World Cars Motor Show

Acura gives us the first look at the exterior of the second-generation 2009 TSX that will make its world debut at the 2008 New York auto show in March and go on sale this spring. We’ll give you a preview of the car as part of our complete NY show coverage, including a review of its drive characteristics.

Prior to that, we will see its sister, the new Honda Accord for Europe, at the 2008 Geneva auto show in early March.

Honda so far is only showing isolated aspects of the redesigned Accord sedan and the Accord Tourer wagon for Europe, which is based on the concept we saw at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show. Both vehicles are slated to go on sale this summer.

We expect the TSX will be available with the turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine currently found in the Acura RDX. Europeans wanting a gasoline engine will have a choice of Honda??™s revised 2.0-liter or 2.4-liter gas mill.

Also available under the hood of the TSX and the European Accord will be Honda??™s all-new turbocharged 2.2-liter i-DTEC diesel engine, projected to generate about 150 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque. The TSX should become Honda??™s first car with a diesel in the U.S.

Honda also has promised new chassis technology for better handling, as well as the usual ???unique package of passive and active safety features??? on the new vehicles.

Acura unveiled its new 20098 RL at the 2008 Chicago auto show and will introduce a new TL sedan later this year.

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Created to take the fight to Toyota, the Honda CR-Z is a next-generation lightweight sports car concept equipped with the company’s original petrol-electric hybrid system.

The CR-Z stands for “Compact Renaissance Zero” - an expression intended to capture the idea of a renaissance in the design of compact cars that begins anew from fundamentals. Designed to be futuristic and dynamic, the CR-Z combines powerful performance in a compact form with a futuristic image.

Strictly a concept for now but believed to point the way for future production models, the CR-Z follows in the tyre prints of the Honda Remix Concept (seen at LA Show last year), and the Small Hybrid Sports Concept (debuted at Geneva in March). The CR-Z features the latest Honda hybrid IMA powertrain to deliver reduced emissions and economy improvements.

The front of the car sits low, and is dominated by an imposing, large bumper with gaping air intakes. Meanwhile, the smooth lines across the glass roof and rear of the car minimise drag. Tube shaped combination lamps at the rear improve rearward visibility, and other design details include stylish, high-visibility wing mirrors, LED headlights, fin-shaped sidelights and large 19-inch wheels to enhance the sporting appearance.

Inside, the aim was to give the concept car a light, spacious and sophisticated feel. The CR-Z’s hi-tech interior features a blue, neon-like finish across the main dash and centre console. Mesh material on a simple framework is used throughout, with sporty seats to help support the driver during cornering.

In the cockpit, the meter unit conveys the image of advanced technology ensconced in a piece of glass artwork, offering quick recognition and a futuristic and exhilarating appearance.

The CR-Z concept vehicle made its world debut at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show in November 2007 and indicates the styling direction for a second, new hybrid vehicle to be introduced by Honda. The other future hybrid vehicle, designed to meet the needs of a family and priced below the Civic Hybrid, is planned for introduction in 2009.

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The perennial 5Best Truck??“winning Honda Pilot is great, but simply put, it??™s due for a replacement.

Since the Pilot??™s debut in 2002 as a 2003 model, the competition in the crossover-SUV arena has become fierce, with strong entries from Mazda (the CX-9) and GM (the Buick Enclave, the GMC Acadia, and the Saturn Outlook) stealing quite a bit of the Pilot??™s thunder.

But just when it appeared that the weather was starting to favor the domestics, another storm seems to be on the horizon. Perhaps to send a message to Detroit??™s Big Three, Honda chose the North American International Auto Show to unveil a prototype of the next-generation Pilot, and if Honda puts even half of the style and substance of the prototype into production, the Pilot??™s competitors should be worried.

The current eight-passenger Pilot offers lots of versatility in both seating and cargo hauling, and it appears that the next-generation model will pick up where this one leaves off. Honda did not disclose the Pilot prototype??™s exterior dimensions, and the company wouldn??™t even open the doors for us to sit inside what appears to be a warmed-over version of the current Pilot??™s interior, but American Honda??™s Executive Vice President, John Mendel??”who is about six feet tall??”claims that he himself can sit in the third-row seat. He also promises even more by way of versatility and cabin configurability.

No details were disclosed about the Pilot??™s V-6 engine other than to say that the production model will adopt Honda??™s latest version of variable cylinder management as found on the Accord??™s 265-hp 3.5-liter V-6, enabling it to run on six, four, or three cylinders depending on conditions. Mendel also suggested that towing would be a strong suit of the 2009 Pilot in spite of the newfound emphasis on efficiency.

The 2009 Pilot is the latest to be designed in accordance with Honda??™s Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) mandate, intended to facilitate better crash compatibility with automobiles large and small. In fact, Honda claims that the new Pilot will be nothing short of the best in class in the safety department, but once again, offered few details about exactly what it will offer.

As for the design, well, most of us like it from most angles. The beveled, bolt-upright windows can??™t be too good for aerodynamics but add appreciable depth and intrigue, and the 3-D rear end is classy and simple. The front end is the only area of real controversy, although its suitably macho and flies in the face of the softer designs we??™ve been seeing emerge on crossovers like the Nissan Murano and Toyota Highlander.

Now, just how many of the Pilot??™s cool design elements will make it onto the production version remains to be seen. We expect that most if it will, however, considering how closely the production version of Honda??™s Accord coupe adhered to the Accord Coupe concept that previewed it last year. Best of all, we won??™t have to wait too long to find out, as the new model goes on sale in spring of 2008.

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Honda will use its home turf, the Tokyo auto show in October, for two world debuts of concept vehicles that are testaments to the automaker??™s engineering prowess.

In addition to our first look at the all-new Fit, the i-DTEC diesel-engine technology, and the all-new Puyo concept, Honda is unveiling a hybrid sports car it dubs the CR-Z.

The CR-Z is a foray into lightweight sports-oriented hybrids, utilizing a new gasoline-electric hybrid engine from Honda.

Honda says CR-Z stands for ???Compact Renaissance Zero??”an expression intended to capture the idea of a renaissance in the design of compact cars.??? In layman??™s terms, this car will be an attempt to break the mold for hybrids and compact cars alike in offering a ride that is practical and efficient, as well as fun to drive and look at.

Honda blends a futuristic streamline effect with the sporty look of today with this concept, a feat made possible because of undisclosed breakthroughs in Honda??™s hybrid system, making it less bulky and easier to package.

Although the CR-Z borrows some styling cues from Honda??™s first hybrid??”the quirky but boring Insight??”it also looks a lot like the cult favorite CRX compact, expecially in the vertical glass section at the rear. The low-slung grille and the aggressive headlights underscore the point that this is not your typical hybrid, even though the CR-Z maintains a conservative and practical profile.

Other notable exterior features include LED headlights, 19-inch wheels, high-performance Brembo brakes, and dual exhaust tips exiting through the rear bumper, further affirming the inherent sports theme.

The overall motif continues inside, where the feel is sporty, simple, and spacious, with a bit of the Jetsons thrown in for good measure. The steering wheel, the rearview mirror, and the e-brake lever appear to be production Honda parts.

But that??™s where the similarities between the CR-Z and your Civic end. The instrument cluster and the center console are vibrant, with colorful glass artwork, looking as if they were taken from the bridge of the starship Enterprise. In addition, the seats, the dash, and the other panels are quite minimalist??”in keeping with concept tradition.

The Insight, which was discontinued in 2006, was Honda??™s last dedicated hybrid platform. When the automaker announced the demise of the Honda Accord hybrid for 2008, it said work was continuing on a new dedicated hybrid architecture for 2009, which will likely first be used to underpin a five-passenger model, with something like the CR-Z following perhaps a year later.

We’re all for the CR-Z; a hybrid that strays from the typical cookie-cutter extraterrestrial look is overdue, and who better to do it than the people who put the first hybrid on U.S. roads, only to lose the green mantle to Toyota and the popular Prius?

We would like to see Honda throw some of that i-DTEC diesel technology into the CR-Z??”or any U.S.-bound car, for that matter??”but we??™re not holding our breath.

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If a hybrid is a statement to make others swoon about your global conscience, then driving a fuel-cell car such as the Honda FCX Clarity makes you that guy, the man, the one whose name gets dropped to impress. All this talk of higher mileage and low emissions, ultra-low emissions, super-ultra-low emissions??”it all grows so tiresome.

With a hydrogen fuel-cell car, the only thing coming from your tailpipe is H2O, practically ready for sealing by Voss. That??™s a fashion statement we??™d love to see follow the fuel cell: bottled water from the tailpipes of zero-emissions vehicles. Come on, Hollywood. And who cares about fuel economy when you??™re only burning the most plentiful element in the universe? But for the record, Honda calculates the equivalent of 68 mpg, a full 20 mpg better than the Prius, Toyota??™s poster child for the automobile??™s global environmental terrorism.

(Very) basically, the V Flow fuel cell in the FCX Clarity works by combining oxygen from the air with hydrogen stored at 5000 psi in a single onboard tank. Energy from the chemical reaction is converted to electricity and used to spin an electric motor, which actually propels the car. Simple, right?

Not really, but Honda has been cracking away at this for a while. Great advances in technology have allowed Honda to shrink its fuel-cell stack by about 45 percent, shaving almost 400 pounds and making the unit comparable in size to a modern gasoline-electric hybrid while simultaneously making it more powerful. Honda claims 100 kilowatts, or 134 horsepower, from the cell. When we drove an FCX concept last year, the powertrain proved powerful enough to move the car up to??”and well beyond??”highway speeds, up to 100 mph.

Long the stuff of big-budget science projects and goofy concept cars, fuel-cell vehicles are about to become the stuff of showrooms and leases, as long as that showroom is in Japan or Southern California. Honda will begin leasing a limited number of FCX Claritys in the summer of 2008 to customers in SoCal. For just $600 a month for three years, you could be the envy of all those HOV-lane-clogging hybrids. And with its spacey shape, it??™ll only sometimes be confused with a next-gen Prius.

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