2012 Honda Cr-v Ex-l Sport Utility 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Ward's reveals annual 10 Best Engines list for 2013

Ward's Auto has released its annual 10 Best Engines award winners. The 2013 list covers the full width and breadth of the internal combustion spectrum, from a spate of efficient four-cylinders to the most powerful production V8 on the planet. As always, the entries must be available in a production vehicle in the first quarter of 2013 with an MSRP of less than $55,000. The supercharged 3.0-liter V6 from the Audi S5 held on for the fourth consecutive year, and BMW earned two spots on the list with its turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder and turbo 3.0-liter inline-six.
Ford pulled in two awards for its 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and and the supercharged 5.8-liter V8 from the Shelby GT500. Honda matched BMW and Ford with two wins of its own. Wards awarded the 2.4-liter four-cylinder from the Honda Accord Sport as well as the 3.5-liter V6 from the Honda Accord. Chrysler, General Motors and Subaru each garnered a spot on the list as well for the 3.6-liter V6 in the Ram 1500, the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the Cadillac ATS and the 2.0-liter four-cylinder the Subaru BRZ, respectively. You can read the full press release below for more information.

Acura reveals performance EV concept called Performance EV Concept

After teasing a new EV concept for Monterey, Acura made good on its promise Thursday with the unveiling of its rather plainly named Performance EV Concept. Good news: Acura's first in-house EV will be a performance car. Bad news: It's not the one we all hoped it would be. Instead, we're getting another model in the grand tradition of the ZDX — pronounced front end and all. It seems that look is here to stay, so get used to it, because Acura says it plans to build a production model based on this concept starting in late 2025.  That's noteworthy not just because this is Acura's first in-house EV, but because it'll be the first production car to ride on any variant of Honda's new BEV architecture. The mainstream brand is planning to put something based on its 0 Series "Saloon" concept into production in 2026. That's quite the coup (no "e") for Acura, which spent most of the past two years talking about the Ultium-based ZDX project, which by all accounts will be the first and last Acura-badged product of Honda's tie-up with General Motors and its Ultium EV platform.  As you can probably surmise, Acura remains tight-lipped about specifics. Honda (and by extension, Acura) "concept" vehicles have a funny habit of being put into production almost exactly as they sit, so what you see here is likely pretty close to the mystery CUV's final physical form, but battery and motor specs remain nebulous for the time being. We expect a multi-motor setup engineered to mimic the behavior of the SH-AWD system Acura offers in its ICE vehicles. The concept's massive 23-inch wheels encircle a set of four-piston calipers and crossed-drilled rotors — the two most significant hints that we're looking at something meant to move quickly.  If you're in Northern California for Car Week, you can check out Acura's concept at The Quail. The company's presentation is scheduled for 10:36 a.m. local time (What is this, a train schedule?) on Friday. 

Minivan market not what it used to be, but margins make up for it

Residual values for last year's minivans are higher than they were in 2000.
Much like the station wagon was the shuttle of Baby Boomer generation, the minivan has been the primary means of transport for Generations X and Y. Just as the boomers abandoned the Country Squire, though, those kids that were toted around in Grand Caravans and Windstars are adults, and they certainly don't want to be seen in the cars their parents drove.