Honda Looks To Shave Weight From Its Products

On the plus side, no one will argue that lighter vehicles are more fuel efficient and yield better acceleration, cornering and stopping ability. On the down side, building lighter vehicles either costs significantly more money thanks to the use of exotic materials, or produces some other kind of trade-off. In a production decision that’s sure to raise a few eyebrows, Honda will revise the way its building cars to save both weight and manufacturing cost. Read more

A Mugen-Tuned Ariel Atom Versus… A Tuned Honda CRZ?

Car shows like putting together eclectic comparisons. Take Top Gear for example, who once compared a Mitsubishi Evo against a main battle tank, and routinely pits sports cars against extreme sport athletes. Still, I’m not sure any comparison I’ve seen to date is as odd as the one in the Auto Express video below, which compares a Mugen-tuned Ariel Atom to a Mugen-tuned Honda CR-Z. In fairness, they’re not running the cars side-by-side on a track, nor are they using both for a rush-hour commute. Still, comparing the Atom to the CR-Z is akin to comparing an ax to a crate of dynamite: both will take down a tree, but in very, very different fashion. Read more

When Acura and Marvel Collide

It’s an undeniable fact that movies and product placement go together like peas and carrots.  Peanut butter and jelly.  Unicorns and glitter (just kidding).  These days, when I pay half my week’s salary, or roughly the GDP of a small undeveloped nation, to see a movie, I expect to be bombarded with a thinly veiled ad to buy something or another.  Often, it’s integrated cleverly into a scene like a character using a new flip-cam, cell phone or eating at a certain restaurant.  I clearly remember watching Twister and noting the the “bad guys” in their sleek, shiny long caravan of black…Dodge Caravans (I see what you did there, Marketing Department).  It seems modern movie-makers though are taking it one step further.  Thor, which recently debuted, features the entire Acura lineup and makes no bones about it. Read more

Honda Shows Their Mugen Tuned CR-Z

If you like the looks of the Mugen-tuned CR-Z in the picture above, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that the car has legitimate performance gains over the stock CR-Z, yet still delivers reasonable fuel economy. The bad news is that the car is a work in progress, and is still officially described as a “concept vehicle”. The translation of that is that it may or may not see production, and that production may or may not be sold in the United States. Honda isn’t releasing a lot of performance data just yet, since the car won’t be “officially” unveiled until July’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Read more

Mazda, Honda Suspend Dealer Orders

The economic effects of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami will begin to hit U.S. auto dealerships in April and May. Last week, both Mazda and Honda temporarily suspended U.S. dealership orders for all vehicles built in Japan. For Mazda, this includes the Mazda 2, Mazda 3, Mazda 5, MX-5, RX-8, CX-7 and CX-9; for Honda, the vehicles impacted include the Fit, CR-V, Insight, CR-Z, Civic Hybrid, Acura TSX and Acura RL. Nissan will reduce U.S. vehicle allocation for May by 50%, while neither Toyota nor Mitsubishi have announced any changes to dealer ordering procedures. Neither Mazda nor Honda will speculate on when orders will resume, but it’s reasonable to expect inventory shortages of popular models heading into the summer months. Read more

Honda Accelerates CR-Z Turbo Production

It’s probably no secret that Honda Motors America didn’t buy into the “hybrid sports car” concept of the CR-Z. Give the enormous shoes the car had to fill, HMA predicted early on that the car would be a sales flop. Even in California, land of the Prius, sales of the two seat pseudo-sport coupe have been underwhelming. What the car really needs is an infusion of horsepower, some weight reduction and a switch to conventional (not regenerative) brakes. Honda’s working on just such an animal, but now comes rumor that Honda will fast-track the gas-only turbo CR-Z into production. If the “unnamed sources” are correct, the worthy successor to the CRX Si could hit dealer showrooms as early as next spring. Read more

Playboy Selects “The Hottest Rides Of 2011″, We Offer Our Rebuttal

Let’s keep this simple: if you want to look at gorgeous, semi-naked women or read insightful reporting, go to Playboy.  If you want accurate information on cars and trucks, come to Automotive Addicts.  We don’t do the whole pictures of naked women thing (although we have been known to look at them admiringly), because it’s just not what we do best.  Likewise, when Playboy publishes a list of the “Hottest Rides” of the year, you need to read it with some skepticism.

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2010 Green Car of the Year TBA

Green Car Journal is gearing up to announce their choice of Green Car of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show on December third.  This award, started in 2005, has increased steadily in importance during the past five years.  Pushing auto makers and consumers alike to be more aware of the impact their cars and actions have on the environment, as well as take the necessary steps to lessen the negative effect we are having.

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