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Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.

Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle ready for HyFIVE in Europe

The Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is officially fresh off the boat on the other side of the Pond. Honda has delivered its first production fuel-cell vehicle to Europe as part of the Hydrogen for Innovative Vehicles (HyFIVE) demonstration project that's being administered by the European Union, the automaker said Tuesday. The first European drivers of the Clarity Fuel Cell will be in London and Copenhagen. The EU is putting on the HyFIVE project to help promote fuel-cell vehicle adoption as a way to reduce emissions. Honda is one of five automakers that will deploy 185 fuel-cell vehicles to prospective drivers in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the UK. Honda plans to start selling the Clarity Fuel Cell in the US by the end of the year and is expected to offer it both for sale at about $60,000, and for lease at $369 a month. That leasing pricetag is the new magic number when it comes to production fuel-cell vehicles in the States, with the Toyota Mirai sedan also at around that level. Honda said last month that the 2017 model-year version will have a full-tank (of hydrogen) range of 366 miles. That gives the Clarity Fuel Cell the longest range for any production zero-emissions vehicle in the US, beating out the 2016 Tesla Model S P100D (315 miles) and 2017 Mirai (312 miles). Additionally, Honda says that two-thirds of its fleet will be "electrified" by 2030, implying that the Clarity Fuel Cell and its electric and PHEV siblings are just one part of a far broader effort to pull bring the automaker's fleetwide emissions down. Related Video: News Source: Honda Green Honda Hydrogen Cars honda clarity copenhagen

Crossovers versus Cars | Autoblog Podcast #479

Episode #479 of the Autoblog Podcast is here. This week Dan Roth, David Gluckman, and Greg Migliore compare and contrast the strengths of cars and crossovers, and if we'll soon see the long dominance of the midsize sedan ceded to this relative newcomer. It all starts with the Autoblog Garage - check it out! Check out the rundown with times for topics, and thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #479 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics Cars vs. Crossovers In The Autoblog Garage 2016 BMW X5 xDrive40e 2016 Honda Civic 2017 Cadillac CT6 Hosts: Dan Roth, David Gluckman, Greg Migliore Rundown Intro & Garage - 00:00 Cars vs Crossovers - 24:28 Total Duration: 54:55 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts BMW Cadillac Honda SUV crossovers