honda

Honda Loses Some Funk for 2021

July 18, 2020 by Tom Williams Leave a Comment

As a middle aged man who has been in love with cars since being a toddler, it is all too easy for me to forget that the car business is just that-a business. So it’s always disappointing when I hear that a neat car will not be joining us as automakers ready for the 2021 model year. It is the fringe cars that make car companies interesting to me, and Honda is shedding some of those offerings. Yes, it is mid-summer, and that means we are learning what players have been cut from the roster. And Honda is the latest, so here goes.

First, we are losing the Fit completely. Known as the Jazz elsewhere, the first sign of trouble was Honda not committing to us seeing the new fourth generation of the car. So yes, the Fit/Jazz lives on, just not in North America. The crossover craze shows no signs of slowing, so I believe Honda’s thinking is anyone wanting a Fit will just go for the HR-V. Which is a shame, because the Fit was truly a good car. It’s packaging is brilliant, and will hold an impressive amount of cargo. My college buddy who is a New York City dweller can pack himself, wife, two growing boys and take the Fit packed with all their gear anywhere from the New Jersey shore to northern New England. Aside from cargo capacity, the Fit was also a surprisingly fun little car to drive. Lastly, the loss of the Fit means getting into a new 2021 Honda just got more expensive. A base fit cost just north of $16,000USD; it will cost over $4,000 more to put you in a base Civic or HR-V.

Speaking of the Civic, it is time to bid farewell to the Coupe. Long time readers at The Garage may recall my Forgotten Sporty Cars series, which highlighted the plethora of small, sporty two doors that were everywhere in the ’80’s and ’90’s. That market has completely evaporated, and it is remarkable Honda hung around this long. And it seems many had forgotten of this sporty car, as only about 6% of Civic buyers drove off the dealer lot in the Coupe last year. 2021 will be the last year of this generation Civic, so cutting the Coupe off is just Honda winding down and getting ready for the new car.

Lastly, 2020 marks the end of an era for the Accord. 2021 will be the first time ever an Accord will not be available with a manual transmission. A manual Accord was available on the Sport model with either the 1.5L or 2.0L engines. But with only 1% of Accord buyers wanting to shift for themselves, there’s just no business case to be made to continue any further. Again, it is remarkable that Honda offered a manual Accord as long as they did. The Accord is due a mid-cycle refresh for 2021, but in typical Honda fashion, there is no word on what we can expect to see just yet.

For the #savethemanuals crowd, the news is particularly hard to take, as the Fit, Civic Coupe and Accord Sport were all available with manual transmissions. The good news is Honda continues to offer a manual in the remaining four door Civics.

An Inside Look at Monster Energy AMA Supercross

May 2, 2019 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

Over the past decade, Monster Energy AMA Supercross has seen a welcome rise in attendance and popularity. The ever-evolving series has changed quite a bit from the days of Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael to an increasingly data-driven sport with exclusive factory team trainers producing elite athletes. Much like their four-wheel motorsport brethren, factory riders train full-time on and off the track, giving them a distinct advantage over privateers while narrowing the competitive gap to fractions of a second between teams. I had the opportunity before Round 16 at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to talk to some of the riders, managers, trainers, and Carmichael himself about what goes on behind the scenes to ensure success.

Potential riders are often spotted at amateur races. Interested teams will back a candidate as young as 12 or 13 with sponsorship, even bringing them to train alongside signed riders. “What we do is we bring them to the group and they’re around these guys, training with these guys, involved with their program… maybe not to as high a level… time-wise, maybe not on the bike as much… but it’s getting them used to that. Riding with these guys during the week is the biggest thing, I think, because they see that, they kind of have that carrot they’re always chasing… that’s always bringing them closer and closer,” said Wil Hahn, Star Racing/Yamaha Racing team manager and former pro rider. “We might not have a kid sign when they’re on the 60’s or 80’s, but we’re trying to help them.”

Training to track time ratio is around 50/50. Gareth Swanepoel, the trainer (and also a former rider) for the Yamaha team said that while the training depends on each rider’s needs, during the racing season they’ll ride three times a week, two bike rides a week, two days of gym, plus active recovery days with lights rides, running, yoga, or other stretching. This all evolved in the sport when Ricky Carmichael, looking to gain an edge over physically bigger riders in the 450SX class, hired a trainer. “He took it to a whole new level of training, so now, everyone has to train because he was beating everyone so bad, everyone had to start training to keep up with him,” commented Jeremy Albrecht, JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing Team Manager. “Everyone follows what the top guy is doing, so when he started training like that, then the next guy does it, and now everyone does it.”

In training, moto-specific LitPRO as well as GPS combined with On-bike data loggers capable of pulling in up to 12 data points gather information from the motor and shocks that is downloaded after completion then linked to video. Teams then use propriety software pinpoint mechanical performance then adjust as needed after practice or a heat. As an example, “We’re able to measure how much suspension’s used in corners and whoops and obstacles and if [a rider] comes in and says, ‘Hey, my bike’s really soft’, we can look… on the computers to kind of say, ‘Well, you didn’t use all your travel’”, said Yamaha Supercross/Motocross Supervisor Jim Perry in the paddock on Saturday. “So if he says one thing, we’re able to look at the data and say, ‘Maybe that isn’t what you’re feeling’… then our suspension engineers and chassis engineers can analyze that and make some changes.” Unlike many of the automotive racing series, communication between the rider and team is verboten during the actual race. Instead, riders rely on communication with their mechanic and a white board.

All of this data gathering and training comes together at the starting gate – staying calm, keeping the heart rate low combined with muscle memory to get out of the gate as quickly as possible when it drops. Getting a good position on the track, ahead of the field, is key. In an informal meeting with H.E.P. Motorsports 450cc riders Kyle Chisholm, Alex Ray, and Adam Enticknap on media day, Ray told us “The only that’s going through your mind is you want a good start, you want to start up front, because if you’re in the middle or in the back, it creates more risk… you have more people, everyone’s bunched up in a group, you don’t know what all these other people are doing, if you’re up front, you sort of have control over the race.”

During racing season, meetings are on Monday, ride and train during the week, travel, practice on Friday, race on Saturday, travel on Sunday… meetings, train, race, repeat.

A quick primer: In Monster Energy AMA Supercross, there are two classes – the 250SX bikes are the “Lites”, the younger riders’ development series. This class is subdivided into East and West regions for the entire season until the Las Vegas championship, where 22 riders race in the East/West Showdown over 15 minutes plus one lap. The 450SX is the top level of the Supercross series and race nationally, where the main even features 22 riders racing for 20 minutes plus one lap. Each division goes through qualifying on the day before the finals, and the 40 fastest riders advance to the race day events. On race day, both classes have two heats of 20 riders each, and the top nine advance to the main event. Everyone else has one more chance in the Last Chance Qualifier, and the top four LCQ finishers round out the 22 final competitors. The bikes are all from six manufacturers – Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, and Yamaha. The dirt track, like its rallycross counterpart, has a series of obstacles; small, waist-high bumps called “whoops”, a table top, a rhythm section with no drummer but larger jumps of varying size and interval, and the ultimate finish-line jump assuring a spectacular airborne end to the race.

The 2019 season has seen its share of crazy weather, most notably torrential rain in San Diego and snow in Denver before the race. New Jersey was no exception; the track was covered for rain on Friday, scuttling the opportunity to practice for many of the riders. The track wasn’t too much of a mess for a cold but sunny race day, though looking at my clogged sneaker treads after a track walk, there was a lot of packed mud. In the 250SX class, Chase Sexton won the race, with Mitchell Oldenburg and Justin Cooper in second and third. Going into the 450SX finals, Cooper Webb was the points leader. After an exciting race with several overtakes and mistakes by the riders in front, Cooper Webb ultimately triumphed with Zach Osborne and Eli Tomac in second and third.

The Las Vegas Championship where the 250 East and West divisions race and a new 2019 450SX champion will be crowned takes place Saturday, May 4^th. Check your local listings for viewing times and channels.

NYIAS in PHOTOS: Race Cars

April 22, 2019 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

While there was a curious lack of rally cars on the show floor of the 2019 New York International Auto Show, there were still a few race cars to drool over.

The 2019 New York International Auto Show

April 21, 2019 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

2019 is a curious year for the New York International Auto Show – at first look, there are some automakers that are notably absent – BMW, MINI, Volvo, and Mitsubishi skipped the show this year. In automotive parlance, the show is leaner, or more “muscular”. However the space on the show floor was taken up by some fresh new faces, most prominently with Rivian, the U.S.-based company producing electric adventure vehicles with a 400-mile range.

There were some significant launches; among them, Hyundai showed up with the 2020 Venue, a new SUV, as well as a sleek new Sonata with a digital key. Lincoln thankfully dropped the confusing letter-number naming convention with the Corsair, a compact luxury crossover that can seat five people. Toyota’s new offerings include the new revamped Highlander as well as a cute Yaris hatchback. Subaru showed off their sixth-gen 2020 Outback in the middle of a rather nice-smelling booth highlighting national forests.

Concept cars were super slick, creatively named, and largely electric – Kia revealed their HabaNiro concept with 300-mile all electric range. The Genesis Mint luxury electric concept was hard to even get close to after an off-site reveal the night before. VW showed up with not one but three concepts: the ID. Buggy, the compact Tarok Pickup Concept, and the Basecamp (the latter two have combustion engines). Another company new to NYIAS, Mullen, revealed the modular, aluminum and carbon fiber Qiantu K50 electric sportscar.

In the “If You Have to Ask You Can’t Afford It” supercar section of the show, Swedish maker Koenigsegg introduced their road-legal Jesko to North America, and Sleepy Hollow, New York’s Glickenhaus drove his 700-hp SCG 003S to the show. Dubbed the world’s most expensive SUV, the oddly angular and very very large Karlmann King will set you back about $2.3 million – perhaps more if you choose the armored option.

And then there were the special editions – so many fancy badges! Nissan was celebrating the 5oth Anniversary of the GT-R with some beautiful classics joining the 50^thAnniversary Edition. Tangentially, there is another larger independent booth display of classic of Z’s downstairs. (Not to be outdone, Toyota is displaying some classic Supras – JDM fans, this show’s for you). Dodge’s Challengers and Chargers will now be available in the Stars & Stripes Edition, and Alfa Romeo created a limited-edition 019 Quadrifoglio NRING (Nürburgring) for both the Stelvio Quadrifoglio and Giulia. Last but not least – Ford celebrated Mustang Day with the Ford Mustang Performance Package and hot dogs.

The New York International Auto Show in the Jacob Javits Center is open until April 28, 2019.

2017 Subaru Legacy

March 3, 2017 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

When a company sets out to conquer any given market, they often start out by showing the world just how unique their products are, by creating something that is way outside of what it expected within that market. While that creativity may provide rewards in the form of media exposure and consumer interest, it doesn’t necessarily result in sales that are strong enough to overthrow the traditional leaders.

In the automotive market, where mainstream consumers often look at vehicles as an appliance. Take the two most recent Hyundai Elantra models as an example: The company had already proven the quality of their cars, so they created a super sexy version that looked unlike anything available. They won a whole bunch of conquest sales, but when it came time for a redesign, they dialed the style back in favour of a more mature look. More like a Camry or Accord. Why? Because those two cars are the standard of the market. Gold star appliances that non-car people line up for and for good reason, they are really, really good cars. They just aren’t exactly cars that inspire passion and that is fine, because they sell and car companies are in the business of selling cars.

So why am I going on about the Elantra, Accord and Camry in a review of the Subaru Legacy? Well, I was visiting a friend’s garage one day during the week and as he glanced out of the bay door, he asked “is that an Accord or a Camry?” He wasn’t kidding, he was sure it was one or the other, but couldn’t quite figure it out.

So, what Subaru is offering with the Legacy is a mid to large sized sedan that has a pleasant, somewhat generic shape that can easily be mistaken for the two benchmark models in the segment. That is a good thing. Perhaps more importantly, for the brand loyalists at least, the Legacy drives more like a Subaru. Even with one of the quietest cabins that Subaru has ever offered, the thrum of the company’s signature flat-4 powerplant is always there. For fans, that is comforting. Those new to the brand likely won’t notice, because the cabin is so quiet.

Rather than go the traditional new car review route and prattle on about the driving experience, let me get straight to the reasons that I truly believe the Legacy is the best value in the segment.

Base Price: Canada U.S.A.

2017 Honda Accord $24,590 $22,455

2017 Subaru Legacy $23,495 $21,995

2017 Toyota Camry $25,170 $23,070

There is more to just having the cheapest entry fee though.

Even at its lowest trim level, the Subaru offers all wheel drive, where the other two entries are only available with front wheel drive.

The Canadian consumer, and those in much of the northern half of the States, has to drive in Winter. That means snow. That means that traction is important. The least expensive of these three choices in the segment includes one of the most important mobility features on the market. It isn’t available in the other two.

Given that most of the buyers in this segment might as well be shopping for a new refrigerator, it seems to me that the unit with the lowest price, yet has the most important extra feature is included, is the smartest decision.

Our tester was a mid-range Touring model with a few goodies that the base model does not include. Most importantly for this household, it was equipped with a manual transmission. The Touring package also includes sunroof, passive driver aids and an easy to use infotainment system with a bright 7″ touch display.

Cloth seats are cozy on a cold morning and the back seat is large enough to be comfortable for 3 teens. The trunk is suitably large for the day to day needs of most families, easily swallowing two hockey bags.

If you are in the market for a family sedan, by all means drive the Accord and Camry, you need to do that. Then, head over to your local Subaru dealer and take the Legacy for a spin. Take a look at the price. Then think about the climate you live in. If Winter weather involves white stuff, then you know what the smart thing to do is.

Honda CR-Z to Ride Quietly Into the Night

June 24, 2016 by Tom Williams 1 Comment

When word got out that Honda was going to build a sporty, two seater hybrid, Honda fans rejoiced. Although the last CR-X was sold in 1991, it has not been forgotten. Could it be after all this time, Honda would offer a modern interpretation of that iconic two seater from the past? In advertising the new CR-Z, Honda made very clear that this would in fact be a modern successor to the CR-X.

Enthusiasts hope were high. Too high in fact. As the car was released to the media and cropped up in showrooms in 2010, reality came crashing down. It would seem amidst all the excitement, everyone forgot one very important detail: hybrid batteries are heavy. Very heavy. What made the CR-X a joy to hustle around corners was that it was feather light. Even the availability of a six-speed manual, unheard of on a hybrid could not disguise the weight and less than sporty suspension tuning. Son of CR-X, this was not.

After its first year when the early adapters snapped up their cars and the truth came out, sales of the CR-Z were in an out of control downward spiral. How bad? In Canada, it has been since 2012 since more than 100 CR-Zs were sold in a year. Yes, that bad. And Honda’s reaction? They simply through their hands up in the air. And did nothing. Even last year there was talk about a new CR-Z, but those plans have obviously been trashed. While Japan will offer a Final Edition CR-Z, here in North America the car is simply going to fade away.

Moral of the story? Don’t try to sell us on the idea that you are going to build the spiritual successor of a much loved car like the CR-X and fail to deliver on that promise. BMW took a similar risk by advertising the 1-Series was the legitimate son of the 2002. In this case, the 1-Series was loved by enthusiasts. With the CR-Z, Honda wasn’t fooling anyone.

Honda Joins Red Bull GRC

March 22, 2016 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

After months of speculation, today in New York Honda announced that it is throwing their hat into the Red Bull GRC ring. Olsbergs MSE will race two turbocharged 2016 Honda Civic Coupes. Joni Wiman of Finland, in his third season in Supercars and the 2014 champ, will be joined by Sebastian Eriksson of Sweden. Both competed in GRC with OMSE last year, with Eriksson finishing in second place in 2015.

“Global Rallycross is seriously extreme racing, and it’s a terrific platform to showcase the new Civic Coupe to an enthusiastic, performance-minded young audience,” said Nick Lee, National Advertising Manager, American Honda Motor Co, Inc. “We won’t encourage our customers to take 70-foot jumps out on the street, but we will use this platform to tell people about all the incredible technology and performance capabilities of our new Civic Coupe.”

Honda has some series racing chops with cars competing in but not limited to Pirelli World Challenge and Verizon Indy Car. Red Bull GRC continues to look forward to an exciting season with another manufacturer banging doors with Ford, Volkswagen, Subaru and the occasional Chevy. The first bout of 2016 will be May 21 and 22 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Debut of racing livery for new Civic Coupe Red Bull Global Rallcross racecar in New York

Higgins and Drew Dominate at New England Forest Rally

July 21, 2015 by ponycargirl Leave a Comment

For the 25th anniversary of the New England Forest Rally based in Newry, Maine – and encompassing rally stages in both Maine and near Errol, New Hampshire – speculation was high. Subaru’s rally team – Dave Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew – were so far undefeated this season, but some formidable competition was posing a serious challenge. Would the streak continue to win the championship with Adam Yeoman (2011 Rally America Rookie of the Year) and Jordan Schulze, the inimitable Ken Block with Alex Gelsomino, Dave Sterckx with Renaud Jamoul, Nick Roberts / Rhianon Gelsomino, and team mate Travis Pastrana and Chrissie Beavis in the mix?

In short – yes. And there was some bad rally juju for the others along the way. After hanging tight in second place, FY Racing’s Yeoman and Schulze were out after Stage 10 with a ball joint failure. Sterckx and Jamoul had a flat on day one and lost three minutes, then on the second day – in stage 11 of 13 – lost another two minutes to an electrical issue, knocking them out of podium contention.

As early as Stage 2, Pastrana / Beavis were facing some disappointment; the car had some frantic repairs on the side of Route 5 heading to the start of the stage, arriving around four minutes late. They couldn’t continue, however, and after a couple of donuts for the fans and marshalls hanging out at the start, it was back to service for the team – Pastrana saying that they would definitely be back on Saturday to start Stage 4.

Block and Gelsomino weren’t without their own challenges. Block struggled with some engine issues, and had to finish the sixth stage with a throttle pedal zip-tied together after losing a disagreement with a bank. Roberts / Gelsomino had a flat in Stage 1, rolled in Stage 2, then the engine lost power in Stage 5 and they couldn’t continue after stalling on the way to service.

Ultimately, Higgins and Drew handily maintained their winning streak coming in first overall to win the championship, with Block / Gelsomino in second, and Pastrana / Beavis making up some incredible time for the third place.

Beyond the battle for the top three podium spots and the chance to spray some champagne, there was a whole lot of other things going on at NEFR. Lucy Block, married to some guy named Ken, drove an Ford Fiesta R2 with the best livery this side of the Martini-inspired Porsche.

M-Sport partnered with partnered with Team O’Neil to introduce some new Fiestas to the American market with Ramana Lagemann driving a Ford Fiesta R5 2000cc, and Brendan Reeves piloting the R2 1000cc. Ken Block is also in an M-Sport, the Fiesta HFHV.

Another surprise entry to NEFR was Colombian Gustavo Yacaman, better known for driving a Ligier LMP2 in the FIA World Endurance Championship. While he competed in GRC Lites in 2013, NEFR was his first stage rally, racing in a 2WD 2009 B-Spec Honda Fit.

The New England Forest Rally is held in otherwise serene forests on either side of the Maine and New Hampshire border chock full of beautiful views, thick pine trees, lots and lots of mosquitos, deer flies, and the looming spectre of a wayward moose. Fortunately, there are way more spectators than mooses, and it gets quite crowded from the Parc Expose to the final stage. Congratulations to all winners, both national and regional – and congratulations to the New England Forest Rally for 25 years of success.

: 2015 NEFR

: Refueling

: Parc Expose

: Take Off

: The Z.

: Yacaman

: Rally

: Whoops

: Roberts / Gelsomino

: YARIS Y’ALL

: Extra racing stripes for Pastrana

: Pastrana does donuts

: Yeoman / Schulze

: Dust. And rocks.

: 420 and Burgers. Yup.

: Spectators

: UNICORNS. And ALIENS.

: The rally is over.

For Sale: 500,000th Civic ever made, a 1985 with ZERO MILES!

August 1, 2014 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

I’m not sure what the back story is on this car and how it got out of Honda’s possession and into the hands of a dealer, but this is said to be the 500,000th Honda Civic ever produced. The seller has listed the silver hatch on Kijiji, which is a Canadian classifieds site that is part of the ebay empire, but without the auction action.

The fact that the car is listed for just $7,900 CDN (that is $7243.92 USD at today’s rates) makes me wonder if this is a legit sale. Surely a significant, un-driven model of Civic like this would command more on ebay for some Honda fanatic. I know a bunch of Eighties car crazy guys who would kill to own this car.

Ed Note: Brennan Baart, from the dealer who is selling the car just sent me the following details about the car.

We are an independent dealer and we have ties to the Honda store we purchased it from. They are doing a remodel and have no space for it any longer. It is a brand new 1985 honda civic. It is a benchmark car as this vehicle was the 500,000th car that honda made as per the vin number. So they pulled it off the assembly line, parked it in the showroom, painted 500,00th car on both sides as vinyl wasnt available at that time, painted on the hood 1985 and it has been in the showroom since. The car looks, drives and shows as a brand new car, its quite the conversation piece here on the lot. Let me know if we can be of further service.

Thanks for the tip Lesley!

Source: Kijiji

Paul Tracy gives Toronto Mayor Rob Ford the ride of his life at 2 in TO

July 23, 2014 by Gary Grant 1 Comment

Rob Ford & Paul Tracy. John R Walker photo.

Last Friday night on social media, Canadian Indycar vet Paul Tracy said: “Giving mayor rob ford a thrill ride tomorrow , think I can make him squeal?”

During Saturday morning’s photo meeting, I kept waiting to hear details about the media stunt but for whatever reason, it wasn’t mentioned, so I kept quiet. I chased down someone in the know and learned that it was due to happen while I was shooting the GT3 Cup podium, so I enlisted the help of fellow contributor to The Garage, John Walker to see if he could make it over. I’m glad I did, because it turns out that Walker was the ONLY shooter on hand for ROFO’s thrill ride with the thrill from West Hill.

Walker tells me that when they got out of the Civic SI, Toronto’s most infamous crack addict said “that was one of the best rides I have ever been on, call me if you need anything” to which PT replied “anything???”

Your browser does not support iframes.

Photo courtesy of John Walker