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No S660 for US, but Honda wants sporty cars

Honda, best known lately for being a mainstream player rather than the brand that brought us the CRX Si, NSX, Integra Type-R, and S2000, apparently wants to builds sporty cars for the US again. With that in mind (or not), Honda has ruled out bringing the tiny, sporty S660 roadster across the Pacific. "I wouldn't put my chips on [the S660]," American Honda Executive Vice President John Mendel told Automotive News. At nearly 11.1 feet long, the S660 slots in between the 12.8-foot Mazda MX-5 Miata and the 8.8-foot Smart ForTwo. Yet Mendel says the tiny two-seater wouldn't work here. "When the practicalities of the market come in, and the car only so big, that might not be the best car for the US market," Mendel said. "It might be better for India or China or somewhere else." Honda is considering its options here in the US, though. As AN reports, after his takeover earlier this year, new CEO Takahiro Hachigo promised more sporting models, like the new, US-bound, 300-horsepower Civic Type R. And while it's no secret that Honda has filed patent drawings for a mid-engine model, Mendel offered little to indicate that it'd become a reality. Calling the project from Honda's Silicon Valley research and design facility a "design study," Mendel wouldn't answer AN when it asked whether this new model was successor to the S2000 or a more attainable, lower-powered NSX. He did, however, say his company was getting pressure from dealers over the lack of verve in the company's lineup. "They want anything in the sports car world," Mendel told AN. "They're going, 'Gimme a sports car.' They want a retractable hardtop; they want a high-horsepower $20,000 sports car. Because that's the nature of what they do." There you are, Honda. Your dealers want it, which means your consumers are probably are asking for it, and your CEO wants it, too. Make something happen.

2019 Honda S2000 roadster rumors swell

Our friends over at Car and Driver have been speculating about a possible S2000 roadster from an unnamed insider source. While there's not much to go on, it certainly squares with a steady drumbeat of sporty car innuendo surrounding the company. Let's briefly connect the dots and see if a Honda S2000 might be on the way by 2018, as the rumor says. The little roadster pictured above? Definitely not what a new S2000 would look like. That's the S660, which is sold in Japan and shares some components with the N-Box and N-One microcars. As we told you last year, after some hints that it would come to the US, Honda's brass decided it was too small. That was disappointing, but probably the right call. On the other hand, Honda finally brought out the 2017 Acura NSX, which may have its flaws but still represents a unique platform that the company spent a great deal of yen building ( in Ohio, by the way). It's that bit that the rumor hinges on: Honda's willingness to develop unique platforms for its sporty models. It'd need that for an S2000 revival, because there's certainly no Honda model that could donate its underpinnings at this moment. Honda execs have been clear that the company is under pressure from dealers over the lack of verve in the company's lineup. American Honda Executive Vice President John Mendel told Automotive News last year that dealers "want anything in the sports car world. They're going, 'Gimme a sports car.' They want a retractable hardtop; they want a high-horsepower $20,000-sports car. Because that's the nature of what they do." Honda is allegedly going to utilize some sunk cost by employing the new Civic Type R's engine in this roadster. That 2.0-liter turbocharged four makes 306 hp in the Civic, and would make slightly less than that in the S2000, according to the rumor. At this stage, these rumors are mostly wishful thinking fanned by the flames of dealer pressure for sporty models. We hope Car and Driver's insider has it right, because the S2000 was a phenomenal car that deserves a follow-up – and Honda deserves more fun cars in its American showrooms. Related Video: Featured Gallery Honda S660: Honda Meeting 2015 View 15 Photos News Source: Car and Driver Rumormill Acura Honda Convertible Performance roadster honda s660 rumors

Honda tags Civic, Accord, HR-V, Fit and more in fuel pump recall

American Honda Motor Company's recent issues with fuel pumps continue, as a new recall affects a large number of Honda and Acura vehicles from the 2018-2020 model years. The recall covers a total of 136,057 vehicles, including select 2018-2019 Acura NSX, 2019 Acura RDX, RLX, and RLX Sport Hybrid models, as well as 2018-2019 Honda Accords, Civic Hatchbacks, Civic Type Rs, HR-Vs, 2019-2020 Insights, and 2019 Fits.  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration campaign No. 20V314000, published May 28, 2020, states that the low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tanks of the aforementioned vehicles could falter or completely fail. Should the low-pressure fuel pump fail, the car could stall, regardless of its state of motion. Recall documents reveal fuel pump might fail due to swelling of the fuel pump motor impeller, which would cause the pump to seize. This issue is the result of a problem with how the parts were manufactured. These "lower density impellers" were "exposed to production solvent drying for longer periods of time." This caused some impellers to have surface cracking, which resulted in "excessive fuel absorption," which warps the impellers. Here's a breakdown of how many vehicles of each type were potentially affected:  2018-2019 Acura NSX: 146 2019 Acura RDX: 34,405 2019 RLX: 124 2019 RLX Sport Hybrid: 206 2018-2019 Honda Accord: 11,227 2018-2019 Civic Hatchback: 24,235 2018-2019 Civic Type R: 1,785 2018-2019 HR-V: 39,676 2019-2020 Insight: 14,959 2019 Fit: 9,294 Honda will notify owners to schedule an appointment with local dealerships. The fuel pump assembly on all affected vehicles will be replaced for free. For more information, visit NHTSA. Related Video: