Future Cars: Honda/Acura

[Infiniti Z350]

HONDA

It's just a concept - but the Civic Si shown at Chicago by Honda is a clear warning shot across the bow of the latecomers in the sport-compact segment. Honda showed the Si two-door in advance of its fall launch as a 2006 model as "just a taste" of what's coming, new senior vice president of American Honda John Mendel said. The concept, he added, is about 90 percent accurate when compared against the production model coming later in the year. The Si will return to the two-door Civic lineup with a four-cylinder engine worth 200 hp - the most powerful Civic ever built by the factory. The 8000-rpm redline engine is teamed to a six-speed manual gearbox; the concept wears 18-inch wheels, four-piston Brembo brakes and high-performance tires. An aero kit and a black-accented hood round out the concept. The lineup of Civics will also include a standard two-door Coupe, a four-door Sedan , a new Civic Hybrid with better fuel economy, and a natural-gas-powered Civic GX.

The four-door Civic will show up this year as well. There will be many differences between the sedan and coupe, but even so, one can easily see the similarities between the sedan shown here and the Civic Si concept shown in Chicago. Most noticeable is the sweeping roofline and A-pillar, which goes right into the hood for a dramatic look. The windshield, side-view mirror treatment, and front-side windows, as well as the rear fender creases and trim, all match closely with the Si concept as well.

COMING: Replacements for Accord, Pilot, Element and CR-V all are due in the 2007 model year or shortly thereafter.


ACURA

The production version of the Acura RD-X will arrive for the 2007 model year. Likely to share some components with the Honda CR-V, the RD-X will employ Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system, which aims to provide all-weather traction with increased handling precision. No details regarding the powertrain for the production version were given, other than it will have in the vicinity of 200 hp. A hybrid powertrain is a strong possibility - if not standard, as an option. Performance hardware includes large Brembo brakes with slotted rotors.

Link: http://www.thecarconnection.com/Enth...283.A8371.html

[IAMCANADIAN]

The accord is already looking dull and boring, it feels like it's been out for a long time, the camry is way overdue as well. They need excitement not just high quality considering the fact that nowadays GM and other manufacturers are catching up in better quality.

[SonicAerio]

Originally Posted by IAMCANADIAN

The accord is already looking dull and boring, it feels like it's been out for a long time, the camry is way overdue as well. They need excitement not just high quality considering the fact that nowadays GM and other manufacturers are catching up in better quality.

It's all about design. Look at the 95-99 2nd gen eclipses, although they are almost 10 years old, they definately don't look that old. Like the new Saab 9-3 I don't think that the design will look aged after 5 years or so.