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2013 Honda Civic WTCC is ready for racing

Drumming up a little excitement for the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship, Honda brought its new Civic WTCC car to the bright lights of Geneva for all to see. Honda joined WTCC late last year entering the final three races. The racing outfit will run this year's entire 12-round season, which kicks off later this month in Italy.
In the off-season, Honda made a few updates to its WTCC entry including better aerodynamics, improved suspension and braking and numerous engine and turbo enhancements. Two teams will field the new Civic racecar in this year's season: Honda Racing Team JAS and a private team from Hungary, Zeng"o Motorsport.
Fans of the WTCC in the US will be pleased to know that series makes a return visit to Sonoma Raceway on September 8 for the Race of the United States.

Why Honda of America won't fit 2014 Fit models with start/stop

One of the most recent yet notable additions to the modern vehicle's growing suite of fuel-saving technologies is the humble start-stop system. It's rather simple - when the vehicle is stopped, the engine shuts off. It then fires back up when the driver starts to take his foot off the brake or step on the clutch. For one of the most important fuel sippers of the year, though, start-stop tech is a no-go.
Honda will not be offering the system on the North American-spec, non-hybrid Fit despite it being a standard item on both the hybrid (pictured above) and gas-only Japanese domestic models. According to Honda, it's ostensibly due to the momentary lag, that occurs when the gas engine re-fires and power is available. The start-stop-equipped Fits "will lose at stoplights to V6s," Nobuhiko Shishido, the lead powertrain engineer for the Fit, told Automotive News. This is just an observation on our part, but unless the new Fit turns up with dramatically more than the current car's 117 horsepower, it'll "lose at stoplights" regardless of whatever fuel-saving features are fitted.
The other issue Honda sees is more realistic. In the world of the EPA, stop-start systems are not taken into account in fuel economy testing. That makes the cost-adding technology a tough sell for US consumers who are forced to take a dealer's word on real-world economy gains over the milage numbers on the window sticker. That said, wouldn't it at least make sense to offer start-stop as an option? Have your say in the Comments below.

2016 Honda Civic pricing leaks, starts at $18,680 [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Alright, we made a mistake. Turns out this "leak" was actually just a mockup done by a CivicX forum member, and we totally went along with it. Sorry, folks. You'll have to wait a little longer for your hot Civic pricing news. The tenth-generation Honda Civic ranks among the most anticipated new models on the way this year, especially after seeing the concept for the design at the New York Auto Show. Now, we might be getting an idea of what the compact actually offers from two leaked spec sheets. According to info posted on 10th Civic Forum, the 2016 Civic Sedan LX starts at $18,680, which is just $190 more than the same trim for the 2015 model. For that, buyers reportedly get standard features like LED running lights, LED taillights and a five-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The SE (Sport) trim upgrades the suspension for $19,995. The EX includes full LED headlights for $21,200, and the EX-L adds leather upholstery for $22,885. A separate sheet purportedly details the coupe, which comes standard with the sport suspension. The base price is the same as the sedan. The EX starts at $20,145, and the EX-L is $22,870. Oddly, both of these sheets only mention the CVT, rather than the previously announced six-speed manual, but they do detail two engines. There's a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 165 horsepower and 145 pound-feet that can reportedly get to 60 miles per hour in 7.9 seconds. Fuel economy is listed here as 40 mpg highway, 34 mpg city, and 35.5 mpg combined. There's also the 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, and this document suggests that it has 167 hp and 191 lb-ft and can get to 60 in 7.6 seconds. Mileage is shown as 41 mpg highway, 35 mpg city, and 37.5 mpg combined. Both mills are pretty good upgrades over the 143 hp and 129 lb-ft from the current 1.8-liter four-cylinder in the Civic. As leaked documents, we can't be entirely sure how valid any of these numbers are, so take them with a grain of salt for now. In any case, the 10th-gen Civic is supposed to hit dealers this fall, and you can read the full specs in the gallery below.