2014 Honda Civic Lx on 2040-cars

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Google poised to release Apple CarPlay rival this month

Apple and Google. They're the Michigan and Ohio State of the tech world. They're New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, Real Madrid and Barcelona, or whatever sports-based rivalry you want to cook up. Bottom line, if one company expands into a segment, it's only a matter of time before the other follows suit. And now, that rivalry is about to carry over to your car's dashboard.
Unnamed sources are reporting to Automotive News that Google will unveil its very own challenger to Apple's new CarPlay in-car operating system later this month at the Mountain View, CA company's annual developer conference. The system, allegedly called Google Auto Link, will be the first product to come from the Open Automotive Alliance, a partnership between Google, General Motors, Hyundai, Audi, Honda and hardware manufacturer NVIDIA.
The official announcement is expected to be made on either June 25 or 26, at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Expect to hear a lot more about Google Auto Link then.

Is the original Acura NSX a perfect supercar?

The long-awaited arrival of the second coming of the Acura NSX has naturally brought with it many deep retrospectives on the first Acura NSX. Xcar is the latest with a stint in the time capsule, lining up three NSXs to sample at a track in the UK. There's the red wonder that started it all, the standard aluminum-bodied car that went on sale in 1990, so simple and easy-to-drive, extracting more joy than many thought possible from a 3.0-liter V6 with 'just' 270 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque. The 25-year-old exotic shows its years, but mostly because of an automatic transmission that dampens throttle response and doesn't like changing gears. The praises it earned in the day, however, still remain, namely excellent steering, handling, and feedback. After that comes laps in the first NSX Type R, the model that lost more than 250 pounds by having no air conditioning, sound deadening, or stereo, and lightweight tweaks like carbon seats and thinner glass. Although it the tuning makes it much harder, the presenter wants to know, "Why isn't Honda making a car like this today?" Then there's the 2002 model, the one that would only last three years before closing the door on a fifteen-year run. It got better at the same time as it got softer, but by then the NSX had nothing left to prove; it hit every one of its targets, it realigned the segment in ways we're still benefiting from, and for at least half of its run nothing else could touch it. Based on the reviews so far, that might include the brand new, very good and very complicated NSX. Check out the video above for Xcar's take. Related Video: News Source: Xcar via YouTube Acura Honda Coupe Luxury Performance Videos xcar honda nsx

Editors' Picks August 2021 | Honda Civic, Mercedes S-Class and more

This month of Editors' Picks saw us award the honor to a couple of redesigned stalwarts like the Honda Civic and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Plus, a new crossover that splits the difference between the compact and subcompact class takes home the prize. On top of this, we'll introduce you to a new term: midcompact. We'll be using this to describe those in-between crossovers that are a tad too small to be considered compact, but too large to neatly fit into the subcompact class. For a few examples of these "midcompact" cars, we'll point you to the Ford Bronco Sport, Kia Seltos and VW Seltos. In case you missed our previous Editors' Picks posts, here’s a quick refresher on whatÂ’s going on here. We rate all the new cars we drive with a 1-10 score. Cars that are exemplary in their respective segments get EditorsÂ’ Pick status. Those are the ones weÂ’d recommend to our friends, family and anybody whoÂ’s curious and asks the question. The list that youÂ’ll find below consists of every car we rated in August that earned an EditorsÂ’ Pick. 2021 Genesis G70 2022 Genesis G70 View 26 Photos Quick take: Genesis hits all the right buttons with its G70. It's attractive, fun to drive and can be had for a fair price. Enthusiasts should give it a shot before taking home one of its German competitors. Score: 8 What it competes with: Alfa Romeo Giulia, Lexus IS, Acura TLX, Infiniti Q50, Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Cadillac CT4, Volvo S60 Pros: Sharp handler, stunning exterior looks, strong engines Cons: Average interior, loses manual option, small backseat and trunk From the editors: News Editor Joel Stocksdale — "I was already a big fan of the Genesis G70. It has brilliant handling, and the twin-turbo V6 is a beast. It's even a bargain against the competition. And Genesis just made it look a lot better. I wish they'd done a bit more to update the interior, but it's still not a bad cabin. Besides, you won't think too much about it when you're hustling down a fun back road." Features Editor James Riswick — "Yes, it is small, but in a sport sedan segment where "sport" means increasingly less, the G70 still delivers (in part because of that smallness).