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Question of the Day: What's the most irritating car name?

You hear a lot about how the Chevrolet Nova was a sales flop in Mexico because "No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish; in fact, the Nova sold pretty well south of the border, and in any case most Spanish-speakers know that "Nova" means "new" in Latin and Portuguese. However, General Motors doesn't deserve to be let off the hook for bad car names, because the Oldsmobile Achieva— no doubt inspired by the excruciating "coffee achievers" ads of the 1980s— scrapes the biggest fingernails down the screechiest chalkboard in the US-market car-name world. That is, unless you think Daihatsu's incomprehensible choice of Charade was worse. Meanwhile, Japanese car buyers could get machines with cool names like Mazda Bongo Friendee or Honda Life Dunk. It's just not fair! So, what car name drives you the craziest? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chevrolet Honda Mazda Daihatsu Automotive History questions car names

2013 Honda Civic WTCC is ready for racing

Drumming up a little excitement for the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship, Honda brought its new Civic WTCC car to the bright lights of Geneva for all to see. Honda joined WTCC late last year entering the final three races. The racing outfit will run this year's entire 12-round season, which kicks off later this month in Italy.
In the off-season, Honda made a few updates to its WTCC entry including better aerodynamics, improved suspension and braking and numerous engine and turbo enhancements. Two teams will field the new Civic racecar in this year's season: Honda Racing Team JAS and a private team from Hungary, Zeng"o Motorsport.
Fans of the WTCC in the US will be pleased to know that series makes a return visit to Sonoma Raceway on September 8 for the Race of the United States.

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.