Autoblog

Honda giving away free Civics in Forza Horizon to celebrate launch

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:29:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Hatchback, Honda, Toys/Games

Just a friendly reminder from Honda: The Honda Challenge Pack DLC is now available for Forza Horizon. To reward you for the trouble of pressing a few buttons on your Xbox controller, you'll get the 2013 Honda Civic Coupe, an HPD Rally Fit and a 1986 Honda Civic Si Coupe in your garage, and you'll get them free. The event of the new DLC has also kicked off a photo contest that will reward someone with an Xbox 360 console wrapped in a Honda Civic Si theme.

Otherwise, the word "Challenge" keeps coming up because of the chance to run an online race against IndyCar driver Scott Dixon. The track for that digital throwdown has already been decided by Xbox players who voted before January 8. Yet it's not too late to hop into the Honda section in Xbox Live and lay down a time fast enough for a shot at the title "The Driver That Shellacked Scott Dixon," and meeting the man in person.

Check out the press release from Honda below, and the sweetness that is the 1986 Civic Si in the gallery above.

Continue reading Honda giving away free Civics in Forza Horizon to celebrate launch

Honda giving away free Civics in Forza Horizon to celebrate launch originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forza Horizon announces Rally Expansion and Honda Challenge DLC packs [w/video]

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:44:00 EST

Filed under: Videos, Ford, Honda, Toys/Games, Racing

The guys at Turn 10 Studios have more DLC served up for Forza Horizon. On January 15, 2013, we'll get the Honda Challenge Car Pack that puts the 2013 Honda Civic Coupe, an HPD Rally Fit and a 1986 Honda Civic Si Coupe in our garage. Part of Honda's effort to return the Civic to its former place in everyone's hearts, we presume.

The Challenge part of the equation will be the online race against Scott Dixon, wherein you try to beat the IndyCar driver's time around a track in a 2013 Civic Si for the chance to meet the racer in person. What's more, Horizon players will get to choose the track - look for the Honda section in Xbox Live and place your vote by January 8 for the showdown venue. There's also a photo contest that starts on January 15, the same day that the absolutely free challenge pack will be available. The winner of that contest will get custom-wrapped Civic Si Xbox 360 console.

While you wait for that, available as of yesterday is the rally expansion pack. It adds five rally cars, new multiplayer events, co-drivers making announcements and a seven-race series in Colorado with 20 stages that culminates in someone being declared rally champion. If you want in, it's free if you bought the $50 Season Pass - and you'll also get a 2003 Ford Focus SVT as a special bonus - or it'll be 1,600 MS Points if you aren't a member of the Season Pass club. We're working on a review of the significant expansion, too, so stay tuned.

The video below takes you on a romp through the rally pack, with ample demonstration of all the crashes you can't wait to have.

Continue reading Forza Horizon announces Rally Expansion and Honda Challenge DLC packs [w/video]

Forza Horizon announces Rally Expansion and Honda Challenge DLC packs [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch Honda transform a stock Civic Si into a race car

George Kennedy — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:15:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Honda

Chief designer for Sunbeam, Louis Coatalen was once quoted as saying "Racing improves the breed." With Formula One racers that look like nothing on the open road, and NASCAR, whose cars only LOOK like what you can get in a dealership, its hard for the average Joe to see why motorsport is relevant to their daily lives.

Production-based racing is where you can truly find that connection of road car and race car, Cars that wish to enter in these types of race series must start life as a model that you can find at your local dealer. The folks at Compass 360 Racing have chronicled what it takes to turn your daily driver into a race winner, and according to the description, "it's easier than you think."

The team starts out with a 2012 Honda Civic Si and takes the necessary steps to ready it for race series like the Grand Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. The first move for racing mechanic Steve Stantidakis and the rest of the team is to gut the car almost entirely, removing interior panels, seats, accessories and the engine. The spread of parts along the shop floor in the video is quite remarkable.

Next, they separate parts that will return to the compact racer from the items that will be discarded. Once stripped down, a roll cage is installed, the car is painted, and necessary parts will be reinstalled.

A version of the Si's 2.4-liter VTEC four-cylinder tuned by Honda Performance Development engine is next to go in. According to HPD Senior Engineer Lee Niffenegger, the four-pot achieves roughly 25 percent more power than the standard Si engine through improved intake and exhaust flow, among other things.

And why go through all this trouble to convert a bone-stock coupe into a performance machine? Says Niffenegger, "The reason Honda races is to push our cars to the limit. You can only learn so much through what you do on the street."

Scroll down to see it all come together.

Continue reading Watch Honda transform a stock Civic Si into a race car

Watch Honda transform a stock Civic Si into a race car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next-generation Honda Civic may be delayed

Steven J. Ewing — Mon, 17 May 2010 12:35:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Sedan, Honda

Typically, most automakers stick to a relatively strict five-year product cycle for their highest-selling, most important products. The Honda Civic, for example, debuted in September of 2005, so realistically, a new model should be just around the corner, right? Not exactly.

In an interview with AutoWeek, American Honda executive vice president John Mendel said that changing market conditions and tougher fuel economy and emissions regulations have strongly affected the development of the next-generation Civic, meaning that the new model won't come until sometime in 2011. AW also reports that the Civic's redesign has been altered along the way - the new model was supposed to be larger than the current model, but now it has been redesigned to be closer in size to the current one (pictured above).

What's more, with hot new products like the 2012 Ford Focus on deck, Honda will certainly have to up the ante on the Civic's level of equipment, style and refinement. The Civic is still one of the world's best-selling cars: about one million are moved each year. And with the U.S. accounting for approximately one-third of those sales, Honda would be wise to ensure that the next-generation Civic will be attractive enough to keep it in the top tier of high-selling vehicles in the States.

Gallery: 2009 Honda Civic

[Source: AutoWeek]

Next-generation Honda Civic may be delayed originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 May 2010 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2009 Honda Civic Coupe revealed in brochure

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:59:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Honda

Click above for gallery of the 2009 Civic Coupe

Just last week we revealed official images and specifications for the updated 2009 Honda Civic in sedan and hybrid body styles. Lest you coupe fans feel left out, we've finally found information on Honda's newish two-door in DX, LX, EX/EX-L and Si levels from a PDF brochure and the brand's U.S. website. As with the sedan, the front and rear of the Civic Coupe see the most change, though it'll take a trained eye to spot the differences out back. The front grille, though, looks more aggressive and sports a new honeycomb pattern, and the lower bumper has been redesigned with new air intakes. We likey. Also of note are the new clear turn signal lenses. On the inside, the available navigation system flips down to reveal a slot-loading CD player and inputs for digital audio cards, whatever those are. There's also a new USB music interface in the center console so you can just plug a flash drive full of tunes into the dash. A 140-hp, 1.8-Liter i-VTEC(R) engine powers the standard coupe and offers up to 36 highway mpg. Honda hasn't released any of this information through its media website, and the consumer website still isn't showing any 2009 Si models, so expect the big H to release more information on its '09 coupes in the coming weeks. In the meantime, take a look through our gallery below to chart all the changes. Thanks for the tip, Ricky!

Gallery: 2009 Honda Civic Coupe

[Source: Honda]

2009 Honda Civic Coupe revealed in brochure originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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