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The other side of the curtain: A look back at Lada, Volga and more

While Americans in the 1960s and '70s were enjoying the heyday of muscle-car madness, our friends over in the Soviet Union were treated to an entirely different kind of automobile. Fiat-based Ladas and Russian-born Volgas were the cars of the day, and our friends at Retronaut have gathered some press materials and advertisements for the compact sedans. Lada was named after a famous Czech manufacturer of sewing machines in the 1960s.

Honda bumps up new Accord prices by $300

Honda Motor Co. said Monday that prices on the redesigned 2013 Accord sedan will increase, on average, by less than $300, even with the addition of thousands of dollars worth of standard features and technology. Honda has overhauled its top-selling model for 2013 with new, more fuel-efficient engines, a continuously variable transmission, additional standard equipment and other available technology, such as lane departure warning and blind spot detection.

Nissan Micra ELLE: It’s a Micra for the Ladies

Nissan has revealed a limited edition Micra – the Micra ELLE – produced in conjunction with Elle Magazine. There is a strong argument that the Nissan Micra is predominantly aimed at the fairer sex, and if that was in doubt the new Micra ELLE confirms it. Nissan has joined up with Elle Magazine to produce a limited run of 500 of the Micra Elle with cosmetic titivation (what else?) including panoramic roof (helps with putting makeup on), extra chrome (nice and sparkly), titanium grey alloys (which will unfortunately show every kerbing dent) and fog lights (for when it’s not foggy).