Filed under: Green, Hatchbacks, Honda
New CRX won't show until 2011, but will be a hybrid
by Frank Filipponio on Jul 11th 2007 at 12:28PM 
Back in February we relayed some information to you about a possible new Honda CRX. Our friends over at Winding Road told us that Honda was finally admitting to developing a new CRX based on the Fit platform. The success of small, affordable, fun cars like the MINI proved the market was viable and Honda eventually gave the car the green light. Well, now comes some additional info stating that besides the green light, Honda is giving the new CRX a green powerplant. Some might recall the poor-selling, but much-loved-by-a-few Honda Insight, as well as its resemblance to the wickedly fun but economical CRX. Marrying both loved vehicles into one model makes some sense, too.
WR is reporting that its inside info says the car will definitely be a hybrid, and should emulate the styling of the original CRX rather than its successor, the Del Sol. Good news so far. The catch is that rather than seeing the car in 2009, as originally thought, it is going to debut around 2011 instead. Geneva's Small Hybrid Sports Concept and Los Angeles' Remix were seen as possible CRX design ideas, but it seems that an homage to the original is more likely. We'll probably see a concept version in Tokyo in October.
[Source: Winding Road]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
thatguyoverthere 12:35PM (7/11/2007)
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
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rv 1:38AM (7/13/2007)
Ahem, that's spelled with a capital "G" not "Y"...
mk 12:44PM (7/11/2007)
doesn't a hybrid drivetrain defeat some of the purpose of a light-weight car? batteries and electric motors aren't exactly light, in addition to a small fuel engine, fuel tank, and accoutrements.
Hopefully it will work. not really my cup of tea sort of a car anyway, but I know that some like it. Hope it works well for them.
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sfast 9:57PM (7/11/2007)
I would agree and go on to say that the Insight would have had as good of real world mileage with out the hybrid system adding weight to the car.
Aetius 12:45PM (7/11/2007)
If it's light, has a small displacement engine, why in the world would it need to be a Hybrid???
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iamhoff 12:52PM (7/11/2007)
Schweeeeet! In addition to the hybrid, though, please oh please can we have the return of the CRX Si, too?
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Dave 12:54PM (7/11/2007)
When is a CRX not a CRX?
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stefan 1:14PM (7/11/2007)
When its a fat hybrid with a CVT.
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GamefreakM 1:19PM (7/11/2007)
I'd think it'd be a "Mild" Hybrid, with the Batteries under the seats....
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GamefreakM 1:20PM (7/11/2007)
I think It'd be a "Mild" Hybrid, with the batteries under the seats....
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h8rain 1:32PM (7/11/2007)
Ahh the Del Sol. I actually miss that car, and would love to have one. They are getting harder and harder to find without fart box muffler and wings on the bad though.
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Mike 1:53PM (7/11/2007)
As a CRX Si owner, I fear Honda is going to go soft with the Sport Injection. We have the Yaris, xA, Fit, etc. How about making a thrilling small car with some grunt again??
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Jonathan Hicks 1:59PM (7/11/2007)
They should offer either the Civic's 1.8 liter engine in the base CRX and a 2.0 liter CRX Si. A hybrid powerplant would certainly hurt the CRX's heritage.
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Jonathan Hicks 2:02PM (7/11/2007)
I really miss the Del Sol, too. Bring it back & offer both base & Si versions.
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Jamie 2:15PM (7/11/2007)
Remember, the CRX Si wasn't the whole story.
There was also the CRX HF, which had 63 hp and astounding fuel economy, averaging well into the 40's. It had a yellow upshift light - rare at the time - to help you achieve the best mileage.
It was available even in the second gen body style, the one before the Del Sol. It was a stick-shift-only car, like the Si, if I remember correctly.
So in light of that, a new,hybrid CRX not only sounds like a good idea, but it's exactly in line with the CRX's model history.
Having said all that, I owned an '89 CRX Si and loved it.
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BC 4:15PM (7/11/2007)
If I recall the HF had some other innovations. I think the alternator cycled on and off or something to save load on the engine. The upshift light is not all that special. My 83 Civic 1300FE had one, as did my dreadful 83 Escort, mom's 85 Tempo, VW Rabbits, and many many other small cars of the time.
My 83 Civic 1300 FE was the gas mileage champ of it's day. 1.3, tall 5-speed. 82's you couldn't get A/C, but 83's you could (family had an 82 also). My avg mileage was usually low40's/high 30's, but breaking 50 was not difficult. Sure it was slow, but quiet and very well built, Back in those days Hondas still had character, and they seemed much more upscale than everything else. I sold it with 204k miles, and getting rid of it is one of the top mistakes of my life. I still have dreams of finding it and restoring it. I traded for a used 91 Civic, which was a dog. Hondas lost appeal to me in the late 90's, so I jumped to a Dodge Stratus (flame away, but it was a good car), then 2 Mazdas (02 Protege5, 06 3).
When the HF came out in 84 it replaced the FE as the Honda MPG champ. 2 less seats, but it seemed amazing because they improved the MPG, but the engine was still bigger and more powerful.
mongo 4:21PM (7/11/2007)
I had an '85 HF. Great fun to drive.
On one trip south I averaged 62 mpg on a tank of gas cruising at a steady 55. At other times I managed to coax it over 100! Still averaged around 40-45 mpg.
It lasted over 150,000 miles before it started spraying for mosquitos. I MISS IT.
naggs 2:17PM (7/11/2007)
lame. so much for the next crx being fun
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Johnny Rocket 2:18PM (7/11/2007)
I don't know what's up with the CRX. It always looked like nothing more than a perfect contender for the 24 Hours of Lemons. Couldn't one argue the last Si hatch was another CRX in all but name?
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cheezwiz 2:27PM (7/11/2007)
Not at 2700+ lbs and with rear seats, you couldn't.
The CRX is not the only hatch Honda has made. The first several generations of Civic Si's were hatches. Before the current civic Si, there was only 1 generation of si coupes. I guess coupes are just where the market is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_Si