"We had great fun this week with our Los Angeles-based media friends as we celebrated the joys of driving a manual transmission. In many parts of the industry, the row-your-own car may be losing ground, but at Honda we're happy to still offer engaging manuals.

It was especially cool to see first-timers take on the challenge of learning a new skill, schooled by our own crack PR team in Fit Sports and HR-Vs, while more experienced operators got to wring out high-performance Hondas new and old, like Civic Type R and Si, the amazing new Accord Sport 2.0T, a rare 2008 S2000 CR and a mint-condition '99 Prelude SH. Hopefully, Honda is playing a small part in cultivating tomorrows automotive connoisseurs.

This event drove home the fact that you don't have to be a hardcore auto enthusiast to appreciate the simple joys of driving a manual. It also showed how we can integrate new technologies, like Honda Sensing, while preserving old-school driving fun. For everyone who participated, I hope it also reinforced the notion that performance and the joy of driving remain the heart and soul of Honda. And that's something we will never change!"

Sage Marie Assistant Vice President, Public Relations American Honda Motor Co, Inc.