1998 Honda Civic Needs Engine on 2040-cars

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2016 Honda HR-V officially finds its fit in Los Angeles

Honda's extended tease for the 2016 HR-V compact crossover is finally over. The CUV debuted in Japan late, last year, and the company has trotted various versions to shows around the world since then. The time has finally come for all of the details about the US version to be revealed at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show.
Honda has been keeping the HR-V's powertrain a closely guarded secret - until now. All of them get a 1.8-liter four-cylinder that makes 138 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque with the choice of either a six-speed manual or CVT. Either front- or all-wheel drive is available, but the six-speed is only available on front-driving models.
Based on the same platform as the Fit, the HR-V actually doesn't seem to share much with its smaller sibling in terms of looks and instead borrows more cues from its big brother - the latest 2015 CR-V. Bits of Honda's larger crossover peek out in the grille and roof shape, but the HR-V reinterprets the design in its own funky way. Hiding the rear door handles near the rear pillar is an especially clever touch. The compact's wheelbase is 102.8 inches, just 0.3 inches shorter than its larger sibling. However, overall length for the new model is 169.1 inches, about 10 inches shorter than the CR-V.

Honda rolls out new Step WGN in Japan

First introduced back in 1996, the Honda Step WGN (originally styled as Stepwgn) is now entering its fifth generation of hauling families around the Pacific island nation, and packs a number of innovations into its tall and boxy form. For starters, this latest minivan does away with the conventional 2.4-liter engine from its predecessor and replaces it with a new 1.5-liter turbocharged VTEC, driving either the front wheels or all four through a continuously variable transmission. More innovative though is the "Waku Waku Gate," borrowing its name for the Japanese term for "exciting." We're not sure we'd go that far, but it is intriguing: the tailgate can either be opened fully for maximum aperture, or partially split and opened to the side for tighter spots. That ought to make ingress and egress from the seven-passenger cabin that much easier, but once inside it promises to be a more pleasant place as well thanks to Scandinavian-inspired design. It also packs the latest safety features, including pedestrian detection, to keep everyone safer and make the new Step WGN more appealing to Japanese families. Honda to Begin Sales of All-New Step WGN - Equipped with a newly-developed 1.5-liter direct injection VTEC TURBO engine - TOKYO, Japan, April 23, 2015 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will begin sales of the all-new Honda Step WGN on Friday, April 24, 2015, at dealerships across Japan. Equipped with a newly-developed 1.5-liter direct injection VTEC TURBO engine, this fifth-generation Step WGN was designed to be a fun-to-use minivan that features a functional cabin space much like a living room at home, as well as a revolutionary tailgate mechanism named Waku Waku Gate ("Waku Waku" is a Japanese expression for "exciting"). Honda's first 1.5-liter VTEC TURBO engine realizes not only powerful and smooth acceleration with its torque equivalent to that of a 2.4-liter engine but also excellent fuel economy and quietness, achieving the type of leisurely drive people expect from a minivan even with multiple passengers and on hilly roads. Moreover, the all-new Step WGN realizes top-in-class level*1 fuel economy of 17.0km/liter (JC08 mode*2). Furthermore, the all-new Step WGN features the largest cabin space in the class*3 as well as the Waku Waku Gate*4, Honda's original design that functions as a wide tailgate that opens up or as with a sub-door that opens to the side.

Junkyard Gem: 2000 Honda Passport 4WD

The suits at American Honda Motor Company must have spent the bulk of the 1990s tearing out their hair in frustration as their rivals raked in big money from the sales of ever-more-profitable SUVs, even as American car shoppers lost interest in sedans and hatchbacks. Oh, sure, the Civic-based CR-V appeared here for the 1997 model year and sold well enough, but the lack of a larger SUV pained Honda more with each passing year. With the Acura MDX and Honda Pilot not ready for showrooms until the 2001 and 2002 model years, respectively, some stopgap had to be found. Isuzu stepped up and made a deal with Honda: the Rodeo would get Honda badges and become the Passport, while the Trooper would show up in Acura showrooms with SLX badges (for the 1994 and 1995 model years, respectively). Here's one of those Passports, found in a Denver-area self-service yard. Things got even weirder in the Isuzu/Honda world around the turn of the century, with the Honda Odyssey getting Isuzu badges and being sold as the Oasis. Fast-forward to 2009, and the only Isuzu-badged vehicles available new here were rebadged Chevrolets: the I-Series pickup (Chevy Colorado) and the Ascender (Chevy Trailblazer). The Passport name has some interesting American Honda history, stretching back to the first Honda vehicle sold here (and the biggest-selling motor vehicle in human history): the Super Cub. American Honda Motor Company couldn't use the Super Cub name on our shores, because Piper Aircraft had been selling a small plane called the Super Cub since 1949, so the motorcycle was called the Honda 50 over here. Eventually, this bike got a 70cc engine and became the Honda C70 Passport, sales of which continued through the middle 1980s. That means the Passports sitting in your local Honda dealership right now got their name from a one-cylinder motorcycle. General Motors has a Passport connection as well; when GM created the Geo brand to sell rebadged Isuzus, Suzukis, and Toyotas in the United States, it created a marque called Passport to sell the Daewoo LeMans as the Optima in Canada (all the other vehicles sold by Passport dealers were Isuzus). So, Honda's need to offer SUVs in its American dealerships led to an arrangement with GM-connected Isuzu to sell these trucks with a model name bearing links to both companies. So much history in the junkyard! Just as Geo-badged Toyota Corollas (mostly) got Delco radios, so did the Passport get Honda radios.