siegen

I think that's love you're feeling, love for Toyota. Gosh they are just so wonderful. Baby farts.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go out and buy me a brand new Camry this weekend! And I'll make sure it has that magic 1, 4, or 5 VIN number to ensure it is bonefied made right here in the good ol' USA. I was on the fence about whether to purchase a new TL or a new Camry, they are both such amazing cars, and this article made the difference! I will definitely leave the TL's superior features, build quality, handling, and overall better quality for the much more respected Camry. In fact, I think I'm going to send Toyota a check right now for $100 just because they are so awesome, and tell them to "Keep up the great work!".

Full article at CarAdvice.com.au Well there you have it, out of 6.6 billion people on the planet, 60 thousand of them have anonymously decided that Toyota is the, as PR would say, all-time best-ever company. Just so there is no confusion, that is approximately 0.00091% of the "world's" population.

How incredibly exciting!

Corrected.

This article is incredibly vague and could potentially be very misleading. The fact that the Corolla is on there with only 50-percent (according to them) domestically sourced content, doesn't appear to make any sense.

Small improvement styling wise over the current, especially in the front. The outer part of the tail lights (that is not in the trunk lid) look like they were borrowed from a Hyundai that was trying to look like a BMW. With the exception of the front end, I think the Lexus LS is nicer looking and more fluid (once you get to the front though, it's a nightmare).

$38.5k for a mainstream FWD family sedan?

American Honda Reports Record Sales in June Fuel-efficient Fit sets all-time record; Civic and Acura TSX set June records Press Release 07/01/2008 - TORRANCE, Calif. - American Honda Motor Co., Inc., today announced total June sales of 142,539, up 13.8 percent on a daily-selling-rate basis(1), setting a new record for the month. Reflecting a shifting automotive marketplace, total car sales set a new June record for the first time since 1990 at 97,639, up 34.2 percent versus last year. Year-to-date American Honda sales are up 4.8 percent to 798,358. "Staying true to our core values is allowing Honda to weather the storm of rising gas prices and help consumers find shelter in our products," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda. "Our factories are doing everything they can to produce the fuel-efficient models consumers are desperately in need of." Honda Division sales rose 17.9 percent over last year to a new June record of 130,083, driven by record car sales which increased 41.4 percent to 89,947. The fuel-efficient Fit posted its best month ever with sales of 10,003, up 100.5 percent, while Civic hit a new June record, up 23.1 percent to 39,967, and Accord rose 54.5 percent to 39,704. Honda Division light-truck sales of 40,136 reflect a decrease of 14.2 percent. Honda Division sales are up 7.4 percent to 720,444, year-to-date. Acura Division sales totaled 12,456. Sales of the completely redesigned 2009 TSX sports sedan increased 27.5 percent and set a new June record of 3,869. (1) All percentages in this release reflect the daily selling rate as calculated with 24 days for June 2008, versus 27 for 2007. Year to date, the daily selling rate is calculated with 153 days for 2008, versus 154 for 2007. For more information about Honda vehicles, please visit www.honda.com. For media inquiries, please go to www.hondanews.com. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries, please go to www.acuranews.com.

That was actually entertaining. NASCAR needs to go back to that.

It if really came down to it and I had to buy a new sub-$10,000 high-mpg vehicle, I would go pick up a CBR600RR.

I wonder if the Civic would have gone a little farther with the automatic. It has a better highway mileage rating.

I'm surprised the Aveo beat out the Accent and Rio, which to my knowledge are the only practical cars that are cheaper than the Aveo.

My vote goes to the VW Beetle. Solstice is a distant second, followed by white Jetta's.

I generally agree with you that a car with more torque will take a lesser hit in real world fuel economy with increased engine load, ceteris paribus. Not related to FE discussion, I just want to set the record straight by saying that the Ecotec's torque curve is not flatter than the Civic. The Ecotec has a lower RPM powerband, which is where most people drive most of the time, but it drops off quicker at higher rpms than the R18. Honda engines have always been known for their flat torque curves, thanks in part to the two separate cam profiles seen in most vtec engines. It is great for racing, but it is unnoticeable when the car is never pushed past 4krpms~.

This article is trying to tell me the Volt will be economical when it comes out? Last I heard, rumors had it pinned well above $30k. I have doubts GM will be able to get the costs under control at all, let alone the first year of limited production. If you want to talk about ECONOMICAL hybrids (the ones where you actually save money), look to the new 2009/10 Honda "Global Small Hybrid" (GSH), which will be around $19,000 and get 50-60 MPG. Looks like the author didn't get the memo on Honda's latest offerings, he only briefly mentions them and throws a date of 2015 out there, which sounds like a date he pulled right from his anus. Just to set the record straight. The Honda GSH (maybe called Insight) will be out early 2009. The CR-Z will come out "sometime" after the new hybrid, a date has not been announced but it is confirmed for our market. I am going to guess around one year following the GSH, which would make sense given the time frame in which the concept was shown, and assuming a new Civic Hybrid will be out for the 2011 model year along with the redesigned regular Civic. It's possible the CR-Z will come out after the new Civic hybrid, but I doubt it will be anything more than 2 years from now. The latest I imagine would be a 2011 model. The Fit hybrid has not been confirmed for our market yet, but will probably come out sometime in the next 3 years in other markets, and may find its way here if demand is there. So I really don't see where this author gets his "2015" date from, other than trying to make Honda look bad or "late to the game", which is ridiculous.

Camo'd prototype NSX does a 7'37" already on Nurburgring. Unofficial time by one of the spy photographers, so take it with a grain of salt. This was also apparently with traffic. The original NSX Type R was the first naturally aspirated car to break 8 minutes on the 'ring, and that was a long time ago. This new one should leave the GT-R and others in the dust. With the help of photoshop some TOV'ers have uncovered the car's dimensions (click). A little bit shorter, taller, and narrower than the Z06, with a slightly shorter wheelbase. Quite a bit shorter than the GT-R, and it will hopefully come out 300-400 lbs lighter than the GT-R; with the AWD system and luxury amenities, it will undoubtedly still weight a bit more than the Z06. Still no videos of it running though.

I would disagree on at least one account; Honda has done a very good job marketing the Fit as a fun and "nimble / quick" car. And they have done a good job making it feel that way as well. People who want to save gas but not give up "fun to drive" will find a good balance there. The current Aveo, on the other hand, I agree. It really is sub-par and in need of a European/Domestic replacement.

Toyota has announced their target of 1 million hybrids per year (worldwide) in the next few years. I think the target is 2013 or something, I don't remember exactly.

does it work with Hotmail yet?

But they'll be selling 1 million hybrids per year in a few years, right?

Interesting for them both to be out testing at the same time. Then again I suppose everyone tests on the Ring now, there's probably at least one prototype or mule out driving on it at any given time.

Question for the Corvette knowledgeable people. Is this a Z06 or a ZR-1? It is seen in this image, running with the new NSX. Could it be just a coincidence, or is Honda benchmarking the NSX against it?

Cost, platform sharing. Not quite sure if this is a unique platform or based on the S2000, or if it has any relation to the new RWD RL platform or not. Not even really sure if this is a sub-NSX vehicle or the "real deal" with a V10. Honda is very good about keeping their lips sealed, and information rarely leaks. I always wished they would have brought the HSC. Given how long it took them to come out with this car, it could have had a 6-7 year lifespan.

Ah now you're just splittin' hairs. :AH-HA_wink: