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Honda is seemingly playing catch up in the sports car department. Awhile ago it launched the Honda CRZ hybrid, a little coupe which I am warming up to and more recently, it has previewed the upcoming Honda/Acura NSX which will play a part in the latest Marvel Comic movie, The Avengers. Better late than never as the last real sporty car in its line-up was the Honda Civic Type-R hatchback. Although it was sporty, it was still based on a hatchback and not something that looked its part. So now we now have the entry level and the supercar level covered but I believe there is a large hole in the mid-sized coupe for Honda to plug. Remember the Honda Integra and the Honda Prelude? Just about two years ago Honda was like the other Japanese car manufacturers, without a proper sports car in its lineup until the CRZ appeared. Now with the upcoming NSX, things are getting better (I am not counting the slightly dull USDM Honda Accord coupe in this case). But remember the the good ol' days when Honda had a while slew of sports cars in its line-up? In the early 1990s it had the Honda CRX as an entry level coupe/roundabout, the Honda Integra as a small sized, Civic based coupe, the Honda Prelude as its mid-sized coupe and then rounded it off with the Honda NSX supercar. Honda also had the Honda Legend coupe for those that wanted luxury over handling. It basically had all the bases covered. I actually miss the Honda Integra and the Honda Prelude. The Integra was based on the Civic but its last iteration, the DC5 Integra Type-R was an incredible track oriented front wheel drive car. It had an engine and a tail so responsive that to me it seemed like they were meant for each other. Some called it slightly twitchy at high speeds, but it was a coupe that actually loved to rev and loved to go round bends. Of course, the Honda Integra has only been out of production for about six years. So I do not miss it too much as there are still a few going around in these parts of the world. However the Honda Prelude was actually Honda's front wheel drive tour de force. This was even though the final, 5th generation Prelude (pictured above) was clothed in one of the most dullest looking bodies that Honda ever made for a coupe. It was like Nissan's rejected design for its Skyline or Sylvia models. But when you drove a Prelude you'd then realise that it was actually a heck of a car. The four wheel steering (mechanical in the 2nd and 3rd generation Preludes and electrical for the 4th and final generation models) actually made the car feel like it was driven by its rear wheels and when pushed hard cornered like no other front wheel drive could have. In the good ol' days of course. Of course these days manufacturers have somehow managed to even tweak a beam axle hatchback to get the car's tail to come into play. But that's besides the point. The point of having a Honda Prelude was to actually try technology on a front wheel drive chassis and see what can be done with it. To me the Prelude was a marvelous car to drive. It wasn't as hard core as the Integra but that was the reason it worked so well on city roads as well as bumpy B-roads. And this is actually why I miss the Prelude from the Honda sporting car line-up. The Prelude, like the Integra was axed from Honda's line-up as it somehow did not confine itself to Honda's marketing strategy at that point of time. Which is why I now feel that I hate marketing people in general. But that should pass. So Honda, if you're reading this, please come up with a replacement for the Prelude. I somewhat miss it (especially the 4th generation pictured below).

Honda has important plans for China over the next few years, as it aims to widen its range offered. It will introduce more than 10 brand new or redesigned models from 2013 to 2015 besides increasing local production capacity. Aside from the CR-Z, Insight and Fit hybrids that will be launched in China this year, the company will also debut two new concepts. With no official details of the concepts, a pair of sketches that outline the shape of a minivan and a sedan model have been released. From the sketches it looks like a China specific Odyssey and Accord, possibly featuring a hybrid powertrain Honda will also bring its luxury arm, Acura with the ILX, RDX, and the all-new NSX Concept. The ILX and RDX will be introduced to the Chinese market later this year. Honda plans to further strengthen Acura's product lineup in China with the 2013 RLX flagship sedan similar to the model on display at the New York Auto Show. Starting from next year, Acura will introduce models with new, smaller displacement powertrains, due to large demand in China. Honda is also considering establishing a new design studio in China and added that in July, the second plant of Dongfeng Honda will begin productions. The brand's other partner, Guangqi, is proceeding with a plan to build its third line and is aiming to begin production on this new line in 2014.

[extract] Repsol Honda MotoGP riders Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner have shown their support for the new sporty Honda CR-Z by displaying the logo on their racing leathers. Shuhei Nakamoto- Executive Vice President of Honda Racing Corporation,

Hybrids never fail to bore people unless they're nerds who love to talk all day about how they work or compare how many batteries their hybrid has. However, Honda's revelation of the CR-Z changed the world's perception of hybrids. What used to be stereotyped as slow and aesthetically boring is now sporty and rather handsome. Now there are plans to create another version to stuff the shoes into the mouths of hardcore petrol-heads, behold the CR-Z Type R. The CR-Z already had head turning looks but now with Mugen on the team, the Type R version is set to look even better and more aggressive than before, in short, it doesn't look like it has a ton of batteries in its belly. The coupe-like body is now matched with a red Honda badge, a body kit which will surely be scraped on speed humps, and even the Audi original day time running lights on the front lip. The most obvious difference between the standard CR-Z and the Type R is the blacked out hood and side mirrors against the Alpine White paint. This is sure to separate the men from the boys. Under the bonnet, the standard CR-Z glides with a 102bhp 1.5 litre engine with a 20bhp electric motor on board bringing the total number of horses to 122. But with Mugen, things are meant to go a little bonkers. There have been speculation that the Civic Type R's 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine could be the CR-Z's powerplant and the electric motor will be bumped up to produce 50bhp giving the CR-Z a total combined horsepower of 200 and a 0-100 timing of 6 seconds. The standard CR-Z will then be pale in comparison with a pedestrian 0-100km/h time of 9 seconds. All this speed with the fuel consumption of a camel at 20km/l which is quite amazing even though this is still all in theory. Along with the changes under the hood, the Type R will have an additional button on the dash labelled, 'Sport Plus' which makes everything feel faster and more exciting. It sharpens the throttle response, steering and the timing of the stop-start system and the electric motor will be set to work at full power to provide maximum performance. Better brakes and suspension will also be included to turn the standard CR-Z into a blazing mean machine.. The Type R is currently being prepared to make its debut in the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show before it hits the showrooms in Japan late in 2011.