Honda's CRX is something of a legend, one of those cars about which everyone seems to have memories. Fond memories at that, usually involving an ultracool college-age dude who drove the wheels off one. The first-generation Honda Insight, on the other hand, is a car that the in crowd probably doesn't even remember, but it was pure dork delight. With an aluminum unibody, it was the first hybrid to reach the U.S. and posted the highest EPA combined fuel economy number of all time: 53 mpg (49/61 mpg city/highway).

I've spent four nights jumping between the Volkswagen GTI and this Civic Si, cars that, arguably, cater to the same demographic and that cost about the same. After all this back and forth, I think I'd take my $22,000 to the VW dealer.

Honda's CR-Z is a pretty cool little hybrid. There's a bit of sportiness that comes through the steering wheel and shifter as you putter along in city traffic or other roads that don't require much more than 45 mph to be enjoyable. What amazes me the most about the CR-Z is how little it reminds me of the Fit and the Insight, two Hondas I haven't really enjoyed.

Acura doesn't offer a two-door car right now, and that's probably a good thing. With a rich leather interior and surplus of electronics, the Accord V-6 EX-L we recently spent some time with makes any Acura coupe redundant.

I was pleasantly surprised by the manual Accord coupe. It's a good example of Honda's knack for building vehicles that appeal to the mainstream consumer but still offer a bit of enjoyment for the enthusiast. The light steering is effortless in daily driving but it also provides enough feedback to be rewarding on the curvy stuff. Even with 271 hp, the 3.5-liter V-6 doesn't often overpower the front tires but it's also no slouch. Plus, it sounds great. Start off slow and you'll hear a nice muffled growl; floor it and that faint noise builds into a roar by the time it reaches redline. The six-speed manual and the clutch pedal require more effort than I expect from a Honda -- particularly the heavy clutch -- but it wouldn't stop me from choosing the manual if I were going to buy an Accord coupe.

Just as it was in 1967, the 2011 Ford Mustang and 2011 Chevrolet Camaro are natural rivals, not only in their design and performance, but also in showroom sales. So we didn't need Ford to tell us that the Camaro is the most cross-shopped vehicle for Mustang buyers. We were surprised, however, when Ford revealed the second most cross-shopped vehicle. We suspected -- as you may -- either the Dodge Challenger, the Hyundai Genesis coupe, or the Nissan 370Z. After the Camaro, though, Ford says shoppers are most likely to compare the Mustang with the Honda Accord coupe. So we gathered the two coupes for head-to-head comparison.

The Honda Pilot is one of those vehicles that you know are popular but that you never really notice. Its mission is one of practicality, not flashiness, and as such it's been very successful for Honda. (In fact, in the month of May, the Pilot outsold the entire Acura division.) Its boxy exterior is anything but eye-catching, and its interior is pleasant but not overly fussy and is filled with lots of useful storage bins. There are other vehicles in this segment - such as the Mazda CX-9 -- that are more attractively styled and are more powerful, but the Pilot manages to outsell the CX-9 more than four to one. The Pilot capitalizes on its reputation for reliability, on the cachet of the Honda name, and, most important, on the fact that it is a very usable vehicle that makes sense for lots of consumers.
Amy Skogstrom

Is the 2011 Honda CR-Z a new CRX? Well, the CRX's influence is not only obvious in the CR-Z's name (which stands for Compact Renaissance Zero) but also in its truncated tail and horizontally split rear window. The triangular taillights bear a strong family resemblance to Honda's current (and pretty dorky) Insight, but the CR-Z is lower, wider, and certainly cooler. The upswept character lines and D-pillar suggest motion even when the car is parked, but the long front overhang can't mask this car's economy-car roots. After all, the CR-Z shares its basic architecture with the Fit and the Insight, but it rides on a wheelbase that is considerably shorter. The CR-Z is an inch shorter overall than the Fit but is almost two inches wider and more than five inches lower. Surprisingly, headroom is generous, since the sport seats are mounted low.

The Honda Crosstour's styling appears unconventional today, but, what with vehicles such as the Toyota Venza and the BMW 5-series GT becoming more common on our roads, it looks as if convention might be changing.

For nearly two decades, the Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, and the Nissan Altima have been slugging it out atop the mid-size car segment. After so many years of close combat, it's only natural that the feud has spilled over into a new arena -- tall wagons.

Warning: the information and images on the following pages might antagonize you to no end. As you read about the most anticipated cars of the next four years, you might become frustrated by wanting what you can't yet have. Just remember -- good things come to those who wait. For now, dig in to the details, the spy photos, the informed illustrations, and the future-teasing concepts of our annual Sneak Preview. Thanks to our probing questions and well-placed sources, there's plenty to dream about.

If there was ever a perfectly timed vehicle launch, it was the one for the 2009 Honda Fit. Just as gas prices had reached their zenith and the economy was entering its nosedive in the summer of 2008, Honda introduced the redesigned edition of its already strong-selling subcompact. Whereas most "B-segment" cars come with a bargain-basement price, good fuel economy, and not much else, the Fit sells on its design and versatility, and it can be ordered with all manner of features usually reserved for "real" cars. For suddenly fuel-economy-conscious consumers, it was like manna from heaven, and in the months after the car's debut, Honda had a hard time keeping Fits on dealer lots. We liked it, too, enough to name it a 2009 All-Star. And yet, we wondered if the typical American would really be happy - long-term - with such a small vehicle, especially once fuel prices went down. So, we ordered a Fit Sport with navigation and lived with it for a year. We found that the Fit certainly can be a replacement for the bigger, more powerful cars that we usually drive but not without some qualifications.

Haven't we seen this movie before? Carmakers bring out a flurry of new small entries in response to a sudden rush of demand driven by spiking gas prices. TV talking heads intone that "gasoline is not going to get any cheaper," but then it does, and U.S. car buyers, whose collective memory is about as long as a snail darter's, revert to form and embrace size and power again.

The array of conceptual urban cruisers from Honda continues, as the automaker released photos of its new 3R-C concept, which will debut at next week’s Geneva motor show.

Ambivalent about minivans? If so, Honda is gunning for your business. In addition to those who love and hate the family-friendly haulers, the automaker says there's a third, distinct segment of consumers who appreciate the utility of a van, but loathe their stodgy image.

The Honda Accord Crosstour is a spectacular example of automotive social media marketing gone wrong. When the car was revealed on Facebook, virtually everyone posted horrible things about it on Honda's page. One of the (very) few people to say something positive turned out to be a Honda employee, and the social media crowd had a field day with that bit of news. The debacle certainly got the Crosstour name out quickly, but it might give reason to think about the notion that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

I suspect this is a rare bird because only a few outliers would knowingly select two doors and six gears in a Honda costing well over $20,000. Nonetheless, it's good to see this brand tip its hat in the enthusiast's direction. Overall, I'd give the Accord coupe an A-minus for execution and a B for value. High points are the stylish envelope, beautifully finished interior, and reasonably roomy rear seat. Practically every control function feels liberally lubricated and friction-free. The most noticeable exception was a slightly heavy shift effort moving across the H-pattern. Hints of gear whine while cruising and notable impact harshness on frozen roads also took the edge off the Accord's perfect score.

The Honda Element's dog package is a win-win for both Honda and dog owners. For Honda, it's a way to attract some attention and customers to an appealing but aging model with minimal engineering investment. For dog owners, the affordable $995 package offers both the whimsical and the practical. For instance, the heavy-duty rubber floor mats with the dog-bone pattern are both fun and useful. The seat upholstery now has subtle drawings of dogs woven into it (don't worry, it looks cool and you'd hardly notice it). Most important, there's a comfortable and safe fabric kennel for your pooch that sits on a raised platform in the rear cargo area, and there's a slide-out ramp so that small or old dogs can prance right on up into the kennel (which is like a tent) and plop themselves down onto the cushy bed. A built-in, spill-resistant water bowl and an electric fan offer relief during hot weather.

Here are all the juicy details on the 2011 Honda CR-Z. we've seen this car several times in prototype and concept form, but now the real car is out and the reactions are very positive.

Meet the P-NUT from Honda, the latest entrant in the strangely effervescent arena of pint-size pod cars. To the comely blonde models, slowly spinning turntables, and acres of cheap carpet, we can add tiny bubble-car concepts as an auto-show fixture. At the recent Los Angeles show, Honda presented the P-NUT. The too-cute name is an acronym for Personal-Neo Urban Transport. More than two feet shorter than a Fit, the P-NUT seats three and has its (hypothetical) powertrain located at the rear; Honda says it could use a gasoline engine, battery power, or a hybrid of the two.

We live in a complicated world. Important decisions are rarely easy. Information is widely available (thank you, International University of Google), but it's also widely misused. Few people live their lives without compromise, and few products -- cars included -- make it from blueprint to reality without a bit of sacrificed vision or capability.

A diminished Tokyo auto show had much less wackiness - instead, our favorite concepts were two small sports cars solidly grounded in reality.

Months in fleet: 11
Miles to date: 21,966

Honda's face-lift for the 2010 CR-V may be mild, but in my mind, it helps clean up the front fascia of the car. Not only have designers reduced the use of the argent plastic cladding along the lower edge of the front bumper, but they've also stylized the grille by widening the upper openings and removing the chrome bars from the lower section.

Room for one more
Honda seems to have the crossover market pretty well covered with the compact CR-V and the eight-seat Pilot, yet the company sees room for one more. The Honda Accord Crosstour looks to slot in between the two in terms of functionality, yet will stand at the top from a pricing perspective. By packaging, pricing, and marketing this vehicle on the high-end of the five-passenger crossover segment, Honda is targeting both empty nesters and young couples moving from either a smaller or larger vehicle into this growing segment. Competitors for the Crosstour include the Ford Edge, Nissan Murano, and Toyota Venza.