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2015 Honda CR-V

Predicting the future direction of Honda's compact CR-V would have been difficult based on the Civic-derived model that first arrived on our shores for the 1997 model year. The newcomer, selling alongside the body-on-frame Passport (a hastily rebadged Isuzu Rodeo), was a cute compact crossover with four doors and an awkward curb-side hinged tailgate thanks to its Japanese home-market design. The five-passenger CUV offered generous interior room, but its wheezy 2.0-liter four-cylinder, with an output of just 126 horsepower and 133 pound-feet of torque, required 11.7 seconds to bring the 3,153-pound vehicle to 60 miles per hour. Rear drum brakes didn't help much in the stopping department, but Honda offered safety-minded consumers optional anti-lock brakes on the premium trim.
Nearly two decades after its introduction, the CR-V has matured in spectacular manner. The refreshed 2015 Honda CR-V, now in its fourth generation, is dimensionally within two inches of its ancestor in overall length and nearly identical in height and wheelbase. That consistency of dimension is impressive in this age of size and segment creep, and it stands as a testament to how 'right' Honda engineers got the model's original packaging. Of course, the CR-V hasn't stood still - nearly everything else about the best-selling compact CUV has improved in leaps and bounds.
But Honda is not the only player in this hotly contested segment today, so the automaker has taken the unusual step of updating its fourth-generation model just a few years after its introduction in an effort to keep it seated on the podium. To learn more about the automaker's improvements, and form our own impressions, we spent a day driving the CR-V in sunny Southern California.

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

South Korean guy rides his scooter all the way to the Nurburgring

It's a story of extreme determination. Imagine starting up your humble scooter in Seoul, South Korea, setting off and not stopping before you reach your destination over 11,000 miles away in Germany. Lee Jaeyeong did just that, riding his eight-horsepower, 110-cc Honda Super Cub through Asia, Russia, Italy, and Switzerland just to get to the Nurburgring, documenting the entire three-month journey on his Instagram feed. This is downright The Straight Story kind of stuff. Video of his first ride on the 'Ring, the reason he made the trip, is above. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. And what better way to celebrate the successful trip than a lap or two of the 'Ring? In addition to completing a well-deserved tour of the Nordschleife on his trusty Honda scooter, late in the evening as all the Porsches and BMWs headed home, Lee was also able to passenger in a track-prepared SEAT Leon Cupra – driven by a properly fast driver. His excitement in the video is particularly palpable. The best thing is Lee isn't heading home just yet. Now that he's made it to Europe with his scooter, Lee's going to ride around the continent, seeing some more sights and twisty roads. He might well be the petrolhead of the year. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.