grbeck

I don't care for the Toyota-like lower grille, but it's otherwise a decent looking vehicle. The interior is the big change - the entire dashboard is cleaner in design, and looks to be much more user-friendly. No doubt it will sell, with direct competitors dropping like flies. The question is what this Civic will do to Accord sales.

It won't matter....Edith Wilson, oops, I mean Kamala Harris, will really be running the show.

The article makes the insinuation that automakers fought early emissions control regulations that were supposed to prevent climate change, which proves they were saying one thing while knowing another. Vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act were adopted to clean up the air by reducing emissions of nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Lead pollution was also targeted (as vehicles used leaded gasoline until the introduction of catalytic converters for the 1975 model year). The goal of the act was to clean up the air, particularly in urban areas with lots of vehicles, factories and power plants. Any alleged global warming wasn't even on the radar for policymakers in Washington, D.C. Yes, the automakers fought the law - for the same reason they fought airbag requirements. Namely, they were against regulation in general, and were concerned about increased costs that they could not necessarily pass on to consumers. Their alleged knowledge of global warming had nothing to do with it. That wasn't even a major issue at that time (late 1960s and early 1970s). If anything, the concern was global cooling.

Perhaps these naysayers need to log on to Temple of vtec.com and see how the Accord - which everyone agrees is a very good vehicle - has been faring in sales.

Agree...particularly since their placement makes them immediately noticeable. It appears as though the exhaust outlets on the other concept model are rectangular in shape.

Just because you can do something...doesn't mean you should. This vehicle is Exhibit A in that regard.

The front clip is an improvement, but those black fender flares look awful. No way I would pay extra for those!

Wasn't he responsible for pushing forward the Bronco and Bronco Sport projects? The Bronco is going to be a huge hit, and the strategy of offering the Escape and the Bronco Sport looks like a very effective way to compete with Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Jeep and Toyota in this critical segment. He should get credit for that.

The top-of-the-line 2020 Accord at the local dealer has a sticker price of $37,000. Nice car, but it's not hard to see why some people would buy a used Audi, BMW, Lexus or Mercedes-Benz. Although the Accord is the better buy if the person is planning to keep the car beyond the warranty period.

It looks like a shrunken Accord in some ways. On Temple of Vtec, an insider has said that the current Accord may very well be the "last ambitious one." The Accord has fallen to third place in sales for all Hondas (after the CR-V and Civic), so this could very well be the case. Particularly given the size of the current Civic.

The state that can't generate enough electricity for home use is going to mandate that new vehicles use electricity. That makes sense. Or is the latter designed as a distraction from the former...?

I would guess that if GM wants anything from Honda, it's more likely a version of the CR-V or HR-V. Are Chevy dealers really that eager for a Cruze replacement?

Through August, the best-selling vehicle at Honda has been the CR-V, with 203,762 sold. The Civic is in second place, with 178,570 sold. The Accord is a distant third with 125,142 sold. The Accord has also registered the biggest year-to-year decline of the three, with a 32 percent drop in sales (compared to a 23.4 percent drop for the Civic, and a 20 percent drop for the CR-V).

Toyota released the latest version of the Camry with incentives that were generous for a new vehicle. It also sells a fair number of Camrys to rental car companies. If you want to see what sedan sales look like without the maker resorting to generous incentives and fleet sales, look at sales of the new-generation Honda Accord. Nobody can say that the Accord is stale or outdated, and it has received very good reviews.

More people base their buying decision solely on price than you would think. A relative had a Chevrolet Avalanche with over 150,000 miles on the odometer. The Chevy was starting to require costly repairs, and he and his wife had just had a baby. He replaced the Avalanche with a Nissan Rouge, because the Nissan had the lowest lease payment for vehicles of that size.

Yes and no. Ford has a strong presence in this segment thanks to the name equity built up by the Explorer. But the Palisade and Telluride are stronger efforts than the Titan and Tundra. There is also less brand loyalty in this segment than there is among full-size pickup customers.

For several years at the Carlisle Ford Nationals, Ford had a Flex as one of the vehicles at its test-drive event. The Flex was comfortable and roomy, and was the easiest vehicle to both enter and exit. Overall, it was a very intelligent - and under-rated - design, in my opinion.

There are no "regulations" that keep fuel prices low. Prices are driven by market demand and taxes - both state and federal. Each state is free to tax both gasoline and diesel fuel at whatever level it desires. Prices are high in other countries because they levy heavy taxes on fuel (and have varied the level of taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel to drive more customers to buy diesel-powered vehicles, which further distorts the market not only for motor fuel, but also for vehicles). The lower the level of taxation, the less distortion there is in the market, as the retail price is closer to the true market price. Instead of enacting high federal gasoline or diesel fuel taxes, this country has historically chosen to lower demand by regulating vehicle fuel economy through CAFE.

I've always liked the Flex, but my wife didn't. She calls is "the hearse." From what I've seen, men liked it, but women didn't. They preferred the Explorer. Both of us like the new Explorer...let's hope Ford has the bugs worked out of it.

Given the current state of GM design, Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell must be rolling over in their graves. This Cadillac isn't likely to change that.

Interesting. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, before the advent of fully streamlined bodies, luxury car owners often updated their cars by installing grilles, headlights and bumpers from the latest models.

There are plenty of hotels in the area, but be warned that they often jack up their prices in anticipation of car show season. It's also possible to camp on the grounds for a fee. Check with Carlisle Events for prices and details. A good place to visit is the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum in Hershey, Pa. (about 30 minutes away, to the east). It's open on Sundays until 5 p.m. If you're a history buff, the Gettysburg Battlefield is about 40 minutes to the south.

You're lucky if that is all that the cat does while in the car. My friend made the mistake of taking his cat to the vet without putting it in the kitty carrier. The cat hid under the passenger seat and promptly did his business there. You can imagine how hard it is to get cat urine scent out of carpeting...

All I can say is that I have not wanted to buy a crossover, as I prefer the ride and handling of a good sedan. But I want one of these. The design really works.

In the case of the Fusion, I've read it was the dealers who strongly objected to abandoning the name. They claimed that the Fusion name has a lot of equity. Sadly, the Focus name was tarnished by the transmission debacle.