DETROIT, June 3, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Starting from the pole, Graham Rahal dominated Saturday’s opening Verizon IndyCar Series race of a double header weekend in Detroit, leading virtually from flag-to-flag and spearheading a 1-2-3 Honda sweep at the Belle Isle Park temporary street circuit.

Rahal drove a flawless race – leading 55 of 70 laps, making his Rahal Letterman Lanigan team’s two-stop pit strategy work perfectly and beating fellow Honda driver Scott Dixon to the checkered flag by six seconds in the first of the annual doubleheader at Belle Isle.

With the win, Rahal scored his first IndyCar victory since Texas, in August of last season, and joined his father, team co-owner Bobby Rahal, as a Detroit winner.  The senior Rahal won here in 1992.

Dixon, less than a week removed from his massive crash during the Indianapolis 500, overcame pain from a left ankle injury sustained in the accident to finish second.  Dixon started sixth and, like Rahal, matched a two-stop strategy and superior pace to take over the drivers’ championship points lead heading into Sunday’s second race of the weekend.

Despite an opening-lap spin, James Hinchcliffe also had the pace to make a three-stop strategy work well, recovering from that early drama to finish third for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and completing the podium sweep for Honda.

Behind the lead trio, Alexander Rossi took the checkers in fifth for Andretti Autosports, with Mikhail Aleshin completing a positive day for Schmidt Peterson with a sixth-place result.  Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato completed today’s 70-lap race in eighth, just ahead of top rookie finisher, Ed Jones, in ninth with his Dale Coyne Racing Honda.

Video recaps from this weekend’s Honda racing activities in Detroit, including today’s Indy car and IMSA sports car races, are being posted on the “Honda Racing/HPD” YouTube channel. Produced by the Carolinas Production Group, the video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV. 

IndyCar Series teams and drivers now prepare for the second race in this doubleheader weekend, with qualifying for Sunday’s 70-lap race at 10:45 a.m. EDT, and live ABC television race coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Graham Rahal (#15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) started 1^st, finished 1^st: “Winning feels awesome. Everything went according to plan today. You know, I said yesterday, one of my comments was that I felt if I could qualify up front I could dominate this race, and I got a lot of heat from the other drivers for that comment, but I think we did it. I don’t say things unless I believe them, and today this car, the United Rentals, TurnsForTroops.com Honda, we raised a lot of money to help our vets. But man, I can’t tell you how good it feels. I mean it’s Day One of two. We’ve got [a second race] tomorrow to do, but trust me, today feels extremely rewarding.”

Scott Dixon (#9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) started 6^th, finished 2^nd, his fourth podium finish in 2017: “It was a tough race, no matter what. Physically, for me it was tougher than normal [due to his ankle injured at Indianapolis]. I think I was favoring a lot of things, but I’m just so proud of the whole Camping World crew. They did an amazing job; the car was fast. I probably couldn’t get the most out of it but we were kind of there. It’s great for [the championship] points. I’m definitely going to go back to my [motorhome] and put my foot in a big bucket of ice, and see if I can cool it off. Hopefully, we’ll get some good rest tonight, as obviously qualifying tomorrow is going to be key for the race [on Sunday]. So we’ve got to come out blazing. We’ve definitely got to improve the car; it’s not perfect right now.”

James Hinchcliffe (#5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda) started 5^th, finished 3^rd: “Tires are the name of the game here. To be able to get off the [softer, alternative] reds after the spin in the first turn there, played to our advantage. And then we got that yellow at the right time, right after our pit stop. It put us up where we belonged and I think we showed that the No. 5 Arrow car had a lot of pace. To come back from that – the boys were great in the pits and we’re really happy to grab a podium here today.”

Art St. Cyr (President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s race: “After a thrilling victory last Sunday in the 101^st running of the Indianapolis 500, it’s great to see the momentum continuing with a terrific day here in Detroit, both our sweep in the first IndyCar race of the weekend, and our first IMSA GTD victory with the Acura NSX GT3.  Congratulations to Graham for a dominant performance from start to finish, to Scott Dixon who showed determination of a true champion in his second-place run, and to James Hinchcliffe’s perseverance to recover from his Lap 1 spin and round out the podium for Honda.  Now, we get to do it again tomorrow, and hopefully score similar results.”

Photo – http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/519378/Honda_Racing_Detroit_Sweep_Rahal.jpg
Logo – http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/83597/honda_performance_development__inc__honda_racing_logo.jpg

SOURCE Honda Racing

TORRANCE, California, June 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported total May sales of 148,414 Honda and Acura vehicles, an increase of 0.9 percent over May 2016. Honda Division rose 0.7 percent on sales of 134,475 units, with trucks up 5.6 percent on sales of 63,650, and cars down 3.4 percent on sales of 70,825. Acura Division sales were up 2.8 percent in May, on sales of 13,939 vehicles, with trucks increasing 7.8 percent on sales of 9,456, and cars down 6.4 percent on sales of 4,483 units.

Honda
Honda is the only full-line brand experiencing sales growth thus far in 2017, with good reason: Civic and Accord are #1 and 2 in car sales for the year, with each exceeding 31,000 units in May, while HR-V and CR-V are off to a record start on the truck side. HR-V set a new all-time monthly record in May. Civic, Accord and CR-V again topped 30,000 units in May – seeking to top a combined annual total surpassing a million units for the 5^th straight year. The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is exceeding expectations as it opens new ground in the emerging fuel cell vehicle market.

• Sales of the 10^th generation Honda Civic have now exceeded 500,000 units in just the 19 months since the current model went on sale in November 2015. With more than 31,000 sales in May, Civic continues as the best-selling passenger car in America on a retail basis thus far in 2017.
• Accord posted a stellar month, bucking the light truck trend with an increase of 5.0 percent on sales of 33,547 to lead Honda car sales in May.
• HR-V celebrated taking sales leadership in the subcompact SUV segment by setting a new all-time sales record in May, with a gain of 29 percent on sales of 9,533 units.
• CR-V gained 9.6 percent for the month on sales of 32,186, further cementing its SUV sales leadership in 2017.

“Honda is challenging convention demonstrating sales strength on both sides of the aisle in 2017, with Civic and Accord leading retail car sales while HR-V and CR-V set new records,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. “Things are about to get even more exciting with the Civic Si now on sale, and the upcoming Type R providing evidence that the market still hungers for exciting, yet affordable cars.”

Acura
Acura continues to show renewed momentum in the second quarter as TLX—the brand’s best selling sedan—gained ground again in May after a record-setting April. Sales of Acura’s sporty RDX also surged in May, joined by strong sales of MDX to push Acura trucks ahead of last year. Overall, the Acura division showed an increase of 2.8 percent on sales of 13,939 vehicles. 

• TLX gained 8.4 percent in May on sales of 3,508 units, creating momentum for the refreshed 2018 TLX hitting dealer showrooms across the U.S. today.
• RDX enjoyed another strong month in a very competitive segment, rising 12.8 percent on sales of 5,149 in May.
• MDX sales were up 2.4 percent in May with 4,307 units sold, just as the company began dual sourcing production for the MDX at the company’s East Liberty Plant in Ohio.
• Acura trucks were up 7.8 percent overall on sales of 9,456 units.

“With a perfect sense of timing, the redesigned 2018 Acura TLX starts sales today just as the outgoing TLX is enjoying some of its best months,” said Jon Ikeda, vice president & general manager of the Acura division. “Coupled with the recently launched MDX Sport Hybrid, the Acura brand is building renewed energy through the brand’s distinctive performance direction.”

Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/518644/Honda_Accord.jpg
Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/95602/honda_logo.jpg

SOURCE American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

IRVINE, Calif., June 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported May U.S. sales of 26,047 vehicles, representing a decrease of 7.9 percent versus May of last year. Year-to-date sales through May are up 0.1 percent versus last year, with 119,282 vehicles sold.

Key May sales notes:

• The Mazda CX-5 posted its best-ever May, with 11,819 vehicles sold, marking an increase of 18.9 percent year-over-year (YOY). This number includes a mix of remaining 2016.5 models and the all-new 2017 CX-5, which went on sale at the end of March.
• Momentum around the Mazda MX-5 continues, with the roadster posting a YOY increase of 22.6 percent in the month of May. Total sales, which includes both the MX-5 soft top and MX-5 RF, reached 1,226 vehicles sold in the month of May.
• Sales of the seven-passenger Mazda CX-9 rose 221.8 percent YOY with 1,982 vehicles sold in the month of May.
• Total sales of Mazda’s CX crossover SUV line, including the CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9, were up 26.5 percent YOY with 15,338 vehicles sold in the month of May. Among CX buyers, Mazda customers continue to choose the AWD option, with 61 percent of CX-line vehicles sold in May being equipped with i-ACTIV All-Wheel Drive.

Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported May sales of 4,209 vehicles, up 15 percent versus May of last year.

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through more than 600 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.

SOURCE Mazda North American Operations