2000 Honda Prelude Base Coupe 2-door 2.2l on 2040-cars

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Honda S660 set for Yokkaichi production next year

Roadsters, you might argue, are best when they're small and nimble. If you're thinking of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, you're on the right track, but there have been even smaller ones: pint-sized, three-cylinder roadsters like the Daihatsu Copen, Suzuki Cappuccino and Smart Roadster. But the most iconic and enduring of them was surely the Honda Beat.
Designed by Pininfarina, the Beat was - not unlike the F40 was for Enzo Ferrari - the last car approved for production by company founder Soichiro Honda. It complied with Japan's strict Kei car regulations and packed a tiny, naturally aspirated 656 cc that produced just 63 horsepower. The cult classic ended production in 1996, but six months ago Honda hinted at a revival with the presentation of the S660 concept at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Now it seems Honda - or Yachiyo, we should say - is gearing up to put it into production at the same factory that produced the Beat two decades ago.
That plant is the Yokkaichi factory, a facility owned by Yachiyo Industry Co., Ltd. that builds small cars on contract for Honda. It was slated for a major expansion a few years ago until Honda shifted some of its small car production to its own plant in Suzuka, but continues to build the N series of boxy, upright hatchbacks, as well as small commercial vehicles like the Life and Vamos lines. The reintroduction of a small roadster line to the factory's output sometime in 2015 will undoubtedly be a cause for celebration in Yokkaichi. For our part we can only hope that American Honda CEO Tetsuo Iwamura gets his way and manages to bring the S660 to the US in the near future.

Honda integrating Siri into select models

Honda has partnered up with Apple to bring Siri to the Accord, Acura RDX and ILX. Owners who have an iPhone running iOS 6 will be able to ask the software to perform a number of tasks via voice command using the vehicle's on board microphone and speaker systems. What's more, the tech will put the iPhone into an "eyes free" mode, which turns the screen off to help reduce distraction while driving. Honda says it has reworked its Bluetooth and HandsFreeLink systems to accommodate the Siri functionality. While the tech will only be available on three of the company's models right now, we imagine it won't be long before it shows up elsewhere.
As you may recall, Chevrolet integrated Siri into its products with vehicles like the Spark and Sonic, but Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler have also toyed with the tech to varying degrees. The seamless voice command seems to be light years ahead of the tech manufacturers are currently playing with. Check out the full press release from Honda below for more information.

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.