02 Honda Civic Lx Sedan Auto Trans No Reserve on 2040-cars

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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.

Honda CR-V named Motor Trend SUV of the Year for 2015

Motor Trend has announced the results of its 2015 SUV of the Year competition, and from a field that included the new Porsche Macan, Cadillac Escalade, Subaru Outback, Chevrolet Suburban and BMW X5, the buff book has awarded the gold calipers to the 2015 Honda CR-V. If that result surprises you just a little, well, get to the back of the line.
MT looked at six different categories ranging from overall design to efficiency - both fuel economy and carbon footprint - to safety and value to pick its winner, singling out the refreshed Honda while paying particular praise to its new 2.4-liter Earth Dreams four-cylinder engine and continuously variable transmission. A tighter steering ratio was also cited as a big source of improvement.
"There was a lot of contentious debate," MT Technical Director Frank Markus told Autoblog, indicating that nearly half the judges approached the final round of voting with an eye towards the redesigned Jeep Cherokee. "This year's field included some pretty fancy and fast iron, but the thoughtful changes made by Honda to hone its best-seller entry in that crowded compact cross-over segment really did the trick."

Honda Civic Wagon Concept to debut at Geneva

Honda is getting warmed up for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, with a sketch of some very Euro-flavored forbidden fruit. Seen above (click on the image to see an expanded view) is the Honda Civic Wagon Concept Model - a rather tentative name for a car that Honda claims "provides strong cues for the exterior design of the final mass produced version."
The sketch seen here is obviously very stylized, but we think that if Honda can stay true to its sleek rounded forms and aggressive silhouette, the final product could be quite fetching. Note that this is an image handed out by Honda of Europe, for a European auto show - we have every expectation that that any production-ready Civic wagon will be a Europe-only deal. Sorry, guys.
Find Honda's brief press release below, which also includes news of the European debut of the updated NSX Concept we saw at January's Detroit Auto Show, along with a diesel-powered CR-V.