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2014 Honda HPD CR-Z

Honda invited us to its Southern California North American headquarters last week to take a spin in a very special CR-Z - one modified with a full complement of Honda Performance Development (HPD) components. While the company has been racing with HPD parts for years, this is the first time the automaker has offered them for its street-legal vehicles, and it has chosen this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas to be the launch venue. Last year, Honda introduced the HPD Supercharged CR-Z Concept at SEMA - this is the slightly modified production version.
The complete transformation gives the normally placid hybrid hatchback a serious shot of adrenaline thanks to a bolt-on supercharger combined with suspension, tire, brake and exhaust upgrades. In addition to the blower (detailed in a bullet point below), new HPD suspension components lower the car by about half an inch, and firmer spring rates stiffen the ride. Stock 16- or 17-inch wheels are then replaced with HPD 18-inch alloys wrapped in sticky Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires (215/40ZR18 at all corners). The clutch is upgraded, a limited-slip differential is installed and new HPD monobloc four-piston calipers are fitted over slotted and ventilated iron rotors up front (the single-pistons over solid discs on the back axle are unchanged). In the rear, the stock hidden single exhaust pipe is replaced by a free-flow twin-tip exhaust that peers out of a new HPD lower diffuser. Other cosmetic enhancements include an HPD front lip spoiler, rear deck lid spoiler and an HPD emblem kit for each side. To say the CR-Z is transformed by the complete HPD package is an understatement.
Driving Notes

Honda CB350 and cafe racer culture explored by Electric Federal

The latest video from Electric Federal covers one of our favorite aspects of motorcycle culture - café racers. In an interview with Adam "Gasser" Gaspic, the owner of Gasser Customs, EF takes a look at the culture and one of Gasser's latest offerings, a hopped-up Honda CB350, called the Silver Bullet.
Gasser has gone all-out on the Silver Bullet, replacing some of the body parts with fiberglass and delivering more than a few upgrades to the rebuilt engine. The brakes and suspension of the smaller bike also get some attention, as do some of the bike's aesthetics. Besides the upgrades, there's just something to be said for the sleek, minimalist nature of the little Honda.
Naturally, the videography is gorgeous, and it's a great look at a kind of motorcycling that seems to be overlooked in the world of sport bikes and Harley-Davidson-style cruisers. Take a look below for the full video.

Honda Ridgeline to take two-year dirt nap before resurrection

Three years ago, Honda said there would be no new-generation Honda Ridgeline coming in 2011. In late 2011, when there was still no word on a replacement for the little truck that's been carrying on pretty much the same since 2006, within the space of a month both Honda's US truck planner and the CEO of American Honda said the Ridgeline would continue and that it was an integral part of the lineup.
But that doesn't mean it can't take a two-year timeout. A report in Ward's Auto says that the Lincoln, AL plant that builds the Ridgeline will cease its production in September, 2014 and a new one won't arrive until 2016. That's a walk-back from when the plan was to have the current truck run until a week before the next-generation truck went into production. Even so, Honda still says the Ridgeline isn't going away forever, a company spokesman telling Ward's, "Ridgeline continues to be an important part of our lineup."
2016 is a long way away, though, and we all know how quickly a product line put into a coma can end up suffering fatal consequences. Even though we keep talking about the Ridgeline, perhaps what Honda is actually saying is that the small pickup market is important to them, and they're working on a way to take better advantage of it than the Ridgeline was doing. We'll find out one way or the other in three years.