2011 Honda Ridgeline Rtl on 2040-cars

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Honda Concept B Hybrid production version coming to China in 2016

At the Beijing Motor Show this weekend, Honda took the wraps off of the Concept B Hybrid, a "new-value concept" that will apparently do its level best to get the Japanese automaker back into the entry-level gas-electric game. Powertrain details for the five-door concept hatch are noticeably absent, so we are assuming that what Honda wants with this concept is for us to focus on the looks. Honda says the car's exterior design is "advanced and cool-looking." We like the shape, but think a few changes will do wonders for the production model.
If the busy front end gets turned down a bit in production (it's especially glaring from the front), we can see this becoming a darn good replacement for the Insight at the lower end of the hybrid price spectrum. Sadly, for now, Honda is saying that the mass-production model that uses the Concept B as a foundation will be available "exclusively" on the Chinese market in two years.
Speaking at the Beijing show, Honda president and CEO Takanobu Ito continued to look for ways to green his company's line-up, and said Honda, "will strive to become number one in complying with Chinese CAFE regulations, which are the toughest in the world, and offer a new lifestyle for Chinese customers." Come 2016, that new lifestyle could look like the car you see in the gallery above. Think it's a good one?

Autoblog Minute: VW finds CO2 'irregularities', Takata dropped by automakers, SEMA recap

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle, US regulators hit Takata Corporation with a substantial fine, and we head to Las Vegas for a look at tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal gets a new wrinkle. US regulators issue a significant fine to Takata Corporation. And we take a peek inside tuner paradise at the 2015 SEMA show. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. The VW diesel emissions scandal, first brought to light in September, gets a new wrinkle, as an internal investigation by the German automaker revealed [00:00:30] irregularities in CO2 emissions that could affect approximately 800,000 vehicles. VW estimates the issue could pose a 2-billion euro economic risk. VW claims that most of the vehicles affected have diesel engines, but industry analysts say a 1.4-liter gas engine is also affected. VW says that fuel consumption figures were set too low during the CO2 certification process. During all of this, sales of some diesel-powered Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche models [00:01:00] have been halted. Takata Corporation is back in the news in connection with its deadly airbag scandal. Federal regulators fined Takata $70 million. If the parts supplier does not comply, the fine could balloon to $200 million. Takata was also dropped this week by its biggest customer, Honda. And now, Toyota and Mazda will be following Honda's lead in dropping Takata. We're also hearing that Mitsubishi and Subaru are considering a switch in air-bag inflator suppliers. SEMA 2015 [00:01:30] came and went. We saw offerings from Mopar, like the AWD Challenger concept. Honda unveiled a Ridgeline that it will race at the Baja 1000, which gives us a hint at what future production model could look like. The celebrity presence was also felt in Vegas as it always is. Kid Rock brought a Duramax Diesel Chevy Silverado, and Acura restored and presented Ludacris with his now famous 1993 Acura Legend. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to come back on Saturday for my full recap, [00:02:00] where I'll have some added insight into Hyundai's foray into the luxury sector. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive.

Honda Civic Type R clocks 7:50.63 front-drive 'Ring record

Lapping the Nurburgring in under seven minutes may be the ultimate bragging right for supercars, but further back down the field, a battle is being waged between front-drive hot hatches to see which can scope a lap time under eight. Seat was first to claim the crown with the Leon Cupra at 7:58, which was subsequently beaten by the Renaultsport Megane 275 Trophy-R at 7:54. All the while Honda pledged to take the record with the new Civic Type R. And that's just what it's done. As you can see from the video above, Honda's new hot hatch clocked a time of 7:50.63, making it the fastest front-driver ever to lap the Nordschleife and blindingly fast by any account. Honda suggests that the lap was clocked while testing the stock street-legal rubber (and not on slicks) and claims that the roll cage clearly seen in the video was fitted "for safety reasons and not to add rigidity," with extraneous equipment like the front passenger seat and audio system were removed to compensate for the cage's weight. Of course with no official sanctioning body verifying these times and the equipment in which they're achieved, they're a subject of much debate, but there's no getting around the fact that the new Civic Type R is one very serious piece of machinery indeed. NEW HONDA CIVIC TYPE R THROWS DOWN NURBURGRING GAUNTLET - Honda announces Nurburgring lap time for Civic Type R development car - 7 minutes 50.63 seconds lap time is unmatched in the front-wheel drive hot hatch class - Lap time achieved in development car with technical specifications representative of the final production car At the world premiere of its all-new Civic Type R at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (5 - 15 March; Stand 4250, Hall 4), Honda announced that a development car had achieved a 7 minutes 50.63 seconds lap time of the legendary 20.8 km/12.9 mile Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany. This time is unmatched by any other front-wheel drive performance hatchback. The lap time was achieved during the final phase of pre-production testing in May 2014 by a Civic Type R development car. The development car was in a standard state of engine tune, with suspension, drivetrain, exhaust, brakes and the aerodynamic package identical to those of the production Civic Type R. The removal of equipment such as air conditioning, the front passenger seat and audio equipment offset the additional weight of a full roll cage (installed specifically for safety reasons and not to add rigidity).