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Bonkers Honda Vezel headlines Mugen's lineup at Tokyo Auto Salon

Japanese automakers and their tuning divisions have descended upon the Makuhari Messe in Chiba City for the 2014 Tokyo Auto Salon. And for Honda, it's all about Mugen.
Honda's Japanese Domestic Market tuning division brought a series of modified concepts and racing cars to the salon this year, including the CR-Z hybrid touring car it fields in the Super GT series, the SF13 single-seater from the Super Formula series as well as customized versions of the Fit, Odyssey and N-WGN. But the prize for the most outrageous of them all surely goes to the modified Vezel you see above.
Modeled on Honda's new Fit-based crossover, the Mugen Vezel Concept goes further than the versions we've seen until now. It features a bonkers body kit, dual exhaust, brake upgrade, sport suspension, intricate 20-inch alloy wheels and an upgraded interior. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you're feeling still interested, you can check it out in the gallery above, along with the announcement below and the specs on Mugen's website.

2015 Honda Fit

The last time we left our subcompact hero, the plucky Honda Fit was getting a bit long in the tooth. But the second-generation model was still holding its own rather well, and for the enthusiast on a tight budget who wanted it all, it remained the car of record in its class. If you desired an endlessly practical and reliable little hatch that was fun to drive, it didn't get much better than the Fit. Even with nearly every competitor having been fully freshened since the model's introduction in 2009, the Honda managed to fight off also-ran status simply because of how incredibly functional and great to drive it was. Long story short: we loved this car.
Of course, there were a few caveats to the Fit's superhero status. It wasn't particularly fuel efficient, only mustering up, at best, 33 miles per gallon on the highway in a segment where 40-mpg quickly became the new benchmark. What's more, its onboard technology and infotainment was seriously showing its age. While we'd praise the Fit's behind-the-wheel goodness all day long, this shining beacon of great steering and suspension tuning never proved to be all that wonderful for long-distance highway cruising.
Now, say hello to the 2015 Fit, hitting dealerships this spring. Worry not - it's still clever as ever from a packaging standpoint, and comes fitted with lots of newness both inside and out. It's a far more competitive vehicle than its predecessor, and has everything it takes to fight even the toughest of classmates. But just as before, our recommendation doesn't come without a few caveats.

Honda Concept B Hybrid production version coming to China in 2016

At the Beijing Motor Show this weekend, Honda took the wraps off of the Concept B Hybrid, a "new-value concept" that will apparently do its level best to get the Japanese automaker back into the entry-level gas-electric game. Powertrain details for the five-door concept hatch are noticeably absent, so we are assuming that what Honda wants with this concept is for us to focus on the looks. Honda says the car's exterior design is "advanced and cool-looking." We like the shape, but think a few changes will do wonders for the production model.
If the busy front end gets turned down a bit in production (it's especially glaring from the front), we can see this becoming a darn good replacement for the Insight at the lower end of the hybrid price spectrum. Sadly, for now, Honda is saying that the mass-production model that uses the Concept B as a foundation will be available "exclusively" on the Chinese market in two years.
Speaking at the Beijing show, Honda president and CEO Takanobu Ito continued to look for ways to green his company's line-up, and said Honda, "will strive to become number one in complying with Chinese CAFE regulations, which are the toughest in the world, and offer a new lifestyle for Chinese customers." Come 2016, that new lifestyle could look like the car you see in the gallery above. Think it's a good one?