Sport

The Japan-only N-One kei car has been a favorite among Honda enthusiasts since its debut in 2012. Mostly, that was due to its lovable styling — which was inspired by the 1967 N360 and the N600, its U.S. market variant — even though its was only available with a 3-cylinder mated to a CVT. Now, after eight years, Honda has announced an all-new N-One and given it a 6-speed manual transmission option.

It's a supremely rare move in the automotive world these days. Manual transmissions are hanging on by a thread, and automakers are taking them away these days rather than adding them to a new generation that didn't offer one before. Honda says it did so as a direct response to customer demands. So hey, maybe internet comments do make a difference!

The 2021 Infiniti QX50 is out, and Infiniti has made a couple changes of note. Most of them are equipment related, but the luxury crossover's price is going up this year, too.

A base QX50 Pure is $700 more expensive this for 2021, with the new total being $38,975. That gets you the front-wheel-drive model. If you want all-wheel drive, that'll be another $2,000. For your extra coin, Infiniti has added a Wi-Fi hotspot, acoustic laminated front side glass, rear seat-mounted side-impact airbags and a new automatic emergency call system for when the vehicle is involved in a collision. All those features are standard across every QX50.

The next-generation Acura MDX is here, almost. This three-row crossover you're looking at is technically being called the MDX Prototype by Acura, but it's about as close to production as any prototype can get.

And what a looker it is. Acura has followed up the slick TLX sedan with another attractive design. With the MDX now the best-selling Acura nameplate of all time, this one was even more important for Acura to get right. Just like the TLX, it benefits from a much longer dash-to-axle dimension, measuring in six inches longer than the outgoing MDX. The pentagon grille, and Chicane-shaped DRLs in the headlights now grace a much wider car. Acura gave this MDX a wider track and a three-inch longer wheelbase, both aiding in making it appear far more graceful and sporty.

Officials in Tokyo are dealing with a jump in coronavirus infections. The number of new cases has now topped 200 for two days in a row. It's the first time that's happened since the start of the pandemic.

On Friday, officials reported a record high of 243 new cases. The capital recorded 224 for the previous day.

The introduction of the Skyactiv-G 2.5T turbocharged engine is the Mazda3's main update for the 2021 model year but not the only one.

Honda is adding a few updates to its Pilot three-row crossover for 2021 that include introducing a new mid-level trim designation, making the nine-speed automatic transmission that was previously available on higher trim levels standard across the range, and giving the family hauler a $725 price increase. The entry-level LX now starts at $33,370, including the $1,120 destination fee. All-wheel-drive versions of each trim, which feature Honda's torque vectoring system, remain a $2,000 option, as before.

The new trim level is called Special Edition, or SE as it will appear on the liftgate badge. It builds on the EX-L grade, which adds features that include leather seats, second-row sunshades, a power liftgate and sunroof. Step up to the SE and you get 20-inch black wheels and trim like roof rails, grille, and front and rear skid garnishes. The only actual equipment upgrade is wireless phone charging. The SE grade is positioned exactly midpoint in the Pilot trim spectrum and starts at $40,080, including destination, for front-wheel-drive versions and $42,080 all-inclusive for all-wheel drive.

For the 2021 model year, the Subaru Crosstrek is getting some mechanical and aesthetic updates, along with a new Sport trim (pictured above).

The biggest difference you'll find for 2021 is the addition of a new engine to the lineup. While the base and Premium trims will continue to use the 152-horsepower, naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder carried over from 2020, the Sport and Limited trims will employ a new-to-Crosstrek 2.5-liter four-cylinder boxer engine. Borrowed from the Forester, and also found in the Outback, this naturally aspirated 2.5-liter provides 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque. That power is put to the wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and Subaru's torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system. The base and Premium trims, with the holdover motor, still come with either a six-speed manual or optional CVT.

A Toyota and Lexus recall that previously listed nearly 700,000 potentially affected vehicles has been amended to include more than 1.1 million new rides. Overall, more than 1.8 million cars, trucks, crossovers, and SUVs are part of a voluntary recall regarding fuel pumps that might stop working.   

On January 13, 2020, Toyota announced a safety recall for 695,541 Lexus and Toyota models. It included the Toyota 4Runner, Camry, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma, Avalon, Corolla, and Tundra, plus the Lexus LS 500, LC 500, RC 350, RC 300, GS 350, IS 300, ES 350, LX 570, GX 460, RX 350 NX 300, RX 350L, and GS 300. The Avalon, Corolla, NX 300, RX 350L, and GS 300 in the initial recall were specifically 2019 model years, while the rest were 2018-2019. 

An Olympic torch relay committee of Fukushima Prefecture has approved a proposal to add a town hosting the crippled nuclear power plant to the route for the flame relay.

In a previous meeting, the committee members concluded that they will add Futaba Town to the route if the government's evacuation order on the town is lifted. The town is one of three municipalities where the order has been in place since the 2011 nuclear accident.