Concepts

We all love getting a glimpse of a cool concept car, but with that always comes the knowledge that by the time it reaches production it will be watered down and loose it’s cool concept car edge. The latest pix of the CR-Z prove it’s not immune to this phenomena, but it still looks pretty damn good to me. Next comes the other concept car curse, will North America get it? You can see the earlier concept right here

Next up the oh so cute and retro EV-N, drawing heavily upon the styling of the original N360.

It even has a spot to store a Honda U3-X that you can’t buy

an original N360 for comparison

S2000 Rumors

Given the current state of affairs in the automotive industry it probably didn’t come as a shock a few months ago that Honda has abandoned the NSX replacement and retired the S2000. The CRZ however is still on track for a 2010 launch. I posted a while ago that if it came out I would seriously look into selling both my hatches to get into one so it might be time to stop dumping money into them. But from the ashes and for better or worse Japan’s Best Car Magazine is reporting that Honda is moving ahead with development of an S2000 replacement, although for the purists it may only be an S2000 by name, not spirit. It’s said to be a 2+2 coupe, hybrid powered, and using Honda’s SH-AWD system. None of this however is confirmed by Honda.

Showdown

I’ve posted before that I can’t wait to see the the Honda CR-Z released, but now it looks like Toyota has thier own hybrid hatch ready to do head to head battle with it. It will reintroduce the MR2 name (horrible idea imo) and will be largely based on the Prius drivetrain. 0-60 in under 7 seconds, 60+ MPG, a target price of $24k, and…wait for it..rear wheel drive. I still gotta go with the Honda for looks but it sounds like the Toyota will be a nice little package for a daily driver, plus they’ve got a cult like following of Prius owners who would probably be tempted by something a little sportier when thier Prius lease is up. Call me crazy but I think these two little cars could do some serious damage to an already crippled Detroit if they come to market.

Next Gen BMW 1 Series

Sharp little piece, 2 door hatch backs have always had the honor of being seen as nothing more than cheap little econo boxes here in the US but now that we get the Volvo C30 maybe we’ll get a crack at this. But then again…

Anyway, upper trim levels are expected to be the 120i with 218hp and 130i with 272hp.

Well, it is a hatch after all

With all the new american muscle cars like the Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger being given such a heavily retro styling treatment could this be the next to be resurrected? It’s not like the Big Three could do any worse than they’re doing right now anyway, and they could definately use a sub compact hybrid. I hate to say it, but if you forget the name and just look at the rear three quarter shot it really isn’t that bad looking. The front end needs some help tho.

Retro Style

Further proof that america has no real style of it’s own is the big retro syling trend with The Big Three; the new Mustang that recalls the late 60’s Mustang, the new Challenger that is a modern interpretation of the classic Cuda, the upcoming Camaro that pays homage to the ‘69 Camaro. The latest is this kit that is in the prototype stage for the C6 Corvette that brings back the ‘69 Stingray called the C3R. I actually kind of like it.

Mazda Kiyora Concept

I guess it’s a hatch back, pretty futuristic looking which makes me wonder how watered down the design will be when/if it reaches production. Actually I really like the fluid interweaving lines that recall the breathtaking Mazda Furai. According to the press release it’s powered by a 1.3 liter 6 speed automatic that incorporates all kinds of fuel saving tricks such as dual sequential valve timing, direct injection spark ignition, and smart idle stop system. Call me old school but I don’t think I could ever get used to a car that shuts completely off when stationary.

Alfa Romeo BAT 11

For as long as I can remember my number one bitch with the automotive industry has been thier habit of producing mind blowing concept cars only to water them down so much that by the time they reach production they share only a vague resemblence to the prototype that excited you so much. Alfa Romeo is breaking the trend by putting thier BAT 11 styling excercise into production as is, although only 25 to 50 units will be built. Probably a good thing because it definately isn’t a car for everyone.

It shares many styling cues from the (in my opinion) much more attractive 1955 BAT 9

It will be built on the 8C platform which, unlike the BAT 11, is absolutely gorgeous.

It just gets worse

I really didn’t think we’d be seeing any new cars uglier than the R35 and ‘09 Camaro this year, but then I didn’t count on the Corvette Centennial. Actually it’s not officially going into production yet but is slated to be in Transformers 2 next summer. That combined with it’s 1963 split window retro styling and the fact that it was named to celebrate Chevrolet’s 100th anniversary of making cars and 35th anniversary of building nothing but garbage makes me think we’ll see it built. Holy shit this thing is ugly.

2010 Civic hatch …maybe

It’s far from official but these pix of the supposed 2010 Civic hatch are floating around, said to be powered by a 1.5L IMA hybrid motor worth 150hp with a 2.0L i-VTEC Type R to follow. Personally I love it, I’d rock one all day long, but I’m not sure I like it as much as the CRZ. I guess we’ll see, the US probably won’t get the hatch version anyway.