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British Honda CR-V looks tough, gets diesel and 9-speed auto

Honda just took the wraps off of its thoroughly updated 2015 CR-V for the US, with a touch more style and improved powertrain to provide more torque and better fuel economy. In our First Drive, we found that all of the changes really focused the CUV even more towards the desires of its audience of mostly families. European crossover shoppers don't have to wait too long to see these tweaks for themselves and get a few exclusive upgrades of their own.
While US models get a torquier gasoline engine, Europe loves its diesels. Therefore, the CR-V over there benefits from a more powerful 1.6-liter i-DTEC oil-burner that produces 158 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. This new addition is only available on the four-wheel drive version, and it replaces the previous 2.2-liter diesel in the lineup. Also as opposed to the CVT here, there's now an optional nine-speed automatic gearbox across the pond.
According to Honda, the new diesel with a six-speed manual drops emissions by 11 percent compared to its predecessor. Opting for the nine-speed auto makes things 20 percent cleaner in contrast to the previous 2.2-liter CR-V with an auto.

Acura replaces chief Accavitti with designer Ikeda

Acura is shaking up its senior leadership, as Honda ushers the current chief of its luxury division out the door and replaces him with a new one. Exiting stage left is Mike Accavitti, who held the reins at the premium automaker as its senior vice president and general manager of the Acura division. Taking his place will be Jon Ikeda, one of the Japanese automaker's most senior designers. Accavitti (pictured above at left) had been promoted to the job from his previous position as senior vice president of auto operations after Honda separated the Acura brand into its own division. He had previously served as a senior executive at Chrysler, rising up the ranks to run the Dodge brand, and joined Honda in 2011 as its chief marketing officer. At this point it remains unclear why Accavitti is leaving and where he might land, but Honda says he's leaving the company altogether. To replace Accavitti, Honda has named Jon Ikeda (pictured above at right), a veteran designer with the company. A graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, Ikeda has worked for Honda on both sides of the Pacific since 1989. He previous headed up the design and product planning divisions at Honda's American R&D operations, and was instrumental in creating an independent design office for the Acura brand, separate from Honda's. This isn't the first time we've seen Accavitti replaced in his role as a senior executive by a design veteran. After only four months at CEO of the Dodge brand, he was replaced by Ralph Gilles, who retained his role as senior vice president of design for the entire Chrysler group in parallel. Gilles was ultimately replaced as head of Dodge as well, but was recently promoted to serve as head of design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Related Video: Acura Announces Leadership Changes TORRANCE, Calif. July 27, 2015 – Acura today announced that Jon Ikeda has been promoted to Vice President and General Manager of the Acura Division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. In this role, Ikeda will oversee all Acura brand activities including sales, marketing and parts and service. Ikeda was formerly Division Director of Auto Design at Honda R&D Americas, Inc. (HRA). He began his career at Honda in Japan in 1989, joining the advanced design studio in Tokyo, where he worked on the award-winning Honda FSX show car. After six years in Japan, he returned to Los Angeles in 1995, to continue his career at Honda R&D in Torrance, California.

McLaren MP4-X concept shows innovation won't die in F1's future [w/video]

Despite things like turbocharging and kinetic-energy recovery, today's Formula One cars look more or less like the ones that lapped the world's race tracks 20 years ago. Sure, they're much more aero intensive, but the basic look is the same. McLaren, which probably had some serious free time this season considering its misfortunes, has imagined a futuristic F1 car that adopts many innovative and somewhat controversial additions. It's called the McLaren MP4-X, and the most obvious change is the closed cockpit. The death of Jules Bianchi, the accidents involving Maria De Villota and Felipe Massa, and even the death of Ayrton Senna could have all potentially been avoided by adopting a strong closed-cockpit design, like the one advocated here by McLaren. It's also worth pointing out that this design is a boon for aerodynamics. Inside that cockpit, drivers would enjoy an augmented reality display system, sort of like that used by F-35 Lightning II fighter pilots. There'd also be an independent head-up display that McLaren claims could be used to transmit info about race position and flag status. So basically, the kind of data you'd get playing Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo. Speaking of safety, the MP4-X's entire chassis, beyond the closed roof, would be far safer thanks to the use of "negative-stiffness material structures." Essentially, these materials can soak up the force of an impact and then bounce, for lack of a better term, back into shape. And if you're thinking like we are, this sounds like McLaren wants 900-horsepower bumper cars. Of course, 900 hp is speculation on our end. McLaren is deliberately vague on the powertrain of this concept. Advanced hybrid powertrains aren't surprising, although the team's mention of inductive, wireless charging on tracks sounds like the stuff of Formula E's dreams. In a move that McLaren says "tears up the rulebook," the MP4-X would see a return of ground effects. The underbody would feature enormous venturi tunnels to suck the car to the track. Alongside active aerodynamics that tweak the its shape for turns and straights, this concept McLaren would be both more slippery and offer more downforce than today's cars. There's a lot more on the MP4-X concept than we can talk about here, so head over to McLaren Honda's official website for all the nitty gritty details on this car's advanced systems, including solar cells, advanced tire sensors, and even virtual logos. It all sounds very, very cool.