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Honda UK closes pre-order books on NSX, opens for Civic Type R

Most of us would probably deliberate pretty carefully before buying a new car – do a little research, read the reviews, take it for a test drive, compare it to the competition. But that's not everyone. Some buyers will order a new car sight unseen. Some will even place their order – for a performance model especially – before the production model is even revealed. And those buyers in the UK have been flocking to Honda for not one, but two upcoming new products. Even before the reveal of the finished car, Honda's British office has taken over 100 orders for the upcoming new NSX just from within the UK. The orders have been coming in so fast, in fact, that Honda has had to stop taking them for the time being. But don't worry, British enthusiasts: the Japanese automaker has just opened the order books for another yet-to-be-revealed performance model. That, of course, would be the new Civic Type R – a promising new hot hatch that Honda has showcased repeatedly in concept form, but has yet to reveal in production guise. That'll happen sometime in the new year, ahead of the start of production slated to take place at Honda UK's own plant in Swindon, England. But before it does, the company's dealers have started taking GBP3,000 ($4,700) deposits on the hot hatch we drove in prototype form but which does not, we're sad to say, look likely to be offered in North America. DEMAND FOR HONDA HOTS UP! TYPE-R ORDER BOOK IS OPEN Honda is pleased to announce that the Civic Type R is on the starting blocks and gearing up for its much awaited 2015 launch. Due to unprecedented demand, customers wanting to be one of the first behind the Type R steering wheel can now place an order with a GBP3,000 deposit at their local Honda dealer. The all-new hot hatch – due in UK showrooms next year – will be the most extreme and high-performing Type R in the 22 year history of the red 'H' badge, signalling the start of a new performance era for the brand. The all-new Civic Type R has been developed and engineered for European drivers. The car will be built at Honda's state-of-the-art plant in Swindon, UK, arriving in dealerships during 2015. The new Type R will mark the debut of the new '+R' button, for example. Located to the side of the steering wheel, a press activates '+R' mode for the most exhilarating driving experience. Engine responsiveness is heightened, with torque-mapping changed to a more aggressive and performance-focused setting.

Acura replaces chief Accavitti with designer Ikeda

Acura is shaking up its senior leadership, as Honda ushers the current chief of its luxury division out the door and replaces him with a new one. Exiting stage left is Mike Accavitti, who held the reins at the premium automaker as its senior vice president and general manager of the Acura division. Taking his place will be Jon Ikeda, one of the Japanese automaker's most senior designers. Accavitti (pictured above at left) had been promoted to the job from his previous position as senior vice president of auto operations after Honda separated the Acura brand into its own division. He had previously served as a senior executive at Chrysler, rising up the ranks to run the Dodge brand, and joined Honda in 2011 as its chief marketing officer. At this point it remains unclear why Accavitti is leaving and where he might land, but Honda says he's leaving the company altogether. To replace Accavitti, Honda has named Jon Ikeda (pictured above at right), a veteran designer with the company. A graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, Ikeda has worked for Honda on both sides of the Pacific since 1989. He previous headed up the design and product planning divisions at Honda's American R&D operations, and was instrumental in creating an independent design office for the Acura brand, separate from Honda's. This isn't the first time we've seen Accavitti replaced in his role as a senior executive by a design veteran. After only four months at CEO of the Dodge brand, he was replaced by Ralph Gilles, who retained his role as senior vice president of design for the entire Chrysler group in parallel. Gilles was ultimately replaced as head of Dodge as well, but was recently promoted to serve as head of design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Related Video: Acura Announces Leadership Changes TORRANCE, Calif. July 27, 2015 – Acura today announced that Jon Ikeda has been promoted to Vice President and General Manager of the Acura Division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. In this role, Ikeda will oversee all Acura brand activities including sales, marketing and parts and service. Ikeda was formerly Division Director of Auto Design at Honda R&D Americas, Inc. (HRA). He began his career at Honda in Japan in 1989, joining the advanced design studio in Tokyo, where he worked on the award-winning Honda FSX show car. After six years in Japan, he returned to Los Angeles in 1995, to continue his career at Honda R&D in Torrance, California.

A best-seller that's better than ever | 2017 Honda CR-V First Drive

Compact utility vehicles make up the largest single segment in the American automotive industry. And with good reason – crossovers today very nearly match up with sedans in refinement and driving manners while providing respectable fuel efficiency and lots of cargo capacity. People buy them because they are practical, potentially filling multiple needs with just one vehicle. The Honda CR-V was the best-selling vehicle in the compact CUV segment last year, and it has been redesigned for 2017. Major updates mean more space inside for passengers and cargo, a bit more power and efficiency from a new 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and a quieter, more comfortable driving experience. The previous CR-V was already one of the best vehicles in its class, and the fully redesigned 2017 CR-V remains the best bet for your buck. The first thing we noticed about the 2017 Honda CR-V was its size. We're all used to vehicles getting successively larger with every new generation, and true to form, Honda's compact crossover isn't really very compact anymore. The 2017 edition's wheelbase has been stretched 1.6 inches over the previous CR-V's, and it's 1.4 inches taller and 1.2 inches longer overall. Thankfully, those extra inches equal more room inside. Rear-seat passengers get more than two extra inches of legroom compared to the 2016 CR-V for a total of 40.4 inches. Competitors like the Ford Escape, Nissan Rogue, and Toyota RAV4 all have around 37 inches of rear legroom. With the back seats folded flat, the cargo area is nearly 10 inches longer than before. There's 39.2 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats up, or 75.8 with the second row folded. Those capacities are at least as good as those of its main competitors, though it's worth noting that the Rogue is offered with a small third row for a total of seven seats. Honda designers did a decent job of masking the new CR-V's bigness with shapely bodywork highlighted by muscular, bulging fenders and detailed lighting elements front and rear. A prominent horizontal chrome bar leads the way, flanked by LED headlights with strong Nike-swoosh-shaped daytime running lights. The rear light clusters are massive, with a clear plastic enclosure that juts far out from the bodywork. It's strange, then, that the actual amber turn signals are small vertical slits that don't really stand out in daylight.