The 2018 Accord, Now Featuring...

The all new Honda Accord, now in it’s 10^th generation, has been released just today. The fresh Accord will be sporting a new powertrain, a new hybrid system, and a 10 speed transmission for 2018.

“We are redefining the Honda Accord for a new generation of buyers by bringing something unexpected that challenges the idea of what a mainstream sedan can be,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president of the Automobile Division of American Honda.

Redefining with something unexpected, Jeff? What does this mean? I believe that Hondas senior vice president was referring to the bold move of switching out the beloved V6 engine to a smaller 2.0 liter turbo four cylinder. Honda has basically taken their turbo engine from the CR-V and the new Civic Type R and spread the love to the front running Accord. The engine is specially tuned for the Accord with low-end torque and doesn’t require premium fuel.  Horsepower and torque are up from 185 and 181 to an alluring 192/192. The engine is paired with the first 10-speed automatic to be featured in a front-wheel drive car, and is also available with a six-speed manual transmission on the Sport trim.

The hybrid will use a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated Atkinson-cycle engine and has electric motors that are the first to use magnets containing no heavy rare earth metals. The new power unit with the battery pack is now under the rear floor instead of in the trunk, and this upgrade heartily frees up some more cargo room.

The design idea was to make the Accord even more sophisticated and sporty than it has ever been. Clean lines and a simple layout with sharp details flawlessly execute the look of sophistication while the newly tuned engine brings the enhanced power.

Last, but most definitely not least, Honda brings us……

The volume knob!

Rejoice! The new, finally re-knobbed Accord is coming to our showroom this fall, and we encourage you to join us in welcoming it to our lineup!

WannaCry Attack

The widespread WannaCry ransomware virus has made its way to a Honda assembly plants computer network in Japan- and has forced Honda to temporarily shut down operations. Reports from Japan claim that the virus has affected the carmakers computer networks in North America, Europe, China, and other parts of the world as well. The shutdown has delayed production of some of the Honda’s key vehicles, including the Accord sedan and Odyssey minivan. The plant, which is located about an hour northwest of Honda’s Tokyo headquarters, produces approximately 1,000 vehicles every day.

The WannaCry virus was discovered about a month ago after rapidly infecting computer networks around the world. It briefly shut down operations at a number of British hospitals, among other things and caused production delays at both French automaker Renault and its Japanese alliance partner Nissan. More than one million computers in 150 various countries were affected by the ransomware attack. U.S. intelligence agencies have reason to believe that the virus was unleashed by the North Korean government.

Hackers wouldn’t normally be able to pull off such a feat without tricking unassuming internet users into providing their passwords to their networks, which is the traditional way that hackers capitalize on easy online revenue. However, experts on the topic say that new software is being developed to bypass this step. A security hole in outdated versions of Microsoft Windows made these particular attacks possible.  Businesses are often slow to upgrade their operating system, and many fail to update the system in order to protect it from various security holes of the like.

As for how Honda is doing, production has resumed and they have taken steps to reinforce their virus protection regimen to avoid any similar occurrences in the future.