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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.

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.

Honda's hot new Civic Type R finally hatches in production form [w/video] [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A previous version of this article incorrectly indicated that the vehicle in question is the most powerful hot hatch ever made. As some commenters pointed out, the Ford Focus RS500 was more powerful by some 40 horsepower. We've updated the text below accordingly. Takanobu Ito may be stepping down as president and CEO of Honda, but as far as performance machinery is concerned, he'll be leaving the company in good shape. Not only has he ushered Honda back into Formula One – reviving the legendary partnership with McLaren – but he's also brought back two performance icons: the NSX and the Civic Type R. The former is making its European debut here at the Geneva Motor Show after its premier in Detroit, but alongside it we're seeing for the first time the production version of the latter. Not that it's exactly our first look at the new hot hatch. We've seen it testing, seen a couple of concept versions and even drove an early prototype. But after that whole lengthy process, it's finally here. (Or there, we should say, because it won't be coming to America. At least not in its current form.) What we're looking at, according to the manufacturer, is not only the fastest and most powerful front-drive hot hatch it's ever made, but on the market altogether. It packs a 2.0-liter VTEC turbo four kicking out 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque – the most powerful production engine the company has ever offered – said to be enough to propel the new Civic Type R to 62 in 5.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 167 miles per hour. That's a whole lot of muscle to channel to the front wheels, but Honda's surely done its best to keep it all under control. It's got an old-school six-speed manual transmission, electric power steering, 19-inch wheels, Brembo brakes, adaptive dampers and a suspension designed to combat torque steer and tuned to enhance high-speed stability and support hard cornering. In addition to extensive testing at locations including the Nurburgring, Suzuka and the company's own Takasu test track, the new Civic Type R has also undergone considerable CFD and wind tunnel testing to tune the aerodynamics. The resulting appendages may be toned down slightly from the concepts, but still make quite a visual impact – to say nothing of generating much-needed downforce to keep this sucker glued to the road or track.