SEDAN
4-cylinder models
Accord LX Sedan	6-Speed Manual	$21,955	24/34/28
	CVT1	$22,755	27/36/30
Accord Sport Sedan	6-Speed Manual	$23,715	24/34/28
	CVT	$24,515	26/35/29
Accord EX Sedan	6-Speed Manual	$24,880	24/34/28
	CVT	$25,680	27/36/30
Accord EX-L Sedan	CVT	$28,270	27/36/30
Accord EX-L Sedan Navi	CVT	$30,045	27/36/30
V-6 models
Accord EX-L V-6 Sedan	6-Speed Automatic	$30,345	21/34/26
Accord EX-L V-6 Sedan Navi	6-Speed Automatic	$32,120	21/34/26
Accord Touring V-6	6-Speed Automatic	$33,480	21/34/26
COUPE
4-cylinder models
Accord LX-S Coupe	6-Speed Manual	$23,625	24/34/28
	CVT	$24,475	26/34/29
Accord EX Coupe	6-Speed Manual	$25,300	24/34/28
	CVT	$26,150	26/34/29
Accord EX-L Coupe	CVT	$28,345	26/34/29
Accord EX-L Coupe Navi	CVT	$30,120	26/34/29
V-6 models
Accord EX-L V-6 Coupe	6-Speed Manual	$30,625	18/28/22
	6-Speed Automatic	$30,625	21/32/25
Accord EX-L V-6 Coupe Navi	6-Speed Manual	$32,400	18/28/22
	6-Speed Automatic	$32,400	21/32/25
1 CVT = Continuously Variable Transmission
*Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) excluding tax, license, registration, $790 destination charge and options. Dealer prices may vary.
**Based on 2014 EPA mileage estimates. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.

Honda Civic "Best Yourself" Campaign Feat. Nick Cannon

The 2014 Honda Accord Coupe

Honda Delivers on the Sustainability Dream

• City of Torrance continues sustainable transportation efforts with the delivery of a 2014 Accord Plug-In
• The EPA-rated115 MPGe Accord Plug-In will join the Fit EV in providing critical feedback to advance city's sustainable transportation needs
• Honda's Plug-In is ideal for municipal use with an electric motor for city driving and a hybrid motor for longer, more fuel efficient travels

Honda delivered a 2014 Accord Plug-In vehicle to the city of Torrance yesterday as a continuation of Honda's advanced vehicle testing efforts, a critical component of Honda's measured approach to furthering its advancement of electric-drive vehicles. The Accord Plug-In, which is EPA-rated to operate in electric-only mode for 13 miles before transitioning between gasoline-electric hybrid and gasoline modes, will join the Fit EV in providing Torrance with in-city transportation options that reduce CO₂ and tailpipe emissions.

The delivery was marked by a ceremony at the Torrance City Hall, at which a key to the Accord Plug-In was presented to Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto by Steven Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda.

"Honda's continued relationship with the City of Torrance through our advanced vehicle testing has been instrumental in advancing our sustainable transportation solutions," said Center. "Through real-world feedback of the Fit EV and now the Accord Plug-In, the City of Torrance plays an essential role in the refinement and evolution of electric drive vehicles and, ultimately, the expansion of customer adoption for this technology."

Over the past year, Honda and the city of Torrance have worked together to collect real-world input from the city's use of a Fit EV test vehicle. After driving more than 7,500 miles in combined city and highway driving, city employees, using the Fit EV for everyday business, were able to surpass the Fit EV's adjusted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mile-per-gallon-equivalency rating of 132/105/118 MPGe.¹ By driving a Fit EV, Honda estimates the city of Torrance was able to reduce its CO₂ emissions by roughly 74 percent when compared with a gasoline-powered vehicle, such as the Honda Fit.

"The City of Torrance is proud to continue its partnership with Honda where we jointly hold the keys to a compelling solution for reducing CO₂ emissions," said city of Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto. "We have been impressed by the potential of the Fit EV to significantly reduce the city's CO₂ emissions from transportation and contribute to our CO₂ reduction goals. The addition of the Accord Plug-In will help enhance our efforts to reduce CO₂ from the city's operations."

The EPA-rated 115 MPGe² Accord Plug-In is the most fuel efficient sedan in the U.S. and is available at select New York and California Honda dealers. Based on the Touring trim level of the standard Accord Sedan but featuring unique styling cues, the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In blends the athleticism and craftsmanship of the all-new Accord platform, combined with hybrid efficiency and electric torque. In addition to being Honda's first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the Accord Plug-In is the first production car in the U.S. to meet the new, more stringent LEV3/SULEV20 emissions standard, and also qualifies for single-occupant carpool-lane access in California.

The plug-in Accord can be fully charged from a low-charge indication point in less than three hours using the supplied 120-volt charger when plugged into a standard 120-volt household electrical outlet (use of a dedicated GFCI outlet is recommended), and in less than one hour using a 240-volt "Level-2" charger³. For more details about the Accord Plug-In Hybrid, please visitwww.hondanews.com.

Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program
As part of its advanced vehicle testing efforts, Honda has loaned Fit EV's to the City of Torrance, Stanford University and Google to gain valuable feedback on the performance of the vehicle and to further initiatives such as research into human interaction with electric vehicles. Honda has now added the Accord Plug-In to the program with its loan to the City of Torrance.

Honda Environmental Leadership
In addition to producing the Accord Plug-In, Honda has developed numerous technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO₂ emissions, including the Honda Fit EV, Civic Natural Gas and the Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). Honda has also led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) rankings of overall vehicle environmental performance since 2000, and numerous Honda vehicles have earned top green scores from the America Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) list of America's greenest vehicles for 16 consecutive years.

2013 Honda Civic Named IIHS Top Safety Pick+

For decades, the Civic has been one of our brand’s best-selling models, and was long before top-notch safety scores were a high priority for American consumers. Of course, today’s Honda customer cares very much about things like the crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and of course, the 2013 Honda Civic is still a best-seller. What has allowed it to stay that way, however, are accolades like the IIHS’s “Top Safety Pick+,” which the new Civic was recently awarded.

Award-Winning Accord Lineup Gets Stronger for 2014

• Most popular mid-size passenger car in America gets better for 2014
• Improvements to the 2014 Honda Accord include new premium seat fabric on LX sedan and standard fully automatic dimming rear-view mirror

Honda today announced the 2014 Accord Coupe will go on-sale tomorrow followed by the Accord Sedan on August 22. Featuring the award-winning Honda Earth Dreams Technology™ powertrains, the Accord lineup includes a direct injected 4-cylinder engine and a powerful and fuel-efficient V-6. A sporty CVT (4-cylinder models only) and a 6-speed manual transmission are also available. A new 2-motor Accord Hybrid, built¹ with the rest of the Accord lineup in a Honda plant in Marysville, Ohio, will debut later this fall.

Launched in fall 2012, Accord was the most popular midsize passenger car in America for the first six months of 2013, based on sales to individual (non-fleet) car buyers, according to new vehicle registration data from R.L. Polk.

The all-new 2013 Accord has earned a host of awards for setting new benchmarks for fuel efficiency, fun-to-drive performance, customer-friendly connectivity, advanced safety features and overall value.

Starting at $21,955, the 2014 Honda Accord Sedan goes on sale August 22, 2013, and the Coupe, with prices starting at $23,625, launches tomorrow. The 2014 Accord Plug-in Hybrid Sedan, with prices starting at $39,780, debuted in early 2013. Pricing for the 2014 Accord Hybrid Sedan will be announced closer to its October on-sale date.

The 2013 Accord has received numerous accolades, including an unprecedented 27th Car and Driver "10 Best" title for the model, as well as an Automobile Magazine All-Star award, a Best Family Car award from Parenting magazine andEdmunds.com, and Best New Sedan Under $25,000 status from KBB.com. The Accord also topped the competition in a six-way midsize sedan comparison test by Cars.com, USA Today and Motorweek, and was found to have the highest resale value in its class by KBB.com. The Accord's Earth Dreams Technology 4-cylinder and V-6 engines were also chosen as among the 10 Best Engines of 2013 by Ward's.

Sophisticated and Athletic 
Using the highest amount of high-strength steel in the history of the model, the Accord Sedan and Coupe bodies combine sophisticated and athletic styling with high-efficiency safety protection and remarkable aerodynamic streamlining. Extensive use of under-covers improve the aerodynamics for increased fuel efficiency, while other advances include available LED headlights, DRLs and brake lights, and mirror-mounted turn signals. New for 2014, the dual-exhaust tips on the Accord V-6 models have a more upscale finish.

Earth Dreams™ Technology
Innovative Earth Dreams™ Technology powertrains include Honda's next-generation 2.4-liter, direct-injected 4-cylinder engine with continuously variable transmission or 6-speed manual transmission. New for 2014 are refined finishes for the Earth Dreams™ cam-cover emblems. The 2014 Accord Sedan and Coupe are also available with a powerful and efficient V-6 mated to 6-speed automatic or 6-speed manual (Coupe only) transmission. The Accord Plug-in Hybrid Sedan and new Accord Hybrid Sedan both use an all-new two-motor hybrid system paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Fuel efficiency is the best ever for Accord in the EPA Midsize class, with 4-cylinder models earning a 36 mpg highway EPA rating² and V-6 models garnering a 34 mpg highway EPA rating².

Well-Appointed Interior
The Accord interior provides a level of luxury and craftsmanship never before seen in the Accord. Available in Black, Gray and Ivory colors schemes, in cloth or leather, the Accord interior combines welcoming comfort with an impressive range of available technologies. New for 2014 are a more premium cloth seat fabric on the Accord LX Sedan and a softer headrest material on models equipped with leather seating surfaces. A new smarter auto-dimming rear-view mirror no longer requires an on/off switch. Standard features include dual-zone automatic climate control, rearview camera, 8-inch (diagonal) "intelligent" Multi-Information Display (i-MID), Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® phone interface, Pandora® internet radio interface and an SMS text messaging feature.

Other innovative technologies include the cloud-based HondaLink™ connected car system, which lets drivers put away their smartphones and still stay connected to the people, music and social media they love. Also available is the Honda LaneWatch™ blind-spot display, which uses a camera system mounted on the passenger mirror for an enhanced view of the passenger-side roadway. The Accord also has a standard rearview camera and an Expanded View Driver's Mirror.

Responsive Chassis
A highly rigid unit-body, refined suspension technology and advanced electronics define the Accord chassis as the most capable in model history. The Accord is quiet and responsive on city streets, smooth and composed on the highway, and faithful to the driver's wishes on winding roads.

Features include a MacPherson strut front suspension (with Amplitude Reactive Dampers on Hybrid models), a hybrid steel-and-aluminum front subframe (all-aluminum on Hybrid models) and electric power steering (EPS). Active Noise Control (ANC) and Active Sound Control (ASC) on both 4-cylinder and V-6 models counteract noise for a more serene cabin.

Comprehensive Safety and Driver Assistive Technology
The Accord Sedan and Coupe offer the greatest range of active and passive safety and driver assistive features in Honda history. Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®) is standard on all Accord models, and available new technologies include Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW). The Accord's Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) II body structure, standard on all models, helps improve frontal crash safety performance. This allows the Accord to be one of few midsize offerings to excel in the rigorous Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) small-overlap frontal barrier crash test, earning it the IIHS' coveted TOP SAFETY PICK+ crash safety rating. The Accord also obtained a top 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).³

Accord Model Range
The 2014 Accord Sedan is available in eight model choices, including six gasoline-engine versions (LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, EX-L V6 and Touring), the Accord Plug-In Hybrid Sedan, and the new Accord Hybrid Sedan. The 2014 Accord Coupe is available in four model choices (LX-S, EX, EX-L and EX-L V6).

Source: honda media newsroom

A New Future for the Civic Type-R??

Honda has something wicked up its sleeve, based on the latest batch of spy photos we've received. This is purportedly the next Honda Civic Type-R, out testing in Germany and on the Nürburgring. The last generation of the Type-R went out of production in Europe in 2010, and while we admired it from afar, it's 2.0-liter, four-cylinder produced similar figures to the American-market Honda Civic Si.

From the looks of both it and the cars Honda engineers are benchmarking, the next Type-R will be much more powerful. In the spy photos, we can see four meaty exhaust pipes along with what is quite clearly an intercooler hiding behind the rear bumper. That's right, the next Type-R will be turbocharged. It'll need to be, though, if it's meant to tackle cars like the Opel Astra OPC, Ford Focus RS500 and Renault Megane RS Trophy (not pictured, but there according to our spies).

300 horsepower from a 2.0-liter engine should be on offer, and would match the competition quite well. Other obvious tweaks from the ho-hum five-door Civic are mainly aerodynamic. It sports an aggressive body kit with a meaty chin spoiler, rocker panels and a big rear wing. Red Brembo brake calipers can also be seen behind the sporty wheels and low-profile tires.

We'd expect the Civic Type-R to arrive in showrooms sometime in 2014, making a debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show a long shot. Geneva seems like the more likely locale for an unveiling.

Source:autoblog.com

2013 Honda Accord Named Best Sedan Under $25K

To be completely honest with you, there are a lot of cars out there to choose from, including hundreds of models that are not made by Honda, and the most crowded segment of automobile is the midsize sedan, which just so happens to be where our best-selling 2013 Honda Accord resides. Knowing there is not only this much competition within the segment but also within the industry as whole, you would think that it would be easy for the Accord to get lost in the shuffle.

Project Drive-In

2013 Honda Accord LX Sedan Lease Special

 With less than a month to go on this great lease special, make sure you come down to Pacific Honda to test drive the 2013 Accord LX Sedan. Check out other great deals by visiting us online at: http://www.pacifichonda.com/       Offer expires 9/3/2013

Honda invests $215M in Ohio Earth Dreams production

Honda has announced a $215 million investment in a pair of its Ohio operations, taking its total tally for North American operations up to $2.7 billion in three years. The announcement was made at the 2013 Center For Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City.

$180 million of the investment is earmarked for Honda's Anna, OH engine plant. The money will allow the facility to increase its aluminum die casting and increase production of Honda's Earth Dreams Technologyengines. Think of Earth Dreams as sort of like Mazda's Skyactiv line, only ED is limited to a new line of engines, rather than a full suite of automotive components. Anna will also be getting a new technical center to train engineers, techs, and line workers on powertrain technology.

The remaining $35 million is slated for Honda's main Ohio operations in Marysville. A 160,000-square-foot facility will be constructed near Honda's current properties, which will house another technical training center to focus on automotive manufacturing. The new building will also house Honda's North American Services group, as well as a new heritage center.

Source: Autoblog

2013 Honda CR-V Featured In New "Hands" Spot

Every Lemon Grove Honda dealership remembers the Honda “Cog” commercial like it was yesterday, and with good reason. Really good Rube-Goldberg machines are impossible to look away from, and when one features loads of recognizable bits from Honda vehicles, the end result tends to be even more memorable.

Honda Civic Tourer Debut

Honda will be bringing its new Civic Tourer to next month's Frankfurt Motor Show, just as we predicted in our spy shots of the new MPV from back in April. The new model, which will arrive in European dealers in 2014, will be built alongside Honda's Euro-spec Civic hatchback, Jazz (Honda Fit) and CR-V in Swindon, Wiltshire, UK.

Honda first hinted at the Civic Tourer with a concept at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, which is set to do battle with the Toyota Auris and Volkswagen Golf in the European market. The production Civic Tourer will also be shown alongside a refreshed Civic hatchback, yet another NSX Concept variant, a McLaren MP4/4 Formula One car, and Honda's World Touring Car Championship Civic.

Source: autoblog

Military Appreciation Sale

Come down to Pacific Honda and see how your purchase of a new or pre-owned Honda will help with the donation of $21,000 to the local USO! What a great way to say thanks to our troops!!

Civic Breaks 13-Year-Old Monthly Record

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported July 2013 U.S. sales of 141,439 units, a total increase of 20.9 percent compared with July 2012 (up 16.1 percent based on the Daily Selling Rate, or DSR*). The Honda Division posted July 2013 sales of 126,289 units, an increase of 21.3 percent compared with July 2012. Acura Division U.S. July sales of 15,150 units jumped 18.1 percent compared with July 2012.

Honda

• Accord and Civic both top 30,000 July sales, with Civic breaking a 13-year-old July sales record
• CR-V breaks July sales record set last year by more than 6,500 units, with sales of 27,226, up 32.5 percent compared to July 2012
• Pilot and Ridgeline both see fifth consecutive month of double digit sales gains, up 32.5 and 67.7 percent respectively, from July 2012

"In July, all of our core models - Civic, Accord, Odyssey and CRV - showed double-digit gains," said John Mendel, executive vice president of sales at American Honda. "This indicates Honda's commitment to retail sales is resonating with consumers seeking not only fun and fuel-efficient vehicles, but also products that retain their long-term value."

Acura

• Acura posts a 18.1-percent sales gain, and a 35.4-percent gain in light-truck sales setting an all-time light-truck sales record
• MDX, new from the ground up, topped 5,500 units and set a new July record last set in 2005, making it Acura's top-selling model
• RDX continues its amazing run with 15 consecutive month of record sales (3,936 units sold)

"The all-new MDX is off to the kind of dominating start we expected, teamed with RDX to give Acura a powerful 1-2 punch in the important luxury light-truck segment, and new momentum in Acura showrooms," said Jeff Conrad, vice president and general manager of Acura sales. "MDX delivers due to its fundamental advantages in areas that resonate with luxury SUV shoppers."

*The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 25 days for July 2013 and 24 days for July 2012. Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 178 days for 2013 and 178 days for 2012. All other percentages in release are unadjusted; see table for adjusted DSR figures.

Source: Honda Media Newsroom