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Scion FR-S pitted against oldtimers RX-8 and S2000

There are very few vehicles available today that compare directly with the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ twins. A case could be made for the Mazda MX-5 Miata, and possibly even six-cylinder versions of American coupes like the Ford Mustang. Pretty much everything else is either too expensive or is powered by the wrong set of wheels.
The boys from EverydayDriver on YouTube decided the only fair way to judge the inherent qualities of the Toyobaru twins was to pit them against two standard-bearers of years past: The Honda S2000 and Mazda RX-8. Neither of these cars is an exact matchup, with the Honda boasting a convertible top and the RX-8 offering more practicality via a rear seat and two reverse-opening doors for easier access. What they do offer, however, are similar performance stats and proven reputations for excellent handling.
None of this talk answers the real question, though: Which one wins the comparison test? Scroll down to watch the video, and be prepared for something of a surprise conclusion.

Honda, Top Gear working on 130-mph lawn mower

We're not even sure they've got a blade of Kentucky Bluegrass to cut, but the folks at Top Gear have gone ahead and started building what will become, if they're successful, the world's fastest lawn mower. Actually, it appears Top Gear is not doing much of the design and assembly work at all, instead having solicited help from experts at Honda and Team Dynamics, which oversees the automaker's touring car efforts.
What the three are working on is a riding lawnmower with a 110-hp engine that can reach 60 miles per hour in four seconds and trim turf at speeds up to 130 mph. If they succeed, such a maximum velocity would put them well ahead of the current record for the world's fastest lawnmower, which is 96.529 mph set by Bobby Cleveland and his Snapper race mower at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September of 2010. Top Gear hasn't said whether or not it will officially go after Cleveland's record, but the build will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Top Gear magazine and is scheduled to be completed by June 17, so we may learn what this maniacal mower's true purpose is then.
According to TG's report on how the build is going, as well as the video of it being fired up (literally) for the first time below, there aren't many actual mower parts left on this machine. What started out as a Honda HF2620 mower now sports wheels and tires from a racing quad, a back axle from a go-kart, a steering rack from a Morris Minor and a 1000cc engine from a Honda VTR1000F sport bike. All that remains from the original mower are the pedals and body panels; even the steel cutting deck has been replaced with a lighter fiberglass version. And blades? This mower will be bladeless, instead using two electric motors to spin lengths of brake cable like a weed whacker.

Automotive April Fools' joke roundup [w/videos]

Happy April, everyone. And we all know what this first day of the month means: April Fools' Day. Today is a national holiday for pranksters with the Internet acting as a serious enabler, and it's always fun to see what kind of vivid imaginations exist out there in the automotive world. The abundance of fake news gets a little old as the day rolls on, but we did manage to get in a few chuckles thanks to a handful of major automakers and automotive news outlets that got into the pranking spirit this year
Some of our favorites this year includes Subaru showing what happens when you combine a bunch of rumors, a Corvette some may have already thought was a joke or Honda providing some in-car innovation circa the late 1980s. Honestly, we're still waiting for official confirmation from Mitsubishi that the recently introduced 2014 Mirage is an elaborate April Fools' joke using a failed design intended for the 1995 Geo Metro. We dug up as much "official" OEM foolishness we could find, as well as some of our other favorites, and posted them all below.