Yahoo Motors – This spiritual successor to the venerable Honda CR-X originally made its debut as a concept car two years ago at the Tokyo Motor Show. And now, at this year’s show, Honda has revealed a new CR-Z, a 2-seat hybrid sports coupe that looks very much like the final production version scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. in the second half of 2010.

“Beyond great styling and features, the CR-Z will bring new levels of engagement and fun to customers interested in a small car or a hybrid vehicle,” says Eric Berkman, Honda’s vice president of planning.

Fitted with a 6-speed manual transmission and sport-tuned suspension, the upcoming CR-Z certainly will be engaging for the driver, the first hybrid sports coupe on the market. Although the car on display at Tokyo has a tiny back seat, the production CR-Z (which makes its worldwide debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January) is a sporty 2-seater, one with the added practicality of a hatchback.

Conveying its fun-to-drive nature, the CR-Z boasts a bold grille, slit openings for the headlamps and strong character lines that give this Honda an aggressive, angular look. It’s taller and less rounded that the original concept, making it much more practical and ready for production.

One styling cue that connects the CR-Z to the highly entertaining original CR-X is the shape of the rear quarter glass. Beneath the hood, the front-wheel-drive CR-Z is powered by a stronger version of the Insight’s 1.5-liter 4-cylinder hybrid powertrain. Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist works like an electric supercharger, effectively boosting both off-the-line response and fuel economy.

The CR-Z concept’s interior features more glitz than the production model will, but the layout will remain the same, with the main instrument bezel positioned behind a 3-spoke steering wheel flanked by pods for the auxiliary controls. With the CR-Z—which goes into production at Honda’s Suzuka factory in February—it appears that we will now be able to mix a healthy dose of driving fun with environmental consciousness.

Like all new performance vehicles, you will see products first at the Honda Performance Racing Store of Vivid Racing.

A customer of ours sent in photos of his 2008 Honda Civic SI with a variety of mods. Under the hood you will find an Injen Cold Air Intake, Skunk2 Mega Power R 70mm Exhaust, Strup Race Header, Strup Angled Defouler and tunned with a Cobb AcessPort.

One of the most over looked and most beneficial aspects of preparing a car are the brakes, wheels and tires. This customer has it all figured out with Hawk Pads, Rotora Slotted and Cross Drilled Rotors and Konig Daylite 17″ wheels wrapped in a 225/45/17 Yokohama’s S Drive rubber. Now power is to the ground and able to be stopped properly. The last step in a build is appearance. A HFP front lip for style and performance finished off with factory tint to keep you cool in the Arizona heat.

No matter you car, Vivid Racing has a solution for you. Check our online catalog here of give us a call at 1-866-44-VIVID

A simple way to give your car a more race inspired look is by changing out the factory rear view mirrors for a set of slick carbon APR units.   Here’s a customers S2000 who just replaced his factory mirrors for the APR, it gives the car a nice clean look.

APR mirrors are available for most cars and even offer a universal set for those that want to make custom mounts. Feel free to contact us for pricing and availability.

CHICO

One great aspect of being a car enthusiast is the ability to customize your ride to match your style. And we enjoy seeing product purchased from Vivid Racing being used to set your car apart from the millions of others on the road.

A local to the Arizona area, Jordan has sent us a few photos of his Honda S2000 complete with a Greddy Ti-C Exhaust and Berk Technologies Test Pipe among other parts.

Nick’s s2000 with Volk CE28N and ASM Front Fenders gives this Honda a unique style all its own.

Rounding out this group of 3 is Pat’s Mitsubishi EVO sporting a RMM Hood Scoop Intake and assorted ARC engine parts.

Check out Vivid Racings entire oem, performance and other aftermarket parts here – http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/index.php. And check out the Vivid Racing Customer Built Cars Gallery section here – http://www.vividracing.com/forums/gallery/browseimages.php?c=58

One of my customers recently picked up a full 4 wheel Rotora BBK and a set of ADVAN RZ wheels in bronze.  I recommended going with a concave face on the wheels to give the car a meaner stance, I think it came out great.

by far one of the best looking EP3’s I have seen.

Feel free to contact me if you want to get a nice brake or wheel set up for your ride!

Jong@vividracing.com 480-966-3040 ext:230

CHICO