July 2012

Honda recalls CR-V, Acura ILX over front door latch

(July 19, 2012) TORRANCE, Calif. — American Honda will voluntarily recall approximately 166,000 model-year 2012 CR-V vehicles and approximately 6,200 model-year 2013 Acura ILX vehicles in the United States to replace both front door latches and, in some CR-V vehicles, the interior front door handles.

Hybrid and electric car sales surge 164 percent In June

(July 19, 2012) IRVINE, Calif. — With gas prices declining, sales of hybrid and electric cars have remained surprisingly resilient. In fact, sales of dedicated hybrid and alternative-energy vehicles surged more than 164 percent in June, according to Kelley Blue Book's Blue Book Market Report for July.

English girl to test her drag racing skills in Tennessee thanks to Alamo

WELLINGBOROUGH, England — For most 13-year old school girls, summer holidays involve hanging-out with their friends, trips to the movies and perhaps a week or two in the sun. Paige Wheeler, a Wrenn School pupil from Wellingborough, has other plans.

Honda's Indiana plant to boost production capacity

(July 18, 2012) GREENSBURG, Ind. — Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) announced today that it is investing $40 million to increase annual production capacity by 50,000 units to a total of 250,000 vehicles.

The plant will hire approximately 300 new production associates later this year in preparation for the increased production that will start early next year.

 Significantly, early next year, HMIN will add production of the Civic Hybrid, Honda's most popular hybrid model in the United States. Indiana was the first Honda plant in North America to build a hybrid vehicle when it started Acura ILX Hybrid production in April. 



Chevrolet delivers seventh straight quarter of record sales

(July 18, 2012) DETROIT — Chevrolet sold nearly 1.3 million vehicles worldwide in the second quarter of 2012, a 2.3 percent increase over last year’s record-setting second quarter, marking the best quarter ever for the brand and the seventh consecutive quarter of record-breaking sales.

Older model Ford Escapes probed for unintended acceleration

(July 18, 2012) Ford 's 2002 to 2004 model Escape SUV is under investigation by U.S. auto-safety regulators for possible unintended acceleration after a January crash that killed a 17-year-old girl in Arizona.

A robot with feelings: Ford’s sense of quality, touch perfected

(July 18, 2012) DEARBORN, Mich. — You won’t hurt RUTH the robot’s feelings if you disagree with her, but it’s very difficult to prove your point given her opinions are backed up by mathematical evidence.
 
Thanks to the Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics (RUTH) machine, which arrived in North America earlier this year, Ford knows its 2013 Fusion has an interior that customers want.

Mitsubishi begins building Outlander Sport in Illinois

(July 17, 2012) NORMAL, Ill. — Mitsubishi Motors has started U.S. production of the popular Outlander Sport compact crossover model at the company's vehicle manufacturing plant here. The 2013 Outlander Sport will begin shipping to US dealerships in early August with a starting MSRP of only $19,170.

Lexus announces pricing for 2013 ES 350 and ES 300h

(July 17, 2012) TORRANCE, Calif.  — Lexus has announced Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices (MSRP) for the all-new 2013 ES 350 and first ever ES 300h which will arrive at dealerships next month. The 2013 ES 350 luxury sedan carries a base MSRP of $36,100, reflecting a decrease of 1.7 percent versus the previous generation’s MSRP. The ES 300h luxury hybrid sedan will have a MSRP of $38,850, representing a difference of $2,750 over the ES 350, the lowest hybrid premium in the Lexus line-up.

RelayRides and OnStar: Baby, you can rent my car

(July 17, 2012) DETROIT — General Motors’ OnStar subscribers can now rent out their idle vehicles through the RelayRides marketplace, leveraging OnStar connectivity already active in their vehicles to potentially earn hundreds of dollars a month to offset the cost of owning a vehicle.

RelayRides’ renters can unlock reserved OnStar-enabled cars simply by using their smart phones. RelayRides is the first third-party developer to integrate with GM OnStar’s proprietary application program interface (API) that will be available to other developers later this summer.