2008 Honda Cr-v Ex Sport Utility 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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We drive Honda's turbo/manual Civic prototype (briefly)

You could almost hear it. There was a furor. And it all had to do with a transmission. On September 16, Honda showed the all-new, tenth-generation Civic. Fitted with a turbocharged engine for the first time, enthusiasts were excited. Until they realized the new 1.5-liter Earth Dreams four-cylinder turbo would only be offered with a continuously variable transmission, something that elicits a passionate, all-consuming, and utterly unquenchable hatred among (most) enthusiasts. Honda was listening. On the recent Civic Coupe launch, the company confirmed to us that a manual transmission will soon be offered on turbocharged Civics, regardless of body style. And then we drove a prototype. Now, let's be very clear, the car we drove was an early test vehicle. It was camouflaged, cobbled together – it was born with a turbo and an automatic before Honda's engineers got their hands on it – and to cap it all off, we got approximately five minutes of seat time. We couldn't even shoot the darn thing, which is why you're looking at one really bad iPhone picture up top. But five minutes is better than nothing at all, right? View 40 Photos The 1.5T and six-speed manual are a natural fit, simply because they're both already so good on their own. Our immediate impression is that even though this is an early development vehicle, fitting the 1.5-liter turbo with a manual transmission is a natural pairing. This is largely because the engine and transmission are so good on their own. We've raved about the turbocharged four-cylinder and its ultra-broad torque peak before – all 162 pound-feet of torque are on tap between 1,700 and 5,500 rpm – but the six-speed stick is no slouch either. Normally paired with the 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated four-cylinder, the clutch's action is light and springy, and finding the catch point is easy. And the shift lever, in typical Honda fashion, has a smooth, enjoyable action and easy-to-access gates. Putting the turbo and manual together doesn't transform a normal Civic into an Si or Type R, but it automatically (sorry) makes for a more engaging and entertaining compact sedan. Because of the broad torque curve, more speed is just a single-gear downshift away. And that downshift is downright easy to kick out, too. Simply put, the turbocharged engine feels more urgent and eager, especially off the line, with the manual.

Dodge Demon 170 reveal experience, Supercharging a non-Tesla and the BMW XM | Autoblog Podcast #774

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They start off with what it was like to be at the reveal for the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 out in Las Vegas. From there, they explore news of the 2024 Acura Integra Type S being revealed to have 5 more horsepower than the Civic Type R. And to round out the news section, there's an Explorer EV out, but it's only for Europe. After that, the two discuss the cars they've been driving, including the 2023 BMW XM, VW Jetta Sport with a manual transmission, our long-term Toyota Sienna minivan and what it was like to charge our long-term Kia EV6 on a Tesla Supercharger. Lastly, the pair spend some money to help a listener buy a car for their daughter who is just starting to drive. Autoblog Podcast # 774 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News Dodge reveals the Challenger SRT Demon 170 in Las Vegas The Acura Integra Type S will officially have 320 horsepower Electric Ford Explorer revealed in Europe What we're driving 2023 BMW XM 2023 VW Jetta Sport Supercharger experience with long-term Kia EV6 Long-term 2023 Toyota Sienna Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 reveal

Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.