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Old Mar 19, 2008 | 05:02 AM
  #1761  
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Damn the UK!



Europe Gets Honda's CR-Z Hybrid Before The Rest of Us.

Europeans get all the cool cars - the Fiat 500, the Peugeot 207, the Ariel Atom and now the Honda CR-Z hybrid sports car.

That's right. Honda will build the spiritual sucessor to the CRX but will offer it only in Europe - at least to start. According to Automotive News Europe, Honda is gearing the car toward a Continental market, with Honda UK leading the design effort while Honda's people in Germany work out the engineering.

Honda's poised to make a big push to unseat the mighty Toyota Prius as the very definition of hybrid technology, and to that end the company plans to release three new hybrids during the next several years. The goal, according to company president Takeo Fukui, is to have hybrids account for about 10 percent of Honda's sales by 2010. Reaching that goal will require selling about 400,000 hybrids a year, and there's no way the Civic Hybrid will hit a number that big. Honda will need more hybrid models.

Enter the CR-Z, the first of Honda's new hybrids.

The CR-Z - Compact Renaissance Zero, whatever that means - concept pictured here makes its European debut next month at the Geneva Auto Show. Honda plans to roll out the CR-Z in 2009 or 2010, but how much it resembles the concept is an open question. The concept looks great from the back, but that grille opening is a bit too catfish-like. Still, the CR-Z nicely updates the second-gen CRX.

It will have a mild hybrid drivetrain called Integrated Motor Assist with an electric motor between the gasoline engine and transmission. According to Motor Trend, the CR-Z won't be cable of electric-only operation. Honda says it will consider a full-on fossil-fuel burning model if the demand is there. It won't be cheap, either - look for the base model to come in at 25,00 Euros ($36,785 at today's exchange rate). Load it up with options and you're looking at 28,000 Euros ($41,199).

Look for the CR-Z to come to America about a year or two after Europe gets it.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/02/europe-gets-hon.html
I hope this article is wrong, but I fear it is not...
Old Mar 19, 2008 | 05:11 AM
  #1762  
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Less than one month until Gran Turismo 5 prologue is released for the Playstation 3. I fear you guys may never see me again after April 19th.

Old Mar 19, 2008 | 05:16 AM
  #1763  
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So Doug - a trip to Europe? Or can you wait until 2012 for this?
Old Mar 19, 2008 | 05:17 AM
  #1764  
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About time we had some MEN in WTD footer graphics (See Mike's sig)

Maybe I can send the designer guy some suggestions
Old Mar 19, 2008 | 05:18 AM
  #1765  
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Originally Posted by elmmx5,Mar 19 2008, 09:11 AM
Less than one month until Gran Turismo 5 prologue is released for the Playstation 3. I fear you guys may never see me again after April 19th.

Can I have your turbo then?
Old Mar 19, 2008 | 05:30 AM
  #1766  
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Originally Posted by elmmx5,Mar 19 2008, 09:11 AM
Less than one month until Gran Turismo 5 prologue is released for the Playstation 3. I fear you guys may never see me again after April 19th.

Prologue has been released for a while n00b. When is the REAL one coming out?
Old Mar 19, 2008 | 05:32 AM
  #1767  
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Originally Posted by daktruckie99,Mar 19 2008, 09:30 AM
Prologue has been released for a while n00b. When is the REAL one coming out?
Ummm... I don't live in Japan and the US version is not out yet.
Old Mar 19, 2008 | 05:34 AM
  #1768  
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Originally Posted by daktruckie99,Mar 19 2008, 09:30 AM
When is the REAL one coming out?
I think their line is, "when it's ready". At first that said end of this year, now it looks like it'll be later than that. Prologue will fill the void.
Old Mar 19, 2008 | 05:55 AM
  #1769  
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Yea but just buy the Japanese one. Who cares what it says as long as you can drive the cars.
Old Mar 19, 2008 | 06:02 AM
  #1770  
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Originally Posted by Tadashi,Mar 19 2008, 08:16 AM
So Doug - a trip to Europe? Or can you wait until 2012 for this?
I'll be waiting...

There is however one good thing about all of this. When it does indeed show up here it will not be a "1st Model Year" so I can buy one as soon as they arrive.



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