Shenango Honda

Honda Financial Services Announces
2010 Council of Excellence Member
SHENANGO HONDA


Hermitage, PA, February 21, 2011  Shenango Honda of Hermitage, PA has earned the prestigious 2010 Council of Excellence award. Shenango Honda has distinguished itself and its Finance & Insurance team as outstanding providers of financial services to its customers. 

In 2010, only the top 15 percent of Honda dealerships were recognized by Honda Financial Services as worthy of the Council of Excellence award, making this dealership truly exceptional.

"Our Council of Excellence dealerships apply their financial services skills and expertise to offer the kind of service and support that our Honda customers understand and appreciate. It is a pleasure to announce that Shenango Honda has achieved 2010 Council of Excellence status," says Stephen E. Smith, Senior Vice President of American Honda Finance Corporation.

"This is our 2nd Council of Excellence achievement, and I am very grateful to all our customers and our outstanding Shenango team who made this possible. I want to especially thank our Finance & Insurance Manager, Sandy Baun for her exceptional efforts on behalf of our customers," said John G. Shenango, President, Shenango Honda.

Honda leads industry with seven segment-leading models, more than any other brand; Honda Manufacturing of Indiana Earns Platinum Plant Quality Award

JUN. 23 - The Honda brand earned its best-ever ranking in J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) for 2011, finishing second among all surveyed brands, including premium makes, the company announced today. Honda also led the industry with seven models earning the highest initial quality ranking in their respective segments, including its top-selling Accord and Civic models. The Acura brand finished third overall in the 2011 IQS.

In the manufacturing realm, the 2011 study recognized three Honda plants for superior quality, including Honda's newest U.S. auto plant in Greensburg, Ind. Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, producing the Civic Sedan, was one of only three plants around the world to earn the Platinum Plant Quality Award. The Suzuka, Japan plant, line 1, earned a Silver Plant Quality Award, Asia Pacific (tie), for production of Civic and Insight, while the East Liberty, Ohio, plant took home a Bronze Plant Quality Award, North/South America, for production of the Accord Crosstour, CR-V and Element.

"Creating products of the highest quality and value is the foundation of our business, and it begins with a deep understanding of the customer," said Tetsuo Iwamura, president & CEO of American Honda. "These results are an important demonstration of our focus on the customer and the tireless efforts put forth by Honda associates throughout our organization--in R&D, in manufacturing and in sales--to exceed their high expectations of Honda and Acura."

Of the seven Honda models earning the highest initial quality score in their segment -- the most segment leaders of any brand -- five were manufactured in North America: the Civic (compact car); the Element (compact crossover SUV -- followed by the CR-V in second place); the Accord (midsize car); the Accord Crosstour (midsize crossover SUV); and the Ridgeline (midsize pickup). Those five models were joined on the 2011 segment leader list by the Insight hybrid (compact car, tie) and Honda Fit (sub-compact car).

Honda automobiles made in North America are produced using domestic and globally-sourced parts.

In a letter to manufacturing associates, Hide Iwata, Honda of America Mfg. president and CEO and head of North American manufacturing, recognized the commitment and dedication that led to this achievement: "Your relentless commitment to improve quality and to exceed customer expectations has helped Honda achieve its best ever IQS performance. Please know that I am honored to be part of this team and I deeply appreciate your many efforts."

Now in its 25th year, IQS captures problems experienced by owners in two distinct categories--quality of design and quality of production (defects and malfunctions). The study ranks vehicles and brands based on survey reports of the number of problems for each hundred vehicles surveyed. A lower PP100 score is better, since that means fewer problems were reported by vehicle owners.

For 2011, the Honda brand showed an improvement of nine fewer PP100, from 95 to 86. Acura scored 89 PP100, compared to 86 the previous year.

Drivers may be bracing for more pain at the pump in 2011, as gas prices continue to climb. The price for a gallon of gas has recently crossed the $3 mark for the first time since October 2008.
Below are some tips to help save some money the next time you fill up.
Drive more efficiently
Drive sensibly
Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. Taking it easy on the gas pedal can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town.
Observe the speed limit
While each vehicle reaches its top fuel economy at a different speed, gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas. Observing the speed limit is also safer.
Remove excess weight
Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle,
especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your
vehicle can reduce your mpg by up to 2 percent.
This is based on the percentage of extra weight
relative to the vehicle's weight and affects smaller
vehicles more than larger ones.
Set the cruise
Using cruise control on the highway helps you
maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.
Keep your car in shape
Keep your engine properly tuned
Tuning-up an engine or correcting a failed emissions test can improve your gas mileage by an average of 4 percent. Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve your mileage by as much as 40 percent.
Keep tires properly inflated
This is the easiest: You can improve your gas mileage by up to 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.3 percent for every 1 psi drop in pressure of all four tires. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer.
Replacing a clogged air filter
A new study shows that replacing a clogged air filter on cars with fuel-injected, computer-controlled gasoline engines does not improve fuel economy but it can improve acceleration time by 6 to 11 percent and help improve the life of your engine.