Marco Simoncelli dies in race accident

 

A promising Italian rider, Simoncelli advanced just last year to the top-tier MotoGP series after making a name for himself in the feeder classes. He was a force to be reckoned with in the Italian Minimoto Championship in the late 90s, won the European championship (as well as several World Championship races) in the 125cc class for Aprilia and took the 250cc World Championship for Gilera in 2008. He advanced to the MotoGP series last season, riding for the Gresini Honda team, for whom he took a second-place finish just last week in Australia.

Disaster struck, however, on the second lap of the Malaysian Grand Prix today where he lost control of his Honda racing bike and was hit by fellow riders Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi as he slid across the track. He laid there motionless, his helmet having come off in the incident, until an ambulance brought him to the trackside infirmary where he was subsequently pronounced dead. He was 24.

The tragedy marks the first death in MotoGP since the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix where Daijiro Kato, also of the Gresini team, was killed. However Shoya Tomizawa was killed a little over a year ago in the Moto2 race at San Marino.

Our hearts go out to Simoncelli's family, friends and colleagues. Follow the jump to watch the incident unfold. 

Scion, Mitsubishi and Mazda top brands among Gen Y buyers

Sure, every age demographic is important to marketing and sales teams in the automotive industry. But automakers would love nothing more than to grab hold of a young person and instill brand loyalty at an early age.

Which manufacturers are actually doing that? According to a study conducted by TrueCar.com, car shoppers aged between 18 and 27 years old are flocking to Scion, Mitsubishi and Mazda.

Referred to as Generation Y, this group represents a vital segment of the car-shopping public. If a brand can grab you here, it has a strong chance of grabbing you again down the road. In 2009 and 2010, Scion was able to capture 21.2 percent of the Gen Y car buyers. Mitsubishi was close behind with 20.3 percent of that market, and Mazda was third with 10.7 percent. Surprisingly, Bugatti failed to make the list.

TrueCar.com also took a look at the specific models that appeal to this young segment of shoppers. The Scion tC, Mitsubishi Lancer and Honda Civic Si nabbed the top three spots for sales in the previous two years. Generation Y clearly has a thing for imports, and you can dig deeper into TrueCar's findings by reading the full press release posted after the jump.

You now live in a world with a ZR1-powered pickup truck

Stuffing engine A into automobile B has been part an enthusiast rite of passage for decades. Fast-forward to 2011, and someone has finally jumped to engine Z. Rather, they've taken the engine from a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and slung it betwixt the front fenders of a Silverado pickup truck.

Ford Lightning owners, Dodge Ram SRT owners and Toyota Tundra TRD owners... bow to your new master.

For those of you not familiar with this particular engine (how?), allow us to enlighten you. What you're looking at above is the LS9 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine. The power output is rated at 638 horses and 604 pound-feet of torque, and all that forward go is now propelling the rear wheels of a Silverado pickup.

Someone get sandbags, high-octane fuel and a video camera, because we want to see this rig run down the drag strip. Our hats off to the mad minds at Houston-based Fastlane for their unholy creation.

Honda teammates collide on last lap of British Touring Car race

Honda teammates collide on last lap of BTCC race – Click above to watch the video after the break

Uh oh, looks like someone just got Red Bulled. Don't know what that means? Remember back to the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, in which the Red Bull racer driven by Mark Webber was leading the race with his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, right behind in second. It appeared to everyone watching that the famous energy drink's team would earn the first two spots on the podium, but it was not to be.

Vettel dove to the inside in a daring and dangerous maneuver and collided into his teammate. Vettel's day was done, Webber managed to finish the race in third. Stupid.

So memorable was the incident that it's now become a verb. The latest set of teammates to pull a Red Bull? Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, who race matching Honda Civics in the British Touring Car Championship. On the last lap of the second race at Oulton Park on June 5th, Neal, who was in second place behind his 'mate, decided he deserved to take the win. His passing maneuver, though, ended in tears.

Spied: 2013 Honda CR-V

A fearless Car and Driver reader in Washington, D.C., snapped this picture of the next-generation Honda CR-V crossover, which will debut this fall. The vehicle looks ready for production, wearing its own sheetmetal (rather than the modified body of an existing Honda model) with the badge buried in tape on the tailgate.
Like other Japanese auto companies, Honda is as tight-lipped as can be about its future products. We’re left to use recent history and this photo to determine that the next CR-V will represent a gentle update to the current car, rather than a radical redo.

Figure on a naturally aspirated four-cylinder being the only engine available. It should displace 2.4 liters like today’s CR-V engine, and we expect it to make between 180 and 200 hp—although the number may be closer to the bottom end of that range. Fuel economy also should improve slightly; in front-drive spec, the current model is rated for 21 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. (All-wheel-drivers are rated for 21/27.)
If there are any major changes to the upcoming CR-V, it could be in the seating layout. Until now, every CR-V has been a strictly five-seat affair. Given the long rear overhang of the car in this photo, however, it looks like there just might be room for a small third row of seats for short-legged passengers. Toyota sells a three-row RAV4, but most others in the segment serve a maximum of five.

Few would call the CR-V in its present form a pulse-raising vehicle, but it’s a staple for Honda, offers good driving dynamics, and is a sensible choice for more than 200,000 Americans per year. Even without concrete details on the next-generation CR-V, we feel confident saying it will maintain the current car’s sales success. We expect the 2012 CR-V to debut at the Los Angeles auto show this November.

Hot News: 2012 Honda CR-Z Type R

From hybrid to high-performance! Honda’s new petrol-electric coupe, the CR-Z, is being readied for Type R treatment, and Auto Express can bring you the first exclusive images of how the hot new model is shaping up.
Revealed in production trim at this January’s Detroit Motor Show, the CR-Z has already caused quite a stir by marrying a sporty three-door body with a fuel efficient hybrid powertrain – creating the world’s first truly desirable sports hybrid in the process. But the Japanese firm is going one step further with this stunning Type R version, which boasts a raft of head-turning design cues, and a more powerful hybrid powertrain under the skin.
A tarmac-hugging bodykit will create a clear definition between the standard car and this high-performance variant, and includes daytime running lights in the front apron and a black rear diffuser with integrated exhaust pipes. But it’s the colour scheme that will be most recogniseable to Type R fans.
A black bonnet, wing mirrors and wheels set against an alpine-white paint scheme will make the CR-Z stand out in a crowd. Blacked-out A-pillars are a new styling cue - giving the impression of a glass area that wraps around the car.
The standard CR-Z uses a 102bhp 1.5-litre engine coupled to a 20bhp electric motor for a total output of just 122bhp - but the Type-R is set to offer much more than that! Mugen, Honda’s official tuning arm, is reportedly being lined-up to work its magic on the CR-Z and boost its performance credentials. There had been rumours that a reworked version of the Civic Type R’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine could make it into the CR-Z Type-R, but because the coupe has been designed as a hybrid from the outset, a petrol-electric powertrain is a must.
The front-wheel drive layout and six-speed manual gearbox will remain, but expect the naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre engine to be cranked up to around 150bhp and mated to a larger 50bhp electric motor. The combined output of 200bhp will move the Type-R into serious performance territory with a 0-60mph time of close to six seconds, three seconds faster than the 122bhp CR-Z, and a top speed of 140mph.
The standard car’s three driving modes will also be extended to four, to include an additional Sport Plus setting. Select it and the throttle response, steering, timing of the stop-start system and the level of assitance from the electric motor will be set for maximum performance. Upgraded brakes and stiffened suspension will complete the package.

2011 Honda Pilot 4WD Touring: Inspired from Top-Selling CR-V

Honda Pilot 4WD touring has released in 2011 what inspired from top-selling Honda CR-V but the larger Pilot. 2011 Honda Pilot 4WD touring is the simple two-CUV lineup. The Pilot desire a smaller footprint, smaller price tag and higher fuel economy. The Pilot has been mostly successful during its nine-year production run, with high marks for safety (the 2011 model has an overall score of four stars from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration) and reliability (Consumer Reports gave it the organization’s coveted Recommended rating). Dancing on the fringes of the CUV segment and selling in low numbers, Honda also offers the nearly gone Element and Accord Crosstour, but it’s still the boxier CR-V and Pilot doing the heavy lifting for the brand.Click Images for High-Resolution Images
the Pilot first hit the market in 2003, Honda’s CUV was competing mainly with quickly aging body-on-frame Sport Utility Vehicles like the previous Ford Explorer and Chevrolet Trailblazer. That first-generation Pilot’s 240-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 and relatively nimble chassis made those SUVs look outdated in comparison, and buyers took notice. The Pilot later received a touch-up in 2006 and a fuller refresh in 2009, but other than a boxier, more macho design and an interior that some say actually regressed, the formula really hasn’t changed all that much. That’s not as damning a statement as one might think, considering how far ahead of the competition the Pilot once was, and it helps that repeat buyers know exactly what to expect from their big Honda: safety, reliability and unshakable resale value.

Honda CR-V

Best Car IIMS 2010 is one of prestige car manufacturers car contest participants Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS). Last year the Toyota Prius to get this degree, and in 2010 was the turn of New Honda CR-V, who took home the same title.

Best Car of IIMS is considered voting visitors. In the year 2010 there are 1554 visitors who become respondents. And the new Honda CR-V have an option of 33.96 percent.

Honda X-Track, Sport Car Hybrid Paling Ekstrem

Jakarta - like car designers compete to create the car of the future. All the energy spent to get the best results. One of them Nikita Kalinin, a talented designer.
She managed to make the design of Honda's hybrid sports car. She called him the Honda X-Track as reported in his blog on Wednesday (27/04/2011).

Check Boss Production Sports Cars Honda Honda NSX New.

After nearly six years of outstanding and interspersed with news that it is not clear, ultimately the fate of the production process the latest generation of Honda NSX sports car get a direct assurance from the boss of Honda Motor Company, Takanobu Ito. Honda president confirms that he is working hard now working on models that most sports car brand.