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2016 Honda Civic Coupe First Drive

[A Honda spokesperson confirmed to Autoblog today that the Honda Civic Coupe equipped with the 2.0-liter engine, which is reviewed below, is not affected by the engine-assembly issue that is at the heart of the stop-sale order currently affecting Civic Sedans. That particular issue was corrected before the Coupe began production. We expect to have more news about a recall involving the 2.0-liter Civic Sedans as soon as the NHTSA officially responds to Honda. - Ed.] Let's not beat around the bush – mechanically, this Honda Civic Coupe is the same as the new-for-2016 sedan, minus a couple of doors. For a lot of consumers, that lack of utility is a big problem, and it's why compact sedan-based coupes are a dying breed. Why spend the same amount of money on a car that drives identically but is less practical? But in the case of the Civic Coupe, we offer this: When a car looks this good, screw logic. The new Civic is one of the most competent vehicles to wear the H-badge in at least a decade. And this new two-door does nearly everything the four-door can do while looking like an absolute stunner. From the A-pillar forward, this is the same reserved but handsome Civic that broke cover in 2015. The new Civic is one of the most competent vehicles to wear the H-badge in at least a decade. Like a mullet (stay with us...), the Civic only gets more interesting as we proceed toward the back. The rear window sits 0.8 inches lower than on the Sedan, but that's only part of what makes the two-door more dramatic. The Coupe is 5.4 inches shorter than the sedan, but all of that is behind the rear axle – the wheelbase is identical. So while the rear window and roofline aren't dramatically lower than the sedan, you just run out of car far more suddenly. The downside, of course, is that you lose three cubic feet of cargo volume, but we think that's a fair price to pay for something that looks this good. Climb inside and feast your eyes on the cabin, which – you guessed it – is essentially exactly the same as what you find in the sedan. The seats get a standard two-tone color scheme and the door panels are ever so slightly different, but that's about it. The big change, of course, is in the backseat, which in this case should really just be reserved for passengers under five feet, five inches. In the video below, you can see your author go from front to back in a Civic Sedan, and then attempt the same feat in the Coupe. It's not pretty.

Ever wonder how to really pronounce Japanese automaker names?

People tend to get very set in their ways when it comes to the pronunciation of words. Just look at the endless debates over whether or not to say the final 'e' in Porsche (which you should in terms of correct German enunciation). Or the argument about whether to follow the British convention and give the 'u' in Jaguar a special delivery or to say the 'ua' diphthong as more of a 'w' sound, as usually happens in the US.
This short video doesn't answer either of those automotive questions, but it does allow a native Japanese speaker to demonstrate the accepted pronunciations for several, major automakers from the country. One benefit is that it clears up the occasional debate over whether Nissan should be said with a long or short 'i' sound. Also, listen closely to how the female host says Mazda as Matsuda, the way it's actually said in the language. Even if this doesn't change the way you enunciate these brands, at least now you know the accurate way in Japanese.

James Glickenhaus' SCG 003 undisguised in street and track form

For James Glickenhaus buying a factory-made supercar isn't good enough; he wants to develop his own. Following up on the Ferrari Enzo-based P4/5 and later the P4/5 Competition, Glickenhaus' latest project is appropriately called the 003, and he's finally displaying it in road trim. These first undisguised photos of the SCG 003S show off a supercar with a front end reminiscent of a Ferrari Enzo. However, the rear evokes the look of a modern endurance racer with a fin running along the spine. A wing at the back connects it all together, and the massive diffuser should keep things planted too. Development of the 003 has been going for over a year by Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, but the company has set quite a challenge for itself to get just right. Glickenhaus wants his latest project to be a true racecar for the street. That idea gets thrown around a lot, but it might be true in this case. In motorsports trim, the SCG 003C (pictured inset) packs a mid-mounted Honda Performance Development twin-turbocharged V6, but the engine sits in a detachable rear subframe. When the time comes for the road, the car converts to the SCG 003S and allegedly swaps in a twin-turbo W12. It makes the vehicle the best of both worlds – at least in theory. SCG reportedly plans to show the 003 at the Geneva Motor Show, so we should get a better look then. Glickenhaus also wants to take the car racing in the 24-hour events at the Nurburgring and Spa later this year.