• HOME
• 
• AUTO LISTINGS
• 
• FINANCE
• 
• NEWS
• 
• DIRECTORY
• 
• REVIEWS
• 
• FORUM
• 
• BLOG
• 

2007 Honda CR-Z Concept

Do you remember when Honda was one of the sportiest car companies around? It made an awesome little three-door hatchback named

Honda needs something sporty to zip up its image. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

Civic that was the darling of tuners around the world, followed up by the three-door CRX fastback based on the same platform, also highly tunable, and then, as the flagship sporty model it made the oh-so hot Prelude, still stylish after years of extinction ... RIP. Even the third-generation Accord was cool, with a raked profile and pop-up headlights. So what's wrong with the brand now? Not a heck of a lot, actually, at least from a highly reliable, extremely profitable point of view. It's just not the performance brand it once was. Don't get me wrong, as its Civic Si and Accord are fabulous fun, and more capable from 0 to 60 or through the corners than anything from the brand's past, but other than the new Accord Coupe, not much in the lineup looks particularly sexy.

Honda seems quite aware of this, which is why it introduced a little concept named CR-Z in Tokyo that's created quite the buzz in the automaker's home market as well as in North America, where I first saw it in Los Angeles, at that city's International auto show, as well as in Detroit. Why it's stirring up emotions is obvious, as it takes a number of key design cues from the beloved

OK, now that's hot... and it certainly pulls cues from the beloved CRX. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

CRX, yet moves the sporting ideal much further forward than the CRX ever did. What's more exciting is that it appears Honda is serious about bringing something like the CR-Z to market; a compact, affordable and efficient sports car.

If you've been reading these pages over the past year or so, you'll know that Honda has been showing a number of different small sports coupe concepts around the world, including the Remix and the Small Hybrid Sports Coupe concept, teasing fans that became fans of the Japanese carmaker because of its sporty past. It seems, however, with the new CR-Z Concept Honda is closer to its goals of producing such a vehicle than ever before.

While the new concept's name might sound familiar, the letters of this acronym actually stand for something: Compact Renaissance Zero. OK, the “Renaissance” bit is a bit much, and might be more appropriately given “Renewable” or “Rechargeable” for the “R” designation, but that hardly matters when contemplating

Larger design has accommodating interior with room for four. (Photo: Honda)

what's underneath the sleek hood. It's a hybrid drivetrain, of course, which consists of a small three-stage gasoline engine mated to the Honda's IMA system. The engine's exact displacement is unknown, but I'd bet on something a little more motivational than the 1.0-liter three-cylinder mill from the Insight. Rather a 1.4- or even a 1.6-liter engine from the Honda Fit or Honda Civic, when combined with electrical assist, would give the CR-Z fun-filled performance. Then again, a 2.0- or 2.4-liter four would put a serious charge in the hybrid drivetrain, and turn the CR-Z into something that could battle it out with larger, more upscale brands.

Page:  1  2  3

AUTOMOBILE REVIEWS BY MAKE

Acura  Audi   Bentley   BMW   Buick   Cadillac   Chevrolet   Chrysler   Daewoo   Dodge   Eagle   Ferrari   Ford   Geo   GMC   Honda   Hummer   Hyundai   Infiniti   Isuzu   Jaguar   Jeep   Kia   Lamborghini   Lexus   Lincoln   Lotus   Maserati   Mazda   Mercedes-Benz   Mercury   MINI   Mitsubishi   Nissan   Oldsmobile   Plymouth   Pontiac   Porsche   Saab   Saturn   Scion   Subaru   Suzuki   Toyota   Volkswagen   Volvo