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HONDA

When it comes to cars...

When it comes to cars, he"s experienced, astute, a great judge of how much - or little - it"s worth and what its other strengths or weaknesses are. A plate of chicken tikka and half a lager is the customary fee he charges for these automotive consultancy sessions in the Star of Bengal. He"s inexpensive, unlike the Smart ForFour 1.5 Passion, which is grossly overpriced. The old man and I guessed that it"s a í‚á£7,000-í‚á£8,000 car - not that either of us would be keen to hand over that sort of money when there are others that are better, more desirable and less costly. But the Smart division of Mercedes insists on putting a í‚á£12,370 price tag on it. Crazy.



Things are warming up...

Things are warming up at this week"s Canary Wharf Motorexpo in London - Renault is giving its newest hot hatch, the Clio Trophy 182, a world debut. The limited edition is on sale next month priced í‚á£15,500, with only 500 right-hand-drive models being made. Trophy spec includes lowered suspension, Recaro sports seats and Speedline alloys. The show runs until 19 June.


News of the day
The family resemblance...

The family resemblance is clear from the newcomer"s beefy bodykit, with a huge air dam in the bumper, along with widened wheelarches, 18-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels and a roof spoiler. The looks are inspired by the Fiesta Rallye Concept, which was first seen at the 2002 British Motor Show.

Autotuning

A new factory will be...

A new factory will be purpose-built in Oxfordshire, primarily to sup÷­port the manufacturer"s works racing efforts, including the Formula One team. But the arrival of the brand here means that Honda fans could also be given access to Mugen"s road car tuning products.

With a reputation for quality engineering, the company offers everything from basic perfor÷­mance and styling enhancements to whole cars

Until now, these have been very difficult to source outside the home market of Japan. With a reputation for quality engineering, the company offers everything from basic perfor÷­mance and styling enhancements to whole cars. Its work was seen most recently in the Civic Dominator at the Tokyo Auto Salon last week.

Based on the Japanese version of the Civic saloon, the Dominator has a 2.0-litre powerplant fitted with a supercharger. It develops 295bhp as part of a kit which could be fitted to British-market Civic Type Rs.

The upgrade also includes new stiffer suspension parts, as well as 18-inch alloy wheels, heat dissipating vents cut into the front bumper and an adjustable rear wing.




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