CR-Z goes to the Gorge at George

The Honda CR-Z world tour continues this month at the Sasquatch Music festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington (no pun intended—it's an actual town in the state of Washington). But the CR-Z isn't the only Honda-ism on display. Honda is an official eco-partner of the festival, providing the solar-powered Big Foot Stage, carbon offsets and a bicycle-powered recharging station. The CR-Z's cousins—the Civic Hybrid and the Insight—will also be on display.

Honda designs a new hybrid that will move people.

When the Honda CR-Z concept was debuted, the most striking feature was its styling. It was instantly obvious that this would be a new type of hybrid and Honda fans quickly took an eager interest in the vehicle. With styling that harkens back to the beloved CR-X, many enthusiasts, including myself, felt an emotional stir from within and an instant curiosity. Along with this interest came an anxious feeling to see the production version. But as a mega car enthusiast, I have learned not to get overly excited with concept cars, as many times concepts look much better than production ready showroom goods.

To add speed, add lightness.

These wise words are attributed to the legendary English motoring magician, Colin Chapman.  For the uninitiated, Chapman founded the famous sports car company, Lotus, and before his death in 1982, led it to seven Constructors' Titles, six Drivers' Championships, a little ol' race in Indianapolis, , and production of many classic  sports cars for lucky owners around the world.  While his influence and credentials are truly gold standard, it is his engineering theory as noted in the title above that continues to win the hearts of true automotive enthusiasts around the world.   And just to make sure we all understood, he also said: "More power makes it fast on the straight, less weight makes it fast everywhere."

The transmission of choice for efficiency.

While a lot of attention has been paid to the fact that the CR-Z comes with a 6-speed manual transmission, it is, in fact, also available with a high-tech Continuously Variable Transmission or CVT.