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.