This week’s most impactful OEM headlines, including:
- Honda discontinues CR- Z Hybrid
USA Today says that Honda will discontinue U.S. sales of the CR-Z hybrid, a two-seat car that petered out amid rock-bottom gas prices. The Japanese automaker confirmed on Friday that it will phase out the six-year-old coupe sometime this year. The company will replace it with a two-motor hybrid version of the 2017 Accord sedan.The CR-Z’s demise reflects the profound challenges confronting hybrid-only models, with even the stalwart Toyota Prius getting crushed in the marketplace as consumers flock to bigger vehicles. - Red Bull and Aston Martin will only make 150 of these pricy cars
Fortune says and another 25 just for the track. Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing unveiled their new supercar in a bid to make the world’s fastest street-legal production vehicle and elevate the British automaker’s image. The supercar, code-named AM-RB-001, won’t be available until the end of 2018. And even then, it will be difficult to come by. Only 99 to 150 of the cars will be made along with 25 additional cars made specifically for racing tracks, according to the automaker. These track-only cars are expected to be able to perform like any of the LMP1 Le Mans prototypes, a prototype race car with bodywork that encloses all of the mechanical parts and is used in circuit races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. - Ford F- 150 Review: America’s best selling vehicle still delivers
Los Angeles says for 34 consecutive years, the Ford F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States and the best-selling truck for even longer. Ford sold 780,354 of its F-series trucks in 2015, including models from its brawnier 250, 350, 450 and 550 lines, outpacing trucks made by Chevrolet, Ram, Nissan and Toyota. This year, said Doug Scott, Ford’s truck group marketing manager, sales through May are 7% ahead of 2015.Those numbers include all Ford’s pickups, but the bulk of the vehicles sold are F-150s, which in the heartland are the preferred daily drivers for the country’s construction workers, farm workers and cowpunchers. Like the people who drive them, these trucks are purposeful, plain and hardworking. - Nissan ups technology, power for the 2017 Pathfinder SUV
The Detroit News says Nissan Motor Co. expects upgraded interior technologies, refreshed exterior and a more powerful engine to attract SUV-happy consumers to the 2017 Pathfinder SUV. “This is one of the largest mid-cycle improvements that we’ve made in our history. … We’re committed to keep our lineup fresh,” said Mike Drongowski, a chief product specialist with Nissan, during a media event to unveil the vehicle Thursday in Detroit. The refreshed Pathfinder is one of several new utility vehicles the Japanese automaker has recently introduced. The company earlier this year unveiled updated or new versions or its Armada large SUV and Titan and Titan XD pickups.
