1999 Honda Civic Lx Sedan 4-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lewis Hamilton has Vettel in crosshairs at Canadian Grand Prix

MONTREAL - The Canadian Grand Prix has been a happy hunting ground for Lewis Hamilton, and he will look to bag a sixth career win on the island circuit on Sunday to refuel his hopes of another Formula One drivers title. With 14 races remaining on the calendar, it is far from do-or-die for Hamilton, but the pressure is mounting on the Briton and Mercedes with arch rival Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari threatening to widen the gap at the top of the championship standings. Only Michael Schumacher has won the Canadian Grand Prix more times (seven), and Hamilton intends to close the gap further in Montreal as the race marks its 50th anniversary. Hamilton needs to do so, at the scene of his first ever Formula One victory a decade ago, to reel in Vettel after the German led a Ferrari one-two in Monaco and powered 25 points clear. "Montreal has been a great hunting ground for me in the past, and I plan for it to continue," the triple world champion told reporters. With five wins and five poles from previous visits to Quebec, Hamilton would normally be the favorite, but champions Mercedes are no longer the dominant team. "The Ferrari seems to work everywhere. The next 14 races are going to be very, very difficult," he said after struggling to seventh place in Monaco. "They have had arguably the strongest car all year. They look like our car which just worked everywhere last year." The race will also mark the return of twice world champion Fernando Alonso to the Formula One grid after the Spaniard skipped the Monaco Grand Prix last month to chase IndyCar glory at Indianapolis 500. Alonso turned in an impressive performance at the famed Brickyard, qualifying fifth fastest and running at the front but late in the race suffered a familiar fate with his Honda engine giving up. Little has changed at struggling McLaren during Alonso's brief sabbatical with the team still hampered by an uncompetitive Honda engine. There is plenty of reason to party around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this week with the city celebrating its 375th anniversary, Canada its 150th birthday and the Canadian Grand Prix its 50th. Williams driver Lance Stroll will be hoping to contribute to the party atmosphere. For the first time since the days of 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, the Canadian Grand Prix will have some true home interest with teenager Stroll on the starting grid for Williams.

2013 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists announced [w/poll]

2012 is almost in the books and automakers are spending December gearing up for the 2013 auto show season, which tips off next month at the Detroit Auto Show. Traditionally, the latter opens up with the announcement of the North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards, and this year figures to be no different.
But up until this moment, we didn't know which six vehicles would be parked ahead of the stage as finalists, with executives and engineers waiting for the winners to be disclosed. Whittled down from October's "short list" of nominees (11 cars and 10 truck/utility vehicles), the finalists are as follows:
2013 North American Car of the Year:

1964 Honda SM600 roadster gets elemental in Jay Leno's Garage

Honda has made a handful of sports cars in the past, with examples like the Acura NSX and Honda S2000 standing as noteworthy examples. But before either of them came along, there was the Honda S600. And Jay Leno has a beautiful example from 1964 in his garage for this latest video installment. The inspiration for the new JDM S660, the original S600 came out in 1964 – which just happened to be the same year that Honda broke into Formula One. And you can hear that relationship when the dual-chain-drive 600cc inline-four revs up to its 9,500-rpm redline. It may not have had the power of contemporary British roadsters from MG and Triumph, but it had plenty of character. When Leno got a hold of this one – a top spec SM model – he and his team took it apart nut and bolt, powder-coated the chassis, resprayed the body and put it all back together better than new. But you'll want to hear Jay tell the story himself in this fifteen-minute video clip. News Source: Jay Leno's Garage via YouTube Celebrities Honda Convertible Classics Videos Jay Lenos Garage