1998 Honda Civic on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Honda planning sub-NSX S2000 successor

Nine years separated the arrival of the original Acura NSX and the Honda S2000. By that time, the NSX was closer to the end of its fifteen-year production cycle than it was to its beginning. The latest word has it that not only is Honda planning a successor to the S2000, but it's not about to wait that long after the new NSX arrives before it's rolled out.
While the S2000 was a front-mid-engined roadster, its successor will, according to the latest from Auto Express (which we are taking with a grain of salt), be a mid-engined coupe - closer, in other words, to the NSX than the S2000. Power would come from a more potent version of the 2.0-liter turbo four developed for the upcoming new Civic Type R, possibly as part of a hybrid system derived from Honda's upcoming Formula One powertain to develop over 400 horsepower.
Whether the new sports car would revive the S2000 nameplate, and whether it would wear the Honda or Acura badge in the United States, remain to be seen. As does its potential production site: while the previous S2000 was built at the same Takanezawa plant in Tochigi as the original NSX, the new NSX will be built at the new Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio. The new S660 roadster, meanwhile, is set to be assembled at the same Yachiyo plant in Yokkaichi as the original Honda Beat.

2015 Honda Civic Type R prototype

With a name like Earth Dreams, you'd be forgiven for assuming that Honda's new family of turbocharged VTEC engines is more about environmental credentials than performance. And to a large degree they are - particularly in 1.0- and 1.5-liter forms. But the 2.0 is another beast altogether.
Thanks to a high-output turbocharger, direct injection, a high-performance cooling system and, of course, variable valve timing, Honda's new 2.0-liter four produces upwards of 280 horsepower while still complying with upcoming Euro 6 emissions standards. Although actual output has yet to be confirmed, that preliminary figure already compares favorably with the Ford Focus ST (252 hp) and Mazdaspeed3 (274 hp) and rests comfortably in between the Volkswagen GTI (270 hp) and Golf R (296 hp).
Although Honda has already shoehorned the smaller 1.5-liter turbo four and 1.0-liter turbo three-cylinder engines into an Acura ILX and another Civic hatchback, the home it gave the 2.0 betrays more than an engine swap. What you see here is essentially the next Civic Type R, following a long line of Honda hot hatches. With this latest model, the Japanese automaker is targeting the front-drive lap record at the Nürburgring that belongs to the Renaultsport Megane Trophy and before that, to the lightweight Megane R26.R. A tall order, to be sure, so we headed to Honda's R&D center in Tochigi, Japan, to take it out for a ride.

Honda scores big in Automobile Advertising of the Year Awards [w/videos]

This year the Detroit Auto Show didn't just celebrate the automobile, it celebrated how we find out about the automobile, too. Partnering The One Club, this year introduced the 2014 One Show Automobile Advertising of the Year Award to Cobo Hall, celebrating winners in five different categories of advertising: broadcast television, online, interactive, experiential, and print/outdoor. Winners in those categories were judged by 50 creative directors and journalists, while a Public Choice category was chosen from among nearly 20,000 online votes.
Honda walked off with three of the six awards, its Hands spot taking Broadcast honors, its Sound of Honda getting the Online category and Illusions winning Public Choice. Hyundai made the grade in Interactive with Driveway Decision Maker, Fiat captured Print/Outdoor with its "Letters" ad, and Toyota's Tundra Endeavor Campaign spot and BMW's A Window into the Near Future were co-winners for Experiential.
You can watch all of the press release and winning videos below or check out all of the finalists, announced last month, for a refresher.