A scan of recent Honda headlines shows a corporate entity that you’d think few people, and even fewer CEOs, would complain about: in spite of the odd recall, Honda sales are up, it tops an ALG survey on perceived quality, has excellent relations with suppliers, was granted the right to alter its struggling IndyCar engine and then powered the car that won the Indy 500, and its intergalactically popular CR-V beat the new Mazda CX-5 in a Consumer Reports test. And it is the only major automaker to never record an annual loss. Ever. Funk Flex
Auto Talk: Mazda Skyactiv-D diesel to power Dempsey Racing LMP2 challenger at Le Mans
The Grand AM GX class isn’t the only place where Mazda will be running its 2.2-liter turbocharged Skyactiv-D four-cylinder diesel next year: it will power the LMP2 contender fielded by Dempsey Racing, a team co-owned by actor Patrick Dempsey. Mazda will also provide the engine to other teams running in the class at Le Mans, in the American Le Mans Series and the World Endurance Championship. Funk Flex
Auto Talk: Mercedes-Benz sells out of C63 AMG Black Series coupes
If you’ve been sitting on your hands mulling over the idea of spending $125,000 on a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, we’ve got some bad news for you: your time is up. That’s because, according to reports coming in from Europe, the German automaker has sold out every last example of the C63 AMG Black Series coupe. Funk Flex
(Video) Auto Talk: 2013 Scion FR-S finds its way into Jay Leno’s Garage
Jay Leno has finally gotten around to getting his hands on the Scion FR-S. The latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage is all about the new low-buck sports car from Toyota. Jack Hollis, the vice president and General Manager of Scion, stops in to give the TV personality a full walk-around of the 200-horsepower coupe. While Leno’s collection includes every shade of high-horsepower machinery, the comedian is also a fan of cheap driving fun for the masses. Hollis hits the high points of the model’s development, including the tie-in with Subaru and not-so-subtle nods to the ghosts of Toyota performance past. Funk Flex
Auto Talk: Mystery Jaguar XKR-S track pack caught testing
Jaguar looks to be hard at work on a new Track Edition of the company’s already menacing XKR-S. Spy photographers spotted a more hardcore Track Edition testing at the Nürburgring recently, and while details are scarce, odds are the high horsepower coupe will serve as a suitable competitor to the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series, among others. Funk Flex
Auto Talk: NHTSA expands Toyota fire probe to 1.4M cars and trucks
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has grown its investigation into certain Toyota models to cover a full 1.4 million cars and trucks. Reuters reports the government safety agency has upgraded the investigation to a full-blown engineering analysis, which may eventually lead to a recall. Funk Flex
