2000 Honda S2000 on 2040-cars

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Honda delays JDM Legend over quality concerns

Honda has been having some quality issues lately, to say the least. Most of those have revolved around the airbags supplied by Takata, but not exclusively. The new Fit Hybrid, for example, has been subject to five consecutive recalls in the year since it launched. And now the Japanese automaker is reportedly delaying the launch of its new Legend sedan. The Legend, for those unfamiliar, is what Honda calls the Acura RLX in the Japanese Domestic Market – a model that has been subject to a handful of recalls in the United States, affecting components ranging from headlights to seatbelts to suspension bolts. Such quality control issues have prompted Honda to delay the introduction of its flagship sedan in its home market, pushing its arrival in Japanese showrooms back from the fall (when the model was revealed) initially to January 22 and now to February 20, according to the report from Bloomberg. The extra time is earmarked the give Honda engineers the opportunity to look into potential problems with the vehicle's radar safety system and its advanced hybrid powertrain, before introducing it to the local market. Hopefully further recalls can be avoided once deliveries have commenced.

Honda wins Commercial of the Decade, but not for the ad you think [w/VIDEO]

Honda's Commercial of the Decade: "Grrr" - Click above to watch video
The mad men at Adweek recently voted for the Commercial of the Decade (Super Bowl commercials not included) and Honda took top honors over memorable ads from the last ten years by companies like Nike, Budweiser and Sony. That's not a big surprise considering Honda often puts a huge amount of effort into its on-air spots. However, the Japanese automaker didn't win for the commercial you might have expected: "Cog." Though Honda's famous commercial that breaks down a European Accord Tourer into a Rube Goldberg-esque machine was also a finalist, it was beaten by another Honda commercial called "Grrr" that's narrated by Garrison Keillor of all people. You've probably never seen it, but you can after the jump.
Volkswagen also made the list of finalists, but the particular ad chosen out of all the comical VW ads we've seen was unexpected as well. Most surprising carmaker with a commercial in the finals: Saturn. Who knew...

Honda Vezel is the Fit crossover we've been waiting for

"Vezel" may sound like the latest miracle cure from Big Pharma, but in truth it's the long-awaited Fit-based crossover from Honda. Unfortunate name aside, this four-door CUV looks ready for production, because it is.
Shown here in hybrid guise, the subcompact Vezel looks quite sporty, with boldly upswept sheetmetal contours, an aggressively raked backlight, "hidden" rear doorhandles borrowed from the JDM Civic hatchback, and an expressive face with LED headlamps.
Honda is presently confirming that the Vezel will go on sale in both hybrid and gas-only guise in Japan, but it isn't offering anything in the way of specifications other than to say that both models will make use of a 1.5-liter direct-injected engine, the "Sport Hybrid i-DCD" powertrain of course getting a "high-output motor" of unspecified power and what could be a dual-clutch transmission. Honda has declined to make clear whether this is the new 1.5-liter turbocharged VTEC engine we told you about yesterday, but it's a good bet that it is indeed the same new Earth Dreams powerplant. Critically, there's no mention of whether all-wheel drive will be offered.