new CRX in the mix??

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Winding Road » Archive » Japan Report: CRX Successor In The Mix At Honda


Japan Report: CRX Successor In The Mix At Honda
Filed Under: Economy Cars, Hatchbacks, Honda, Future Vehicles, Automotive News February 28th, 2007 3:24 PM

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It’s news we thought we’d never hear - Honda is working on a new CRX.

For a whole number of reasons, Honda has for years refused to consider building a successor to one of its greatest enthusiast products, the two generations of tiny, Civic-based coupes that last appeared in the ’90s.

But now, at last, we hear that Honda’s thinking has changed, and a serious design proposal is under way at the company’s R&D design studios. It’s still in its early stages, but within the next couple of months, a decision will be made whether to take it further and approve it for production…



87civic_crxsi-600.jpg


Honda fans loved the CRX’s cool style, brilliant handling, and high revving speed; all wrapped up in that tiny, seductive package, with the second-generation 1.6-liter CRX VTEC arguably the most desirable of the lot.

But Honda management went cold on the car when insurance premiums soared skywards, especially in the U.S., where the trend hurt sales. The odd-looking 1992 CRX Del Sol (which was offered overseas with a robotic power retractable roof) flopped. In the aftermath, there have been one or two flickers that the CRX might still be alive (the 1997 J-VX Tokyo Show car being one example) and believe it or not, some at Honda saw the 1.0-liter Insight hybrid coupe as a kind of “new†CRX.

But still the business case for a new CRX never got off the ground, much to the frustration of enthusiasts (and quite a few gearheads inside Honda in Japan, who saw more than one design proposal canned).

What’s changed now is the runaway success of small sporty cars in the Mini Cooper mold and Honda’s determination to maximize use of the next Fit platform, on which a new CRX would be built.

There are still hurdles to be overcome, but a revival of one of Honda’s sporting icons looks more likely now than it has for a long time… and we think that’s great.

2nd gen yellow CRX

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I thought the Insight was pretty much the "new CRX"(well, besides the fact it doesn't share much parts with the Civic). I just hope it's light; seems like cars are getting more bloated and heavier.
 
Will happen. Honda has officially confirmed they will re-release the CRX. Their current plans suck...2011, hybrid, probably a fatass.
 
they did put out a new CRX in 2000
it was called the insight
it was fuel efficient
it handled well
it was lightweight
it was fun to drive

everyone assumed it was a slow boring POS without ever test driving it

no one bought it

it got canned


hondas days of putting out lightweight fun to drive reliable sporty fuel efficient cars are OVER
get use to it
 
hondas days of putting out lightweight fun to drive reliable sporty fuel efficient cars are OVER
get use to it
what about the fit?
 
The fit gets what? 38mpg highway? And its bigger than a civic. I had a 92 civic cx hatch that had a fried computer, and it ran 55mpg. 45 if you pushed it all the time. What happened here? They got bigger and less fuel efficient. And the power isn't anything to shake a stick at.

Its a mini-minivan for christs sake. Ever stood right next to one? They are simply huge! And Underpowered. And the carpet reminds me of cheap packing material.

Park a civic si hatch next to a fit. its smaller and 9847250439x sexier.

(I was at a lot this last weekend, lol)
 
they did put out a new CRX in 2000
it was called the insight
it was fuel efficient
it handled well
it was lightweight
it was fun to drive

everyone assumed it was a slow boring POS without ever test driving it

no one bought it

it got canned


hondas days of putting out lightweight fun to drive reliable sporty fuel efficient cars are OVER
get use to it

back in the day E beat my ass around the autox course in his bone stock insight.
 
i pissed off a LOT of people with that car

if the prices on them werent so inflated i would have bought another one
 
were you running a stock suspension on the insight? i have no clue about the parts interchangability on those things.
 
i said he had a bone stock insight like 3 posts up.
 
I was definately part of the group that assumed the insight was slow. I would've never guessed it was fun to drive. I associated hybrid with slow until I read about the Accord V6 hybrid actually being faster then the all gas one.
 
the 5 or 6 civics that i beat around town thought the insight was slow too :lol:


but yes it was 100% stock other than the radio (fucking thing came with a tape deck)
stock suspension
stock brakes
stock 165/65/14 tires
stock intake
stock 1" exhaust

i would have liked to upgrade the suspension and brakes... but there just wasnt anything out there for it
with suspension and brakes that car would have been a serious back road toy
 
i used to think the insight was a slow pos, but i had the chance to drive one for awhile, it was quite fun, like E said, they were a bit pricey, so they were out of my budget, but it could of caught on.
i think if Honda does decide to create another crx, it may be may years in the making, so don't expect anything too soon.
 
Two of some of the fastest N/A Honda's are Insight's ;) (Clutchmasters K20A Insight, and Bisi's F22A Insight)
 
what honda SHOULD do is this:

put out another small 2 seater based off of the insight
make the rear wheel covers (which BTW are good for 10MPG) removable
i understand that a lot of people dont like the look and would gladly take the MPG hit for the style (yes you could take them off of the insight but it looked like absolute ass without them on there)

keep with the minimalist theme, dont put all sorts of crazy shit in it (tvs, cd changers, navigation, 75 air bags, 24 speaker stereo, etc) stick to simple shit like a cd radio that plays MP3s, give it an aux input so people can hook an ipod or other MP3 player up to it, components in the doors and a very small sub in the rear for added depth, the rest of the interior should remain rather simple... better side bolstering on the seats is about all i ask.... oh that and real instruments not this digital bullshit... i want real gauges with needles on them , also an extra power outlet would be nice

get rid of the IMA system (hybrid) and use a small efficient engine that doesnt need the electric assist... the IMA system is heavy, and expensive as fuck to repair/replace... get rid of it
dont make it any heavier than it currently is (about 2000lbs)
weight is the key here... the lighter you make the car the smaller the engine you can use... smaller engines generally use less gas
a small light weight i4 would be more than enough if geared properly... hell the engine from one of their bikes would probably work perfectly
the 1000cc would be fucking great
a 900cc would be a very good time
a 600 would be somewhat sluggish and you would be too heavy to make efficient use of the engine... but with a SMALL turbo it would probably be a blast (the smart car has been using the tiny engine w/ turbo setup for years with great success)
using the fuel injection setup that honda designed for the IMAS would make this even more efficient

a closely geared 6 speed tranny would work great... gears 1-4 should be geared for as much acceleration as possible... gear 5 should be an overdrive that works well for around town cruising speeds... 6th should be a highway cruising gear
the close gears would make the car fun to drive, the long gears would make the car fuel efficient while cruising

for suspension, use the old style double wishbone coilover type suspension like what was used on the 5th and 6th gen civics... or even better make it an adjustable ride height, adjustable tension, cantilever style suspension... the ride should be somewhat stiff... there should be minimal lean in corners...
this would let people know that the car is not some lame ass city car... it would let people know that the car was made with performance in mind... proper suspension and handling would sell this car even without a good engine...

brakes should be powerful and fade resistant... im not asking for a full blown $10,000 race setup... but i would like to see something in the area of 10+inch in the front and 9+ in the rear... i want brakes that let you know when you step on them... i want brakes that can slow you from 100-30 all day long without shitting out on you... i would like to see a 60-0 braking distance under 110ft...
its well known to people who like corners that brakes and suspension will make you faster than HP

i would like to see some light weight 15 inch wheels on there... the wheels should have proper ventilation for cooling the brakes... or perhaps ducting ventilation to the rear of the brakes would work and still allow for aerodynamic wheels

i realize that running the bigger brakes will add weight... i realize that either of the suspensions i described are heavier than the macphearson strut design... i realize that the brake ducting would add weight ... with the removal of the IMA system you are going to save a couple hundred lbs... swapping out the current I3 for a higher output I4 off of one of the motorcycles would likely yeild the same weight if not a little less... replacing that weight with performance increasing parts is not going to hurt the car at all

there you have it
a sick handling car that will hang with the best through the corners... a small fuel efficient car that is fun to drive... an inexpensive car with nice features that make the ride more enjoyable... a car that will get good milage while driving around normally but still has the capability of tearing up shit when you decide thats what you want


im sure theres a billion reasons that this would never work and i know honda will NEVER actually produce it... but oh well... maybe someday ill have the time and money to make it for myself

of course by then ill probably own a Tesla anyway :)
 
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