Midlands Honda

Honda's CR-Z hybrid finished second in its class, 9th overall, against 72 cars during the 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race.

This is a popular event among grass-roots racers, even auto manufacturers and racing teams, and is run by the National Auto Spot Association. This was the first time a racing version of a hybrid was offered by a company. This year was the first time Honda's US racing division entered its own team.

Honda's team staged a come-from-behind run that looked like it almost ended with a first place victory. But after racing back from a…

On Tuesday, Honda said they will stop selling its Civic in Japan. They stated reasons relating to  demand for passenger sedans in its home market being on the decline. "Honda, Japan's third largest vehicle manufacturer by sales volume, will end domestic production of the Civic hybrid for the Japanese market in December. It stopped domestic production of the gasoline engine version for the home market in August," said the Wall Street Journal.

The Civic Hybrid will continue to be exported from Honda's Suzuka plant in Mie Prefecture, western Japan. This is the only place it produces the gasoline-electric…