GTscene - Cars, Girls and whats going on around you! » civic

Poor economy takes toll on Acura lineup

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:57:38 +0000

Apart from Lexus, Japanese luxury brands still pale in comparison to their German rivals in terms of the number of models they produce and the prices they can command. Overall image in the marketplace and status on the street have likewise proven difficult to develop. That’s why Acura is making a hard push specifically to boost its image and achieve ‘tier 1′ luxury automaker status, but unfortunately the poor state of the economy has thrown a spanner into the works.

The biggest victim was a planned a replacement for the NSX supercar, which was officially canned last December despite development work being nearly complete. The vehicle was to feature a 600 horsepower V-10 engine and be a rival to cars like the Ferrari F430, Nissan GT-R and upcoming Lexus LF-A.

Another kick in the guts for performance fans was the cancelation of a new rear-wheel-drive V-8 program.

Not all is lost, however, as these programs have been shelved for now but may be resurrected if the economy picks up.

As for the rest of the lineup, Acura will be adopting a new focus on fuel economy rather than performance as a way to differentiate itself in the luxury segment. Some of the highlights of company’s product plans for the 2010-12 model years are listed below.

Acura is currently considering a compact car replacement for its RSX, which could arrive in time for the 2012 model year if designers borrow the platform from the next-generation Honda Civic. This could be followed by a new CL coupe, though there are no plans as yet for such a vehicle.

The next-generation RL was expected to arrive in time for the 2011 model year and sport the company’s new rear-wheel-drive V-8 platform. Instead, Acura is likely to stick with the current model’s V-6 and front-wheel-drive design.

Both the RDX the MDX have been updated for the 2010 model year and will have to continue on until redesigned versions appear in 2012. Late this year, Acura will also be adding the all-new ZDX crossover to its lineup.

Honda announces further U.S./Canada production cuts

admin — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 11:07:10 +0000

Japanese automaker Honda says it plans to cut North American production by another 29,000 vehicles effective immediately. The production cuts don’t include any related personnel cuts, but they do further slash the automaker’s fiscal year output to 1.264 million vehicles – over 200,000 fewer than projected.

Honda’s fiscal year ends in just over two months on March 31. The automaker’s initial forecast called for 1.468 million vehicles to be produced in North America during the fiscal year, but now production is down 12 percent over the previous year.

Honda will cut a further 14,000 vehicles from East Liberty and Marysville, Ohio, where the Civic, Element, CR-V, Accord and Acura TL and RDX are made. The Lincoln, Alabama, plant that produces the Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline and Accord will see 6,000 fewer vehicels. In Canada, the Alliston, Ontario, facility that assembles the Civic and Acura CSX and MDX will lose 9,000 vehicles.

Honda says the production cuts will come by way of idled production days and slowed assembly lines.

Honda official vehicle of NHL

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:19:35 +0000

Honda has gone and done it again. Toyota, GM, Ford, Chrysler are all struggling with lack of sales and Honda is out spending money on an NHL sponsorship. Go figure.

Honda Manufacturing Co. and The National Hockey League have announced that they are entering into a mutual brand partnership.

Honda has previously sponsored the arena, which houses the Anaheim Ducks named the Honda Center in California.

The NHL, has signed a 3 year deal with Honda to be the official vehicle for the entire NHL. It is unknown at this time how Ford’s relationship will be affected by this move, as Ford has been the previous “official vehicle” of the NHL.

We expect thorough advertising campaigns on Honda’s part in both print and digital media announcing the sponsorship.

I’d like to see a Zamboni with VTEC please.

Chevrolet’s new compact will be called the Cruze

thetruth — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:28:51 +0000

Chevrolet’s new compact will be called the Cruze

It has been announced today that the new mini car that Chevy has been trying to keep under wraps will be called the Cruze.

The name is the derivative of the word Cruise. The car is the replacement of the current run of the Cobalt. The Cobalt has been Chevy’s latest best selling vehicle since being introduced in late 2004 as a 2005 model. The current Cobalt model sells an average of 200,000 vehicles annually.

A production version of the Cruze will be shown at the Paris Auto show this fall with production to begin in mid 2010 as a 2011 model. The Cruze will be built in the existing Cobalt manufacturing facility in Lordstown, Ohio.

The Cruze is built on GM’s Delta compact car platform and will be powered by a 1.4 liter turbocharged global engine, which was recently announced in Europe. The engine itself will be built at the Flint, Michigan engine plant.

The powerplant will put out 120 to 140hp, with efficiency exceeding 40mpg. It will be initially introduced as a sedan, with no word yet on a coupe version.

The Cruze according to insiders is aimed to compete with the Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta and Ford Focus.

For the latest news on the Cruze, please visit www.CruzeChat.com

New technologies

thetruth — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:51:43 +0000

Whenever we think of new technologies, we think of medical, electronics… bla bla bla. We almost never think of incorporating older technologies with newer ones.

Sometimes we think of ourselves as explorers, incorporating new techie things into cars like aftermarket computers etc etc etc…

Then once in a while something comes along that truly shocks people. One such item today that shocked me was a perfectly mint EF civic with a K series swap. Individual throttle bodies.

I saw it at this years CSCS season opener in Cayuga. It was interesting, because it’s the first time i’ve seen a K swap with ITB’s in person in an EF hatch. It ran 11.8 at I don’t remember what mph.

You can see the pic at the bottom. If you wanna see the rest of the pics follow the link : here