Red Sedan V6 Black Soft Top Auto Leather Sunroof Sat Radio Heated Seats Finance on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Goodbye, Shelby GT350; hello, new Honda Ridgeline and Subaru BRZ | Autoblog Podcast #648

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. This week's news includes Subaru teasing the next-generation Subaru BRZ, the Jaguar XE departing and the XF getting an update, Honda unveiling the new Ridgeline pickup and the Acura NSX suffering from slow sales. This week they talk about driving two vehicles on opposite ends of the spectrum: the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and the Volkswagen Atlas. Autoblog Podcast #648 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Subaru previews next-generation BRZ, announces fall 2020 unveiling date Jaguar XE axed from U.S. market: And then there was one sedan 2021 Jaguar XF gets new interior, down to four-cylinder engines and sedan body style 2021 Honda Ridgeline debuts, and it finally looks like a truck Acura NSX sales lagging Cars we're driving: 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Heritage Edition 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

2015 Honda CR-V

Honda sold 335,000 CR-Vs in 2014, meaning the long-running compact CUV accounted for one in every four Honda-badged vehicles sold. And honestly, it's not too difficult to see why. It's efficient, comfortable, reasonably well equipped and reliable, much as it has always been. While it's arguably the least-exciting entry in what is, to be frank, a fairly dull class, the CR-V has always been remarkably competent at being all the vehicle its customers could possibly need. The facelifted 2015 model is all of those things and more, as we found out during a full week at the helm. Honda has been remarkably consistent in the slow evolution of the CR-V's styling over the years. If you were to compare the rear of the third-generation model (released way back in 2007 and updated in 2010) with the back of this fourth-generation version (released in 2012 and freshened for this most recent model year) you'd be hard pressed to tell one from the other. The 2007 model featured tall taillights that got wider at the bottom, while a low rear bumper, large aperture and upright tailgate made access to the rear cargo area a piece of cake... just like the 2015 model shown above. Honda has been more progressive in front for its new CR-V, however, retaining the same wide, canted headlights and three-slat grille that first appeared in 2012, but this time lining them in LED accents (as is the trend nowadays). As for the interior, the material quality is easily among the best in this fiercely competitive segment, with soft, attractive dashboard plastics. We aren't crazy about the faux leather stitching, although that's true on a lot of vehicles in this class. Other accents, like the thin strip of faux wood at the bottom of the dash, look good and have a quality feel. The leather-wrapped steering wheel is a nice item, too, and we couldn't be happier about Honda's decision to replace the old-fashioned ruched leather on the seats with cleaner, tauter hides. Those seats are quite wide and comfortable, as well, although they aren't exploding with side support for cornering (it's a Honda CR-V, after all). Visibility is excellent fore, aft and laterally, regardless of how you set up the seat. In back, leg and headroom are both in abundance, while the bench seat should prove adequate throughout a family's normal use, or on long drives. That isn't to say there aren't problems in the cabin, though.

Honda to spool up turbos, workforce with F1 tech

Honda has had a longer and more tumultuous relationship with Formula One than just about any other automaker. It had only been building cars for four years before it entered F1 in 1964 as the first Japanese team in the series, winning its first race the following season but shuttering the program a few years later. Honda came back to power the likes of Williams and McLaren to several World Championships in the '80s and '90s, but things took a downturn when it started a partnership and ultimately took over British American Racing. After pouring untold billions into the effort, the economy tanked, and Honda ultimately sold the team, which subsequently claimed the championship - under new ownership and Mercedes power. Now Honda is gearing up to return in 2015 with a new turbocharged V6 hybrid powertrain it's supplying initially to McLaren, which in turn is switching back to Honda from nearly two decades with Mercedes.
So why return to F1 now? That's precisely what Autoblog asked Honda's Global President and Chief Executive Takanobu Ito (pictured above with McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh) while visiting his office in Tokyo. While he wouldn't reveal specifics (like when his company's new engine would be available to other teams, as it most certainly will in the long run), Ito-san was clearly happy to discuss the motivation behind the move and the value he feels it brings to the company and its products.
Ito pointed toward the proliferation of motors within Honda's powertrains as a development he hopes to take to road from track