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Next Honda Civic to get 1.5L turbo

The low-displacement, turbocharged engine is all the rage these days throughout the auto industry, whether considering the 1.0-liter, three-cylinder EcoBoost from Ford or even Ferrari opting for a downsized turbo V8 in the latest 488 GTB. It looks like Honda might be the next one to follow this trend, and it could happen as soon as the next-gen Civic. "Downsized turbocharging will be the base, even for the Civic," Honda Research and Development boss Yoshiharu Yamamoto said to Automotive News. That included the US, he indicated. "Quite a bit will switch over to turbo, but there will still be some naturally aspirated ones remaining." The engine reportedly is a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder that offers better fuel economy, lower emissions and the power of a naturally aspirated mill of between 2.0- and 2.4-liters, according to AN. Since the current Civic gets 143 horsepower from its 1.8-liter four that suggests a healthy power bump for the future model. Making the news even more tantalizing, the new Civic with the 1.5-liter turbo could be revealed before the end of the year, according to Automotive News. Honda already confirmed a $340 million investment into its Anna, Ohio, plant to build the engines later this year. Honda first mentioned a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder in 2013 along with the 2.0-liter turbo now in the Civic Type R in Europe. At the time, the brand said these engines would appear in "a number of future global models." The HR-V in the US was also previously rumored to use the same powerplant.

2016 April Fools' Day: Morgan digs at Tesla, Mini's scissor doors, more

Every year automakers go out of their way to come up with gags for April Fools' Day. Sometimes the jokes fall flat, but occasionally a company really nails it with an idea that we'd actually love to see. Rather than scouring the Web for all of these stunts, you can find some of our favorites right here. Morgan MOGrod The Morgan Motor Company's MOGrod is one of our favorite April Fools' jokes so far this year because it's a car we wish could be real. The company says on Twitter that the retro hot rod uses a 3.7-liter Ford V6, and there are already 250,000 preorders, which is a play on the huge number of reservations for the Tesla Model 3. Morgan took the joke even further by sketching a landspeed record version for the Bonneville Salt Flats. Mini Scissor Doors The people at Mini apparently have a lot of free time because the company has two gags this year. The first is the scissor door option. The idea cleverly plays on the myriad ways customers can customize their Mini, but this solution doesn't look like anyone could easily enter the car due to the way these doors open. Mini Hipster Hatch There's also the Hipster Mini, which is a much funnier idea. This fictional hatchback would be perfect for fashionable Millennials thanks to features like Instagram-filter windows and a fixed-gear drivetrain, which limits the top speed to 25 miles per hour. The interior uses stonewash denim upholstery and packs a twin-deck cassette player. Skoda Dog Umbrella People love dogs, and owners know that a wet canine can be a mess. Skoda is ready to tackle this problem with an umbrella for your mutt. Made from unobtainium, the gadget hides in the door when not in use, but when raindrops start falling, people can keep their pup dry. Skoda Snowman Skoda's Facebook page also teases us with a very cool vehicle. The Snowman is a 396-horsepower plug-in hybrid snow machine. With its tracks, the company's newest model would never have to worry about getting stuck in the winter. Opel Adam C Sure, electricity and hydrogen are cleaner forms of fuel than gasoline or diesel, but Opel has a way to make your car even more environmentally friendly – muscle power. Wind up the crank at the rear for 15 minutes, and the Opel Adam C is good for 125 miles. GM's European division also claims that owners get a great workout because a full winding session burns 400 calories. You wouldn't feel guilty about picking up that pizza after cranking up this hatchback.

McLaren-Honda drops the bling for stealth F1 livery

Watch a Formula One grand prix and you can instantly tell which are the McLarens, visible as they are from a mile away with their reflective chrome livery. But that's all about to change as the British team has dropped the chrome in favor of the more subdued livery you see here. Unveiled in time for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, the new McLaren livery replaces the bling with a gray so dark that it borders on black. The red accents remain, albeit in a revised pattern. The new livery promises to be less reflective at sunset and flood-lit night races especially, while providing more of a visual break from the Mercedes era now that the team is powered once again by Honda. McLaren first adopted the silver and black livery in 1997 after Marlboro (with its white and red livery) left for Ferrari and the West tobacco brand was brought in instead. The team parted company with West after the ban on tobacco advertising in sports was instituted in Europe in 2005, inserted some red into the livery and replaced the flat silver with chrome. This weekend's race will mark the first time in a decade, then, that McLaren will be racing without the chrome. Featured Gallery 2015 McLaren-Honda MP4-30: Gray Livery News Source: McLaren via Facebook Motorsports Honda McLaren Racing Vehicles F1 livery mclaren-honda