RideLust

Is it me, or have automobile companies gone out and hired image consultants in an attempt to get us to think that minivans are cool. Toyota for instance has spent big money trying to convince us that their Sienna minivan or “Swagger Wagon” is the answer to making those with kids feel young again. Then there’s the new 2011 Honda Odyssey commercial which states, The Van Beckons, and treats us to some 1980′s hairband music with a black panther thrown in for good measure. Granted it’s hokey, but in the end it’s fun to watch. Lastly we’ve got the latest entry from Dodge in the form of the new 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan R/T that recently debuted at the Chicago Auto Show. This baby has 17-inch wheels, double stitched black leather seats and a V6 that pumps out 283 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. It also rolls on Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires… now I ask you, is that cool?
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Honda's HSV-010GT. Image: Morio

Honda was well into the development process of an NSX successor when the global economy went south, forcing Honda to shelve the project. The car ultimately became Honda’s HSV-010GT race car, campaigned in the Japanese Super GT Series. That posed a problem, as Super GT cars were supposed to be based on production cars, and the HSV-010GT wasn’t. While not technically illegal, the absence of a road-going version of the HSV-010GT violated the spirit of competition, something Honda president Takanobu Ito hopes to put right. Last Friday, Ito confirmed that Honda has restarted development of a high end sports car based on the HSV-010GT race car. Read More…

Any video that contains roller skating ninjas gets an automatic thumbs up by yours truly. We all know that ninjas are awesome, I mean how can they not be? They’re silent, stealthy and can kill you by just touching you. It’s also a well known fact that deep down inside, every man on the planet wants to be one. Just imagine walking up to someone at a party and introducing yourself, “Hi, I’m Mike Musto… professional ninja, how’s the dip?” – yep, that would be tits right there. Now normally ninjas don’t fall under our radar, but since they’re chasing this cute little 3-wheeled Honda Zoe in this video, we just felt the need to mention them. These little buggers were built in the mid-1980′s by Honda and are basically a 3-wheeled enclosed scooter. They feature an 80cc two stroke engine, wipers, blinkers and an electric motor to move you in reverse if you feel the need to go in that direction. Top speed is also about 45 mph as long as you’re not a fatty. If I were you I’d go out and start hunting for one of these today. Who knows, it may just save your life if the men in black come calling.
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The 2012 Civic Si Concept. Image: Honda America Motors

If I had to pick a favorite car below the $25k price point, it would very likely be Honda’s Civic Si. The chassis is superb, the transmission is very good and the car provides exactly the right auditory and visual feedback. Like most four cylinder enthusiast cars, the Civic’s sole weak point is a lack of grunt off the line. Wind the current car’s 2.0 liter, 197 horsepower engine high enough to engage VTEC, and the car runs like a scalded dog. Because the motor only makes 140 ft lb of torque, it’s going to take you a bit to get past the point of VTEC cam transition. Read More…

Right now Honda is doing everything they can think of to pimp out their new semi-sporty CR-Z hybrid coupe to a younger, hipper hybrid crowd (is there such a thing?) The car you see above is called the CR-Z TS-1X Concept and was designed by a division inside Honda known as, the Honda Access Corporation. These are the guys that are in charge of anything and everything aftermarket that Honda produces for their vehicles. Right now all we really know about this little puppy is what you see here. We’ve got a nice matte black paint job, larger aftermarket wheels (18 inch?), what look to be Brembo 4-piston calipers and a very aggressive body kit that’s actually quite heinous. The car is set to debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon show that is held from January 14-16, at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. I get that Honda is trying to be younger and hipper, but I’m not sure that the CR-Z fits the bill in this department.

Source: carscoop.blogspot.com

In 2010, Toyota sold some 106,200 Tacoma pickups. Chevrolet sold nearly 32,650 Colorado pickups, despite the models seven year old design. Honda, on the other hand, sold just 16,142 Ridgeline pickups, which had many critics speculating that the death of the Ridgeline was imminent. Not so, says Honda, who insists that the Ridgeline pickup has a strong following among Honda devotees. That may be true, but devotion, in this case, isn’t translating into sales. Honda’s Executive Vice President, John Mendel, told USA Today that Honda, “has a ways to go with the Ridgeline”, fueling speculation that a next generation model could indeed be in the cards.

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If you like to turn wrenches, chances are good that you have a compression gauge in your tool box. I do, and I used to use it to log compression readings both before and after races, just to give me early warning on developing engine problems. I’d also use it to check out any used cars or bikes I owned, simply because I wasn’t the person who’d broken in the motor. Like the video shows you, they’re easy enough to do, although I’ll admit to not removing spark plugs from all cylinders in advance. I was always more paranoid about sucking dirt and grit into an open spark plug hole than I was about running down the battery.

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Ford's F Series pickups: winner and still champion. Image: Ford Motor Company

Now that the dust has settled from last year’s automobile sales recovery (or the start of the sales recovery, at least), Left Lane News has compiled a list of the top ten selling vehicles in the United States. Aside from a few omissions (like Hyundai’s revamped Sonata, which will likely make the list in 2011), there really aren’t any surprises this year. Three of the top ten vehicles were full sized pickups, which re-iterates the fact that Americans don’t care about such trivial matters as gas prices or fuel economy. Balancing out the full size trucks were compact cars from Toyota and Honda, as well as family sedans from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Ford. The Ford Fusion was the sole domestic car to make the list, which again illustrates that we prefer American full size trucks but Japanese cars.

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Identity theft may not sound like a very frightening thing, but I assure you that if you’re the victim of it your life can be turned upside down. This week American Honda announced that computer hackers got into their systems and stole the information from 2.2 million of Honda’s customers. Thankfully the information did not include such things as social security numbers, and or financial data. It did however include vehicle VIN numbers, customer names and email addresses. A second list of 2.7 million Acura owners was also stolen, but that listing included only the customers email addresses. Owners who were on these lists for both American Honda and Acura have already been notified. If however owners would like to get more information, they can do so at an FAQ page set-up by Honda.

Source: InsideLine.com

Jacobs Media Tech Survey American Car Features

Remember when a base model car, really was a base model car? In today’s car buying age even the cheapest cars sold have features that were considered options not too long ago. High ticket items like power windows, air conditioning and cruise control are now standard on all but the cheapest of the cheap. Automakers understand that in order to get consumers into showrooms that they must now pack their cars full of enticing standard options. For example, my first car was a 1980 Mercury Capri, and it came with such wonderful standard features as heat, roll-up windows, an AM radio and that was it. Pretty spartan by today’s standards, but then again I think the car sold for $4500 brand new.
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