Car Throttle

Yeah, like you knew this wasn't going to happen ... or maybe not, Honda can be a very conservative company. Anyway, since Honda first introduced the CR-Z hybrid coupe, and threw around the notion that it's the spiritual and eco-conscious successor to the CR-X, one of the main complaints has been the CR-Z's lack of power. OK, that's a fair enough criticism. The CR-X was a wonderfully fun and tossable car. Light, handled good enough for a front driver, and it had enough power. The same cannot be said, it would seem, for the as announced CR-Z. The CR-Z puts out 122 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque from its 1.5-liter VTEC four-cylinder and Integrated Motor Assist Sporty, yes, but that doesn't make the CR-Z into

Honda just introduced the CR-Z at this year's North American International Auto Show. Needless to say, many were disappointed. Instead of a successor to the much-loved CR-X like it name implies, the CR-Z is more of a successor to the Insight. Could help be on the way in the form of a Type-R model? The main issue with the CR-Z (for enthusiasts anyway) lies in its specifications list. The CR-Z is a hybrid, with a 102 horsepower 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, along with an electric motor that provides an additional 20 hp. That adds up to only 122 hp. AutoExpress reports that those figures are about to change for the better. The new CR-Z Type-R would use a version of the 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the Civic Type-R,

Perhaps I'd gotten my hopes up a bit too much for this one. The concept of the Honda CR-Z sounded brilliant: tiny short-wheelbase two-seater, electric motor assist, 6-speed manual transmission, basically a combination of Honda economy and reliability with a bit of funkiness and fun-to-drive. But I'm just not so sure.  The production CR-Z debuted at NAIAS yesterday, and I don't quite think they've perfected the formula.  I'll get the bad parts off the table first: the CR-Z has a total of 122bhp, yet with a stick shift it only manages to attain an average of 33mpg on the US cycle.  For a car this small with this little power, I was sort of expecting fuel mileage numbers starting with a 50, not a 30.  If I

One of the highlights of the recent Tokyo Auto Show (pretty much a home market Japanese-only show this year) was the Honda CR-Z Concept. The car first appeared at the 2007 show, but the model introduced at the show this year was supposedly a nearly 100% preview of the production model. That has proven to be correct now, as a brochure for the production Honda CR-Z has leaked, giving us a good bit of information. See, it looks nearly identical to the "concept" - and that is a good thing. The CR-Z promises to be the best looking Honda in a long time. The CR-Z is somewhat of a successor to the original CRX (and also somewhat, the Insight), an extremely efficient and fun to drive vehicle that

Toyota has set its sights on producing some exciting new vehicles that will help it to connect with enthusiasts. Vehicles from Toyota have been criticized as appliances that don't provide much in the way of excitement. For Lexus, the LF-A was introduced after a long development process, and the FT-86 Concept is destined for production at the Toyota division. Rival Honda has made waves with the CR-Z Concept that is in the works for production. Japan's Best Car magazine has Toyota planning a competitor by reviving a recent sports model - the MR2, but this time called the MR-S. The MR2 was seen as an affordable mid-engined sports car, but it didn't do very well in the United States in the years leading up to its demise.

While the spotlight at Tokyo was primarily focused on the Toyota FT-86 Concept and Lexus LFA, Honda made a performance introduction of it's own - the CR-Z Concept. The CR-Z has been shown before in concept form, but this new one is very close to the one approved for production, serving as a preview. It's CR- designation and styling clearly reference the inspiration for the concept - the CRX hatchback. To this day the CRX is mentioned as an example of a sporty, fun to drive car that gets excellent fuel economy. In fact, during the spike in fuel prices last year, the CRX was commanding high prices on the used car market . That leaves Honda with a pretty good basis for a new model, especially for

I'm sure this has been said during every era of automotive history at one point or another. Perhaps not during the mid-seventies, but otherwise technology continues to march on, and everything continues to get better.  And the way it is now, and the way it's going to be soon, is easily as good as it's ever been.  Even though the news seems to be overwhelmingly negative these days with regards to the automotive industry, (anyone know any companies with increased sales and healthy numbers lately?) this only really has a little to do with the products themselves and more with the overall condition of the economy as it stands. The products themselves are easily the best they've ever been.  Competition seems to grow stronger and stronger by

I've been waiting for this one for a while now. There's been a severe market shortage of small, fuel-efficient, genuinely fun-t0-drive two-seat coupes, pretty much since Honda dropped the CR-X and replaced it with the useless del Sol.  It's of no surprise, then, that it would be Honda to pick up the mantle of the tiny two-seat pocket rocket with a modern interpretation of the beloved CR-X. And you can't say the time isn't right for such a car.  These days, everyone's concerned with efficiency, but that doesn't mean people don't still care about fun.  This strategy is the whole reason that Honda sold every CR-X they could import in the '80's, even with the ridiculous Honda dealer price gouging that was routine back when there was