Euro Honda Civic 3-door

Honda has unveiled the 3-door version of their Euro-only Honda Civic hatchback, the Civic Type-S.

To our eye, this appears to be a great replacement for the long departed Honda CRX that we haven't had in the US since the 90's.

While Honda has a fairly full line of Civics in the US already (from 4-door sedan, coupe, hybrid sedan, and the sporty Si), I can certainly see a sector of the auto buying public that would love a big brother to the Fit that this 3-door Civic hatchback (and its 5-door sibling) represents. They could even make an Si version similar to the Euro Type-R high performance hatch for those who want more power and room for all their stuff that won't fit in a Civic coupe.

Take a look at more pictures over at Eurocarblog:

Eurocarblog - Honda Civic Type-S

New Honda CRV

The Hollywood Insider has posted some really nice, undisguised pics of the next Honda CRV.

Is it just me, or has Honda finally re-discovered their styling sense? First we get the new Civic that wouldn't have had to do much to look better than its predecessor - but knocked it out of the park with its rakish profile. Now we have this new CRV that actually has a certain sporty flair.

Now if we could just see how nice the interior and powertrain turn out to be...

Hollywood Extra - 2007 Honda CRV

Dodge expected to announce Challenger has been approved

The Detroit News is reporting that DaimlerChrysler will officially announce that the Dodge Challenger is approved for production at this Saturday's Pepsi 400.

One expected surprise is that the Challenger might see showrooms in late 2007 or early 2008 - 2-3 years earlier than the most conservative estimates. Unknown is if the Challenger will be built on the current LX chassis that underpins the Dodge Magnum/Charger as well as the Chrysler 300 or if it will be the first product built on the upcoming LY replacement for these cars.

It is likely that the Challenger will be both more expensive than the Mustang, V-8 only, the only version of the LX/LY available with a true manual transmission, and significantly larger than the Mustang - due to the fact that the LX/LY were built to be a large-sedan chassis.

Read the Detroit News article here:

Detroit News - Muscle car is reborn

Transformers movie teaser trailer now available

Due to a leaked version of the trailer, the Transformers movie folks have released the teaser trailer a few days early (it was supposed to be available on July 4, 2006 - 1 year before the release of the movie).

Check it out over at http://transformersmovie.com

Volvo C30 spied

Is anyone honestly surprised anymore when a car comes out looking just like its concept? With the current trend to 'debut' 'concepts' that are nothing more than dressed up prototypes, it certainly doesn't surprise me.

Now we have pics of the new Volvo C30 coupe undergoing cold weather testing.

It is obvious from these shots at Auto Express that the C30 we'll get early next year is the spitting image of the 'concept' Volvo recently showed us.

Put some serious turbo horsepower in this and it could make a nice counter-point to its Mazdaspeed3 platform-mate.

See more pics at:

AutoExpress - Volvo C30 Spy Shots

Ford dropping Freestar - to replace it with a crossover

Ford, who has been playing in the minivan market with such compelling entries as the Aerostar, the Windstar (their first unibody mini), and the Freestar (the Windstar with a new name) has finally decided to take its toys and go home.

Oh, they'll play in the 7-seater game, just not with something they'll call a minivan.

Remember the Fairlane concept (pictured above)? Well, there's a good chance that we'll see this people mover take the Freestar's place in the Blue Oval's lineup. No word yet if this will spell the ultimate demise of the Freestyle crossover (since things could get mighty crowded for it with a Fairlane 7-seater and a Fusion crossover sharing showroom space).

It will be interesting to see if bold, non-minivan styling will help Ford succeed where 20 years of trying to improve on class leaders in the minivan segment (and failing miserably) did not.

Honda chooses Indiana site for new auto assembly plant

Honda announced today that they have chosen a site outside Greensburg, Indiana for a new $550 million auto assembly plant.

The plant, when it comes online in the fall of 2008, will add 200,000 units to Honda's capacity. The plant will be located 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis and a mere 100 miles from Honda's engine plant in Avon, Ohio.

Initial employment at the plant is expected to be 2000.

This new plant helps offset the loss of many of the GM plants that previously operated in central Indiana and joins plants by Subaru and Toyota as foreign owned auto assembly plants in Indiana.

Smart coming to the US in 1Q08 - to be sold by Penske

In a move that really doesn't surprise anyone who has been following the rumors over the last few weeks - DaimlerChrysler announced today that they will be importing the Smart brand of city cars to the US starting in the first quarter of 2008.

In an interesting move that helps minimize their exposure if the cars refuse to sell, DCX isn't creating a brand new dealer network to sell the cars. Instead, they have decided to partner with Penske's UnitedAuto Group - though it is not immediately apparent what the exact nature of the partnership is other than that Penske's company will sell and service the vehicles. Our guess would be each UnitedAuto Group dealer in urban areas (specifically on the East and West coasts) will add special Smart showrooms within a showroom to minimize their costs rather than build dedicated facilities.