Plug-in Cars: Where Can You Buy Them?

Thursday’s pricing announcement for the Chevrolet Spark EV likely piqued some interest on the West Coast, but chances are few others gave it much attention. GM will sell the all-electric hatchback only in California and Oregon; the automaker has announced no plans to sell it elsewhere, spokesman Kevin Kelly told us.

Where can EV fans find their cars? We tallied up the states.

No surprise: Californians get the biggest slice of the EV pie. Thank the state's zero-emissions vehicle mandate, which requires automakers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emissions vehicles, explained Ed Kim, AutoPacific's vice president of industry analysis. Nearby Washington state has adopted California's emissions requirements but not the ZEV quota, and states such as Oregon and a number along the East Coast have adopted both.

The emissions requirement should eventually align with the federal government's 2025 corporate average fuel economy requirements. But it still means "a plug-in car sold in Oregon counts towards California’s required ZEV volume for the automaker that makes that vehicle," Kim wrote in an email. "It’s not a natural consumer market for such vehicles, but rather a market legislated into existence."

Why I Drive the 2013 Honda Civic Like a Hybrid

Our long-term Honda Civic has only been in our fleet for a few months, but I've already racked up several weeks' worth of drive time in it. Besides the fact that it is a very capable commute car with a nice stereo and comfortable seats, I've found myself driving this car differently than I expected. I drive it like a hybrid.

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When I test hybrids I generally don't employ hypermiling techniques to rack up impressive mileage figures, but I do drive the cars "smarter" while still keeping up with traffic. That means accelerating smoothly without hammering down the gas pedal, coasting when possible and when in heavy traffic leaving room between the car in front of me to reduce braking.

The other day I realized I was doing all this in the Civic too.

Which Cars Fit Three Car Seats?

UPDATE: Parents are often searching for the automotive holy grail: a car that's not a minivan and can fit three child-safety seats across the backseat. It's a short list.

In the more than three years that Cars.com editors have been installing car seats into test vehicles, we've come across only a handful of cars that can hold three car seats across a backseat.

For 2014, the Jeep Grand Cherokee received interior and exterior revisions, but that didn’t affect this two-row crossover’s ability to fit three child-safety seats across its backseat.

As we come across more cars that fit three child-safety seats, we'll add to this list. For now, here are the cars from our Car Seat Checks that can fit three car seats in the second row:

2013 Honda Civic Gains NHTSA Five-Star Safety Rating

The 2013 Honda Civic sedan has earned the highest safety rating of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the automaker announced Thursday. This adds to the top honors the 2013 Civic received from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program, the Civic sedan received a five-star overall vehicle score despite scoring four stars in frontal tests. It received five stars in side-impact crashes and has a four-star rollover rating.

The 2013 Civic sedan and coupe previously received a Top Safety Pick+ rating from IIHS, which included a top score of Good in the stringent new small-overlap frontal collision test. Honda noted that the Civic sedan and coupe are the first and only small cars to earn the IIHS’ Top Safety Pick+ rating; however, IIHS is still implementing the new test, and in the past, we've seen additional vehicles added to the organization's award lists.

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Tracking the Fuel Economy of Cars.com's 2013 Honda Civic, 2013 Subaru BRZ

Cars.com's long-term 2013 Honda Civic and 2013 Subaru BRZ have accumulated roughly 1,000 and 1,100 miles, respectively, since our previous update a month ago. Surprisingly, both are within 2.7 mpg of each other in overall observed gas mileage despite one being an enthusiast's sports coupe and the other a bean-counter's economy car.

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The Civic's highest tank average of 33.58 mpg is up from its previous best of 33.11 mpg and bumps the overall average up a few ticks to 28.53 mpg after 2,500 miles. Hold on: 28 mpg? The Civic has half the total miles of our BRZ; it joining the Cars.com long-term test fleet a few months after the Subaru and has far fewer highway miles under its timing belt. Our Civic's overall average hovers right on top of its EPA-estimated 28 mpg city rating.

Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Honda Crosstour

Ambivalence abounds in our review of the 2013 Honda Crosstour. Cars.com reviewer Kristen Varela finds the five-seat hatchback's newly restyled exterior eclectic, to put it kindly — she calls it "some crazy experiment from a chop shop." Somehow, though, that oddness translates into impressive practicality with regard to ease of entry and cargo space. The front seats are terribly uncomfortable, though the backseats easily fit three children across. Its heated leather seats suggest luxury, but much of the interior screams cheap. Read Varela's conflicted critique below.

2013 Honda Crosstour Review

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: April 2013

Nissan and Ford led a strong month for the auto industry, with sales up 23.2% at Nissan and 17.9% at Ford thanks to big gains among both carmakers' strongest sellers. Nissan Altima sales gained 35.4% while Ford Escape sales spiked 52% — despite similar year-over-year incentives on both and lower dealership supply for the Escape.

It may seem bizarre that the Altima, then, isn't among the top 10 best-sellers. It's been there for ninth months straight, and in March it was the best-selling car (not truck) in America. But a year ago, sales were dismal — less than 17,000 in April 2012 — so even a healthy spike kept Nissan off April 2013's top 10.

The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord had higher-profile struggles. The Camry's sales drop could signal plateauing demand for Toyota's seventh-generation family sedan, whose year-over-year sales have declined for three straight months. The new Accord, meanwhile, is just 7 months old, and shoppers found significantly lower discounts versus the 2012 Accord a year ago. It's a factor that could affect Accord sales through autumn. Still, Ford didn't seem to have a problem with that. Anyone considering the new Fusion found a similar situation — lower discounts versus year-ago levels — but it didn't stop shoppers from flocking toward the popular sedan, whose sales boomed 23.7%.

Recall Alert: 2012-2013 Honda Fit

Honda is issuing a voluntary recall of 43,782 model-year 2012 and 2013 versions of the Fit hatchback due to a problem with the electronic stability system; only Sport trim models are being recalled.

According to Honda, the electronic stability system in the affected vehicles doesn't comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Standards regarding yaw rates (how far a car tilts during a turn). "Honda is not aware of any related crashes or injuries," it said in a statement.

Honda will notify affected owners starting in mid-May and dealers will reprogram the system's software for free. Owners can call Honda at 800 999-1009 (option 4) for more info.

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2013 Honda Civic Video

The Honda Civic has returned from a rather snoozy 2012 rested and ready to excite. Cars.com reviewer Joe Bruzek says Honda's return to the drawing board for 2013 has paid off, most notably on the inside. High-quality materials and impressive standard features like a backup camera, Bluetooth connectivity and smartphone integration with Pandora Internet Radio join classed-up exterior front and rear styling. Lackluster wheel covers on the base LX model and a fun-to-drive deficit compared with competitors are the Civic's weak spots, but if you weren't offended in 2012, you’ll be charmed in 2013. Watch the video above.

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Honda Fit Wheel-Theft Trend Hits Home

If Jennifer Newman had known her family's 2007 Honda Fit Sport was a target for thieves, she might not have traded her 2009 Nissan Versa hatchback with her father last summer. Newman — a senior editor for Kicking Tires — said she and her father made a mutually beneficial swap; he found the Fit's seats and suspension uncomfortable, and her family needed its cargo room. But then she woke up one recent morning to a text message from her neighbor: The wheels of her Fit were gone.

"I didn't know at the time that Fit wheels were being stolen," Newman said. "Had I known, I'm not sure I would have traded cars." Why the Fit specifically? Its alloy wheels are attracting thieves.