Honda Civic Safe For Females, Death Trap For Males

This is interesting. According to USA today, the 2011 Honda Civic gets different crash test ratings for both males and females.

The National Highway Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) recently created new crash test standards, which means all cars were re-tested. The new standards include a “pole test” which simulates a side crash into a 10 foot pole at around 30 km/h.

The NHTSA is famous for its 5 star ranking system.

During the pole test the NHTSA used a female crash test dummy and a male crash test dummy. The female dummy did well as it resulted in a 4 star rating. But then they strapped the male dummy in for the test and it only got a 2 star rating!

What?

The NHTSA didn’t offer up any explanation. Is it because males are bigger than females? I don’t get it.

In addition, this is in stark contrast to the 2010 Civic’s overall rating of 5 stars. But thanks to this latest test, under the new standards, the Civic gets a mere 3 star rating overall.

In any event, if you are female and you are reading this you may want to reconsider buying your boyfriend that Civic Si for Christmas. It might just kill him.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself to one since apparently it will protect you more than your boyfriend. Just don’t drive him anywhere in it.

[USA Today]

Non-Hybrid Honda CR-Z in the Works?

When Honda announced it would be reviving a successor to the CRX, many CRX fans pretty much wet their pants. It had been decades since the hot hatch was around and the only thing that Honda made since the CRX that was even close was the Civic SI hatch.

However excitement turned to dismay and disappointment when Honda announced that the CRX replacement, the CR-Z, would be a hybrid. Honda marketed it as being the best of both worlds matching performance and efficiency in perfect harmony, but it seems most of the world (except for Japan) disagreed as sales for the CR-Z have been quite disappointing.

Well apparently in order to fix that, Honda is giving CRX fans what they should’ve gotten in the first place: a true CRX successor. If Autocar is to be believed, Honda will either replace the hybrid technology all together in favour of a regular gas engine, or at the very least make a gas only version optional.

No word yet on engine or power details, but this is very welcomed news. One of the many things the original CRX did well was achieve excellent performance with good efficiency – without the help of hybrid technology (which adds weight).

Thanks for the tip, Chris!

[Autocar]

R.I.P Honda Element

Honda has just announced that it will discontinue the Element with no plans in the near future to revive it or create a successor.

When the Element came onto the scene back in 2002, it was definitely a bold statement in terms of design. Most hail it as the one that started the whole box on wheels craze that has now afflicted Nissan, Scion and Kia.

Honda cites poor sales as the reason for the Element’s demise. Oddly enough, in a press release, Honda stated that customers straight up preferred the CR-V to the Element due to its refinement and its less controversial shape. Usually automakers don’t admit to cannibalism within the lineup because it makes their product planning department look stupid.

The Element went through very minor refreshes over the years, not least of which was the introduction of the SC (pictured above) which I personally believe is the best looking Element. But of course, best looking is all relative. It’s still not a very attractive design.

In any event, I suppose that means there will now be some killer deals on Elements, so if you’re the outdoorsy type that needs lots of room, it may be well worth your while to check one out before it dies for good.

[Honda]

Auto Express 2011 Performance Car of the Year Announced

As the year draws to a close, another Car of the Year (COTY) accolade is up for grabs. This one is courtesy of Auto Express, however it’s not your typical COTY award. Most COTY awards include any new model and usually the winner is based on how it handles day to day elements. Well Auto Express is tossing that formula out the window as their focusing solely on performance.

They took 20 cars that have performance as their top priority and ranked them from best to worst. Everything from cheap hot hatches to exotic supercars were considered. All were measured based on their performance abilities and value… which is odd considering they have an Aston Martin up against a Seat. Perhaps they meant best balance of performance for value.

Subaru fans will likely be up in arms at the results as the Cosworth WRX was ranked the lowest at number 20, especially since it was bested by several hot hatches including a hybrid, the Honda CR-Z.

Another surprise on the list was the Audi RS5 which ranked a bit low at number 11. Especially considering its arch rival, the BMW M3, not only cracked the top 10, but cracked the top 5 coming in at number 5.

I won’t spill the beans on who won the coveted top spot, however I will say that I definitely agree with their decision. Check it out in the video above. Notice no domestic cars were nominated? Just sayin’.

Do you agree with the performance COTY?

[Auto Express]

Oh Hi: 2012 Honda Civic

So I almost didn’t bother writing a blog post about this because as you can see from the video above, there really isn’t much to talk about here in terms of design. It’s more of an intense face lift rather than a full out re-design.

But since the Honda Civic is the number one selling car in Canada, I felt as though I should say something. And also because for some reason Honda didn’t feel it necessary to camouflage the newest iteration of its best selling car ever.

So here it is, the 2012 model year in the Middle East most likely doing hot weather testing. As you can see, the most significant update is the the rear with a completely new tail light design (is every car on the road gonna use LED’s now?) and a much higher rear deck that reminds me of the rear of a Nissan Sentra. Which isn’t exactly a good thing. The front facia is more familiar to the current version with the grille being more upright.

No word yet on power plants. Hopefully the Si sticks around but if it does, Honda better give it more power. The current version is quite the snooze fest. And hopefully they’ll be able to make it look good. Not like how the Nissan Sentra SE-R looks terribly awkward.

Expect official pics quite soon in light of this new video.

[Car Magazine]

Honda Canada to Discontinue Hybrids

According to various reports, Honda Canada has decided to pull the plug on the Insight and Civic Hybrid. This has yet to be confirmed by Honda Canada, but I also have it on good authority that this is the case.

The two mild hybrids haven’t exactly been a hit around the world (except for in Japan), but sales are particularly bad here in Canada. Canadians love the regular Civic however as it has been the best selling car for years with over 31,000 units sold. Honda Canada claims they don’t keep track of which specific trim levels were sold so they can’t say for sure how many of those units were Civic hyrbids. That’s bullshit. If they don’t track it, how do they know Civic Hybrids aren’t selling? They just don’t want the public to know just how bad the Civic Hybrid is selling. Luckily since the Civic Hybrid is build only in Japan, and the rest of the gas models are built in Canada, we can easily find out for ourselves. Over 600 Civics sold here were built in Japan. Therefore, since the only Civic built in Japan is the hybrid, likely that those 600 Civics were hybrid models. That means the hybrid Civic represents only 2% of Civic sales!

Likewise, and admittedly I’ve known this for a while thanks to some inside info I got from a local Honda dealership, the Insight is going to get the axe as well. The Prius wannabe never caught on here despite strong sales in Japan. Although I’ve never driven the Insight, most reviews are not favourable. In fact, Jeremy Clarkson called it “biblically terrible” adding “It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more.” God, I love Clarkson.

Anyway, good try Honda. Maybe you’ll have better luck selling the CR-Z here. Probably not though.

[Monvolant]

And The Cheapest Hybrid Award Goes to…

The Honda CR-Z.

Previously Honda themselves held the honour with the very unimpressive and underwhelming Insight which starts at $24,900. Honda even scared Toyota with that price and had them scrambling to make a hybrid version of their Toyota Yaris so that they could take the cheapest hybrid crown. But I’m sure that idea took the back burner when the results were in on the Insight. Just terrible.

Well Honda has just released Canadian pricing and the supposed successor to the CR-X will start at $23,460 for the six speed manual or $24,290 for the automatic making it the cheapest hybrid available in our market. The CR-Z is also the first ever hybrid available with a manual transmission. Sweet!

But the numbers don’t seem so sweet on paper. I mean, being the successor to the CR-X means that you gotta hold your own in the performance department. And with a 1.5 litre four cylinder engine making 126 horsepower and 136 pound foot torque, well, it just doesn’t seem possible to be fun to drive.

But at least it will be really efficient, right? Nope. While its 5.6 L/100 kms city (6.5 for the automatic) is nothing to sneeze at, this is a hybrid! There are regular gasoline cars that can do those numbers.

So, basically the new CR-Z is going to be nothing special in either performance or efficiency. Way to go, Honda. Let’s just hope it’s better than the Insight.

Oh and by the way, I’m fully aware that the pic above is not the production version of the CR-Z. It’s just I think the concept looked so much better.

[Honda Canada]

WTF? 2011 Honda Accord

It’s very clear that Honda had absolutely no ideas when it came to refreshing the 2011 Accord.  They must’ve thought “oh, let’s just add some red reflector strips to the trunk lid to make the Accord tackier”

The front facia is also slightly revised and is now a bit more similar to the Crosstour, which is also a bad idea.

The automatic transmission equipped with the four cylinder has been revised and is now more efficient – by two mpgs.

The coupe also gets similar updates as the sedan except if you opt for the automatic, you get paddle shifters. Also V6 models get different alloys.

Yup, it’s all very exciting, isn’t it?

Check out pics of the coupe after the jump if you care.

Read the rest of this entry »

FAIL: Prius Driver Jailed for Racing?!

Huh?

I recently tested the 2010 Toyota Prius, and even though it isn’t the car for me, I came away quite impressed. One of the things that impressed me was its unexpected power. The Prius can get from 0-100 in 9.8 seconds. That isn’t fast enough to induce any sort of thrills, but for a hybrid, that’s pretty damned good. I even pondered whether I should even mention the Prius’ 0-100 time because I figured no one remotely interested in a Prius would really care. Speed = lots of fuel consumption after all. Apparently I was wrong.

Timothy Hird from Georgia seemingly had a fit of road rage as he was unimpressed with the way a Honda Civic was driving. He then decided to show non-hybrid owners just how fast his Prius could go by racing the Civic. There was lots of back and fourth yelling, and the Prius was apparently able to hold its own, but in the end, a close call with a police officer ended the Civic vs Prius affair.

Both drivers were booked for wreckless driving and Hird even got thrown in jail for it. All this just to prove your Prius is faster than people think?

[Top Speed]

Mazda3 Was Best Selling Car in Canada in April

Mazda’s 3 took top selling car honours in Canada last month.

The Honda Civic usually beats its competitors by a fair margin, but it seems as though Canadians are feeling that the Civic is a bit long in the tooth as Volkswagen was able to unseed the Civic back in February.

But don’t expect the new tougher competition to force Honda into redesigning its Civic. Even though Honda rigorously completely redesigns almost every model on a strict five year schedule, the Civic will be missing its redesign by a year or so. Honda claims new efficiency standards are to blame for the delay, but clearly it’s because the competition is churning out some decent product, and Mazda besting Toyota is the perfect example.

The Golf, the Corolla, upcoming Focus and Cruze aren’t going to wait around for you to reclaim the top spot, Honda.

FAIL: This is Why I Park Like A Jack-Ass

My friends usually make fun of me for where and how I park my car. I refuse to park next to anyone anywhere. Therefore, I park way at the other end of the lot where no one bothers to park because it’s too far from the doors of the store. Because you know, it’s not like North American’s could use the exercise that the extra walk from the car to the door provides. Anyway, even then I only park in corner spaces because there is always some cock bag who will park next to me regardless of how much out of my way I go to ensure that very situation does not happen. And then I park on the line closest to the corner of the space to ensure no dings can ever occur from people who apparently have enough sense to pass a driving test but not enough sense to know how to open a car door properly. People usually call me a jack-ass for purposely parking on the line, but whatever. I figure if I park far enough away, it doesn’t really affect anybody anyhow.

Now, the picture above is a perfect example of why I do this. I don’t think I could describe in words the amount of rage that would consume my body and soul if I was the owner of the Nissan 370Z (40th anniversary edition too!) pictured above while coming back to my car. I would likely bludgeon the owner of the white Honda Accord along their family with an axe. There’s no way the clot who owns the Honda Accord Hybrid didn’t notice how close they had parked to the 370Z. There’s no way there wasn’t any scraping. Judging by the condition of the Accord, the owner obviously doesn’t care about the car to begin with. If there were a car equivalent of child services, I would be tempted to call to save this poor Accord from its reckless owner.

In any event, FAIL FAIL FAIL to the Accord Hybrid owner. I’m going to print this picture and show it to the next person who makes fun of me for parking the way I do.

Volkswagen Golf Best Selling Car in Canada for February

Watch out Honda, zee Germans are coming!

The Civic has been the best selling car in Canada for over a decade – they even have a television commerical boasting about the Civic’s longstanding success.

But that commerical may turn out to be a bit embarrassing now that VW’s Golf took top selling honours for the month of February for the first time ever.

Apparently we have all but forgotten about high gas prices because the Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado and Ford F-150 were also among the top sellers last month.

Honda CR-Z Doing Well In Japan

The supposed successor to the peppy CRX hatchback of the early 90′s is apparently doing well in its home country.

Honda has taken 8,000 orders of the new hybrid after only 3 weeks of it being available for order. Not bad.

What is bad is the lackluster efficiency the car gets considering its size and its hybrid set up. The CR-Z gets 6.5 l/100 kms city and 6.1 l/100 kms highway. Comparitively A Honda Fit can get 7.1 l/100 kms city and 5.5 l/100 kms highway with just a regular gasoline engine. It also has a much cheaper starting price.

Still, the CR-Z promises to be performance oriented as it is one of the few hybrids (perhaps only hybrid) to offer a 6-speed manual transmission. 40% of Japanese who ordered a CR-Z so far have checked the 6-speed manual box in the option list.

But then you look at the horsepower numbers: 122 horsepower and 128 pound foot of torque. Extremely weak numbers on paper for a so-called performance oriented vehicle, despite the hybrid technology. The CR-Z better be extremely light like its CRX predecesor if it wishes to retain any credibility.

Although if the 8,000 number of CR-Z’s already ordered is any indication, credibility won’t really even matter.

Canadian Black Book Announces Best Retained Value Winners

If you want to get the most back from your car when selling it after four years, Canadian Black book has made it a bit easier for you to decide what to buy in the first place.

They have compiled a list of cars that best retain their value from MSRP four years later into 17 categories.

Find out who got the honours after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wagon Comeback: Acura TSX To Get More Junk in the Trunk

Call us crazy, but we are going to predict a swift return of the wagon. That’s not to say the end of the SUV, but CUV’s are definitely becoming all the rage, and let’s face it, they’re just jacked up station wagons. The term ‘station wagon’ is pretty taboo in the car world so you’ll hear car companies come up with new cooler sounding names such as ‘Sportcombi’ or ‘Avant’. Call it whatever you want, they’re wagons.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes you just need to haul more stuff more often than not and you shouldn’t have to sacrifice performance and fuel consumption (like an SUV) in order to get it. Hence, our prediction of the return of the wagon.

Honda has officially announced that the Acura TSX wagon will make its debut at this year’s  New York Auto Show. You don’t debut a model at a U.S auto show unless you plan on selling it in the U.S, so it’s safe to say it’s on its way and insiders are whispering rumours or a fall debut at dealerships. No word yet on powertrain options, but the RDX’s turbo’d  4-cylinder is a strong possibility along with SH-AWD. If they make a stick available then colour us officially intrigued.

Acura is just the latest to step up to the wagon plate with Cadillac introducing a wagon version of their CTS (with rumours of a CTS-V wagon in the works), Saab continuing on with 9-5 and 9-3 wagons, and Volvo slotting a new wagon in their lineup as well.