2013 Honda Civic Hybrid First Test

Your browser, , is out of date and not supported by www.motortrend.com. It may not display all features of our site properly and could have potential security flaws. Please update your browser to the most upated version. Update Now "Average Fuel: 41.2 mpg," the dash display of the 2013 Honda Civic Hybrid indicated. What?! Really?! It'd been too effortless to achieve. If I had really tried to eke out every possible mile from each ounce of unleaded, boy, what a number that would have been. And so began the latest round of "Nate's Great MPG Challenge," a fuel economy maximization game first programmed into my psyche by our long gone, but never forgotten, long-term 2009 BMW 335d, a beautiful premium sedan that successfully ticked just about every box on my personal Fuel Efficient Car checklist. I also played a few rounds while behind the wheel of our 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, which racked up 450-plus miles on a single tank. While those were oil burners, similar types of competitive Eat-My-MPG behavior are expected from drivers of electro-fossil fuel cars such as our Civic. In fact, Honda, like many other automakers, promotes competition with items such as an ECO Assist coach and a little green ECON button, that, when pressed, reduces energy consumed by the car's climate control system. It also minimizes throttle response and extends the start-stop operating window when possible. View the original article here

Honda recalling 405K vehicles over airbag issue

Statement by American Honda Regarding SRS Control Unit Recall: 2003-2004 Honda Odyssey; 2003 Acura MDX

09/18/2013 - TORRANCE, Calif.
Approximately 374,000 Honda and Acura vehicles affected in the United States
The SRS airbag system will be repaired, free of charge
No crashes have been reported related to this issue

American Honda will recall approximately 318,000 Honda Odyssey vehicles from the 2003-2004 model years and approximately 56,000 Acura MDX vehicles from the 2003 model year in the U.S. to address potential malfunctions of the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) airbag system in these vehicles due to electrical interference. To prevent malfunction, an electrical noise filter will be installed adjacent to the SRS control unit, free of charge.

Honda has received a small but increasing number of complaints in recent months of inadvertent airbag deployment in these vehicles, which are equipped with SRS control units that contain computer chips similar to those used in airbag system control units installed in other manufacturers' vehicles that were recalled in the last year. No crashes have been reported to Honda related to this issue.

Honda is announcing this recall to encourage owners of all affected vehicles to take their vehicles to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from Honda. Mailed notification to customers will be sent in late-Oct. 2013, and, at that time, owners of vehicles from the affected model years will be able to determine if their vehicles require repair by going on-line to www.recalls.honda.com and www.recalls.acura.com or by calling (800) 999-1009 for Honda owners or (800) 382-2238 for Acura owners, and selecting option 4.

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New Odyssey ads feature Honda Vac, star power

Honda has released a string of new ads highlighting its refreshed, 2014 Odyssey minivan. While the Japanese brand hasn't started bragging about attaining the first Top Safety Pick+ for minivans, it's all too happy to brag about another first - the world's first van with a built-in vacuum cleaner.

In three spots, anthropomorphic children's rubbish discusses the merits of the new minivan, only to be sucked up by the built-in vacuum, which is only available in the top-end Touring Elite model. There's also quite a bit of star power floating around for those that watch a lot of TV. Neil Patrick Harris from Doogie Howser, MD and How I Met Your Mother voices a character in one of the spots, while Rainn Wilson from The Office stars in another. Take a look below for all three ads from Honda.

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New Odyssey ads feature Honda Vac, star power

Honda has released a string of new ads highlighting its refreshed, 2014 Odyssey minivan. While the Japanese brand hasn't started bragging about attaining the first Top Safety Pick+ for minivans, it's all too happy to brag about another first - the world's first van with a built-in vacuum cleaner.

In three spots, anthropomorphic children's rubbish discusses the merits of the new minivan, only to be sucked up by the built-in vacuum, which is only available in the top-end Touring Elite model. There's also quite a bit of star power floating around for those that watch a lot of TV. Neil Patrick Harris from Doogie Howser, MD and How I Met Your Mother voices a character in one of the spots, while Rainn Wilson from The Office stars in another. Take a look below for all three ads from Honda.

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Honda Seeks Its Roots

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Honda Civic Tourer images arrive early on web

Honda provided a teaser sketch of its Civic Tourer concept wagon about a month ago (right), but today, just a couple days before its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show, we've found these official pics of the car in question from WhatCar?

The Civic Tourer concept adds a little length and height to the current Civic hatchback sold in Europe, stretching the shape every which way to make a new wagon model that will compete with cars like the new Volkswagen Golf Variant, which is also making its debut in Geneva this week.

As we mentioned when Honda released the teaser sketch last month, the European Civic is different from the Civic sold here in the US, so the production version of this concept, which should debut in the fall, will never see the inside of a dealership in the States. Do you care, or does the smaller Fit fill that role well enough for Americans?

If you want more details about the Honda Civic Tourer concept, stay tuned for our live coverage of the Geneva Motor Show this week where we'll get the skinny on this Euro-only wagon.

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