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Geely tasks Polestar with churning out electric sports cars

Changes are a foot at Volvo, according to an article on Auto Express. Apparently, Volvo’s parent company, Geely, wants Polestar (Volvo’s performance arm), to build electric sports cars. It has plans to rival the might and appeal that Volkswagen has enjoyed these past few years.

The article states that Geely wants Polestar to take on a sportier role, sort of what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz. It also wants Polestar to be the face of its Motorsports arm, fielding championship winning vehicles that bear the Volvo name.

Volvo’s SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) and CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) will probably be the platfroms used as the base for the development of these upcoming performance vehicles. That said, we might not have to wait too long for these vehicles to be launch, because word has it that the first of them should hit showroom floors later this year.

The SPA platform underpins the current XC60, XC90, V90 and S90 vehicles with more to follow. And for a while now, the Swedish automaker has been very vocal about producing more and more vehicles with some form of electrification in its propulsion system with the use of the SPA and CMA platforms. And as such, the latest task that has been handed to Polestar, falls in line with Volvo’s current business plan, only Polestar’s creations will be more powerful versions.

Geely acquired Volvo from Ford Motor Company in 2010 for $1.8 billion (RM7.68 billion), a lot less than the latter paid for it in 1999. Since the acquisition, the Swedish marque seems to be flourishing especially in Asia, where the brand has seen in an increase in demand for Volvo branded vehicles.

Source: Auto Express

Does the Honda CR-V still matter?

The advent of crossover SUV vehicles has led to the decline in demand for full-size off-roaders. The allure of more compact dimensions, fuel sipping engines, lower maintenance costs and cheaper price tags seem too good to pass up. Vehicles like the Honda HRV, Ford EcoSport and Mitsubishi ASX have made buyers realise that a commanding driving position, wide track, mild off road capabilities and excellent cargo carrying capacity are attributes that are no longer reserved for massive 4×4 trucks.

Crossover vehicles like these can be classified as The Jack Of All Trades. They are able to behave like a city car due to their conventional suspension setup and relatively small dimensions, but when the need arises, be able to take on tougher terrain thanks to higher ground clearances and beefy tyres. Basically, its an SUV in a hatchback-like body or Connor McGregor in a tux.

Fully loaded, these vehicles come with a plethora of safety and tech kits that rival that offered in some luxury cars. Ride quality too, seems very car-like albeit things could be a whole lot better for a lot less money. If this really is the case and that crossovers are able to offer us the best of both worlds, why do we still need SUVs? And to a much larger extent, has Honda lost its marbles to place the HRV so close to its stalwart CR-V?

All this has led some to ask, is the CR-V still relevant when the BR-V and HR-V offer similar allure but at a considerably cheaper price point? Well, I decided to find out for myself, which is why i took the best equipped CR-V that Honda makes, on a road trip to find out if it’s still capable of being the staple of soccer moms and thrill-seeking dads.

This 4th generation CR-V comes from a long line of trusted Honda workhorses hearkening back to 1997 with the introduction of the first generation CR-V to grass our shores. It’s been a mainstay on our roads ever since, thanks to its ability to offer utilitarian-like versatility in a handsome body as well as with plush leather seats and infotainment amenities that millennials can’t do without.

Right off the bat, you will notice that the CR-V is as docile as a Toyota Corolla. Its keyless entry system negates the need to have to pull out the remote every time you need to unlock the doors. It senses your proximity to the door, and unlocks it – it’s that simple. The door handles require little effort to operate, the doors themselves weigh about the same as those on a regular car, the seats offer a snug fit and the controls are very car-like despite having a 4WD drivetrain.

There’s even a little green button adorned with a leaf-like logo, that when pushed, gives the vehicle a more sedate, fuel sipping characteristics and that also acts as your eco adviser, informing you of how frugal you are while prodding the throttle pedal.

Tech wise, this CR-V is a bit long in the tooth and is due for a much needed upgrade. It falls behind in terms of usability and convenience in comparison to the more modern touchscreen setups offered by a number of competitors. But that should soon change when the new generation CR-V is launched in the coming months, but I digress.

Up till this point, there’s very little that will have you believe that you are in fact, seated in a rather large vehicle that is 4,590mm long, 1,820mm wide and weighs nearly 1.6 tons. Everything seems conventional, commonplace and ordinary – it feels like a slightly wider Honda City, by comparison.

Its capacious cabin is very accommodating to taller occupants offering decent head and legroom for four adults to sit comfortably and without an incessant need to make constant positional adjustments in the name of comfort. Another plus point of having a large vehicle like the CR-V is the carnivorous luggage space that is able take in 586 litres of cargo with the back seats up, and 1146 litres with them folded down.

See, after taking all of this in, conventional wisdom will have you believe that the sheer heft of this Honda should put its handling at skittish predisposition. But it doesn’t and that is what baffles most first time drivers. It is a vehicle that can be likened to a Labrador Retriever – ever willing to please its master. You need only put in a smigen of effort and it will try its best to do the rest.

The car we had, was the full spec 2.4-litre variant that had the performance gusto to match its brawny apprearence. Now, Honda does offer the CR-V with a smaller and less powerful 2.0-litre engine and 2WD setup, which should prove to be more economical in the city, but its bigger brother is the one you want. That’s because its more powerful engine, fills in a lot of the glaring gaps in torque of the 2.0-litre powerplant, which robs it of quite a bit of driving enjoyment.

Coupled with the rather smooth shifting 5-speed automatic transmission, our CR-V makes sudden bursts of acceleration an enjoyable affair. Pulling away from traffic stops is a breeze to say the least and stopping power is just as commendable thanks to the powerful 4-wheel-disc brake setup.

These characteristics provide the vehicle with the much needed performance especially when meandering past B-roads or lugging the entire family up steep inclines. It’s almost car-like in performance which relegates its dimensions to the back of your mind while you enjoy flicking it into tight turns with blatant disregard for your passengers impending digestion issues.

Reigning in such behaviour is the job of the vehicle stability assist system, which is very effective at keeping in-check the vehicle’s pitch and traction – ensuring that it is kept out of harm’s way.

Despite my overwhelming adoration for this particular Honda, I do have one major gripe with it. And that pertains to the suspension setup. There’s the MacPherson strut setup upfront and a double wishbone arrangement at the rear – typical of a vehicle of this nature. But the ride quality that this combination offers, is one that leaves a lot to be desired.

It’s pliant at city speeds and on level roads but the moment you come across noticeable undulations at higher speeds, that changes, making the ride irritatingly willowy, which lends a sense of vagueness to its perceived capabilities and its ability to do what you ask of it.

And while the steering is almost effortless to operate, its electrically assisted motorised setup robs much of the feel and confidence that a hydraulic one would offer. Had there been a little more weight to it, the steering would deliver an experience that can be considered the best of both worlds.

Apart from this, there’s very little that I can fault the CR-V for, its a decent vehicle, and while there isn’t much you can do to alter its 4WD power distribution, as is the case for more serious off-roaders, it’s good enough – which brings me back to the point of this article.

Yes, the CR-V is every bit relevant today as it was in 1997, its a dependable all-rounder that can handle long distance road trips without breaking a sweat as well as functioning as the daily runabout of the average home maker. It’s just as at home ferrying the kids to school and tackling the weekly grocery shopping to the more heavy duty offroad stuff.

This isn’t something that can be said of the HR-V or BR-V though. While they can accomplish a number of daunting tasks meant for bigger vehicles, they can’t accomplish it with the poise and confidence offered by the CR-V. This then, lends credence to the notion that the CR-V is the most capable of the lot, and should you find yourself wanting a vehicle that can do it all yet offer worry-free motoring – this is the vehicle for you.

Piston Review Rating: 7/10
Honda CR-V Specifications
Engine: 2.4L 4WD i-VTEC
Transmission: 5-Speed Automatic
Horsepower: 188bhp
Torque: 222Nm

Richard Hammond injured in horrific crash in Switzerland

Rirchard Hammond, the much loved The Grand Tour and former Top Gear host was recently involved in a serious accident while filming for the show’s second season in Switzerland. According to the show’s Facebook page, the crash took place after Hammond completed the Hemburg Hill Climb in a Rimac Concept One.

There are pictures circulating on social media showing a mangled wreck that appears to be the remains of some sort of supercar. Thankfully, Hammond sustained only minor injuries in the crash as reported by The Grand Tour. He came out of this hair-raising crash with only a fractured knee, which was quite lucky considering the circumstances.

After the crash, he was able to climb out the vehicle on his own before it burst into flames. Hammond was conscious and talking after the crash took place. He was flown by Air Ambulance to a Hospital in St. Gallen for examination where it was revealed that he had fractured his knee.
Hammond was alone in the car and thankfully, no one else was injured in this incident. The cause of the crash is still unknown and investigations are still under way to figure out what led to the horrific crash.

This isn’t the first time that the former Top Gear presenter was involved in such an incident. Over the years, he has been involved in a number of them with the most serious of the lot being in 2006. He was piloting an insanely fast dragster at the Top Gear track where he had a tyre blow out, which led to the car careening out of control off track, flipped over a few times and coming to rest on a patch of dirt.

We wish Richard a swift recovery and hope he will back in no time to continue filming the second season of The Grand Tour.

Honda reveals new Accord for US market

The new Honda Accord which will be launched in the US, according to Honda, will be all-new, redesigned and re-engineered to ensure that the nameplate remains as the best-selling mide size sedan state side.

Compared to the outgoing car, the new one will have dramatically lower and wider appearance, will provide the car with a more athletic and aggressive stance.

The car will be offered with a number of powertrain options. The 1.5-litre direct-injection turbocharged engine that will be mated to a CVT or 6-speed manual transmission, the 2.0-litre direct-injected DOHC Turbo i-VTEC one, paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission (an industry first for a front-wheel-drive vehicle) or a 6-speed manual one. The hybrid version of the Accord will be powered by a next-generation innovative two-motor hybrid system, which is able to operate without the use of a convetional automatic transmission.

“With these three advanced new powertrains, the tenth-generation Accord will be the most fun-to-drive, refined and fuel-efficient Accord yet,”said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of America Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Just as the new Honda Civic injected new energy into the compact car segment, we expect this all-new 2018 Accord will make people rethink the midsize sedan.”

Since its launch in 1976, more than 13 million Americans have purchased the Honda Accord and it was the first Japanese vehicle to be made in the US. It has been assembled in Honda’s Maryville plant in Ohio since 1982. Honda says that it will divulge more details about the latest iteration of its mid-size family sedan in the coming weeks. So, stay tuned and we will bring you more about the car as soon as we find out.

Nico Rosberg to join the action at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The annual Goodwood Festival of Speed will be taking place from June 29th to July 2nd and will play host to an awesome display of automobiles ranging from the vintage ones all the way up to the latest Formula 1 cars.

In Britain, it happens to be the only event outside the British Formula 1 Grand Prix where so many F1 cars and drivers can be seen in one place. This year, Reigning F1 World Champion, Nico Rosberg will be driving his 2014 Mercedes-Benz W05 F1 car at Goodwood with his replacement for this season, Valtteri Bottas, taking part just a day earlier with his Silver Arrows.

There will be a number of historic and new F1 cars on display from the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary this year and will be displaying over twenty single-seater cars to commemorate the occasion. McLaren, Renault and Williams will be celebrating their 40th anniversary in Formula 1 with their own display of amazing F1 machines.

Representing Renault at the event will be current F1 driver Jolyon Palmer and reserve driver Sergey Sirotkin. And for Williams, Alan Jones and Damon Hill will be accompanying the Williams team in celebrating their 40th year in the sport.

In total, there will be more than 60 Formula 1 cars at the event, celebrating sevens decades of the sport.

First Honda Civic Type R in US to be auctioned for good cause

A first for Honda, the new generation Civic Type R will be the first of its nameplate to be sold in the US. And the very first car with (VIN) 01, made for the market, will be auctioned online (Bring A Trailer) beginning June 7th, with all proceeds benefiting the Pediatric Brain Tumor foundation.

It is is the world’s largest nonprofit solely dedicated to fighting the deadliest childhood cancer. Since 1991, the PBTF has funded more than USD 29 million (RM124 million) in research to improve quality of life, increase survivor ship and ultimately eliminate pediatric brain tumors. The nonprofit also offers families free educational resources about brain tumors, a toolkit for newly diagnosed patients, college scholarships for survivors, emergency financial aid and other support.

The Honda Civic Type R has always eluded the grubby hands of eager American fanboys since its introduction. The Japanese never really saw North America as a viable market to sell its performance oriented C-segment car. Now however, it seems as though that has changed and we are sure that that many car enthusiasts over there, thank them for it. This new car features a turbocharged 2.0-litre 16-valve DOHC engine that produces 306 bhp. Touted as the most powerful powerplant fitted to a Honda production vehicle, it is mated to a short-shifting six-speed manual transmission to offer the most analog experience one could have.

Drivers can adjust the vehicle’s characteristics by toggling through the Comfort, Sport and +R drive modes. The change in drive mode affects the vehicle’s fully independent suspension which comprises of dual-axis strut front strut and adaptive dampers. Other outstanding features include the use of cross-drilled front brake discs, 4-pot Brembo brake calipers and an extensive aerodynamic package that is said to offer high-speed stability and low drag.

Thanks to its performance figures, the Type R holds the lap record in the Nurburgring for the fastest front-wheel-drive car to lap the circuit in 7 minutes 43.80 seconds, which is 3 seconds faster than the previous record.

Despite Honda having a factory in the US, the Civic Type R that is destined to be sold there, will be built in the automaker’s UK plant in Swindon. The car’s engine whoever, will be be produced in Ohio, USA at Honda’s largest automobile engine plant in the world.