Honda May Finally Be Ready To Kill Off One Of Its Biggest Mistakes In Recent Years
14 June 2016 - Carbuzz
The Honda CR-Z has been a pretty big failure to both the automaker and enthusiasts. The hybrid hatchback is in no way the spiritual successor to the CRX despite the similarities the two share, and its sales numbers are atrocious.
In May 2016 the CR-Z moved only 234 units in the US. That looks even worse when you realize Honda sold 133,547 cars in May alone. So, yeah, it’s not looking so hot. While the end hasn’t been officially announced it looks to be close with the reveal of the CR-Z Final Label in Japan.
The special edition has a new set of 17-inch alloy wheels, bits and bobs from higher trims and the requisite “Final Edition” badging and stitching on the seats. Overall the CR-Z Final Edition looks a lot like any other CR-Z. While this looks to be the last gasp for the hatchback in Japan it’s worth noting that Honda hasn’t said anything about the car’s fate in the US. About a year ago there was a rumor that a refreshed version could “make a big comeback in 2017.” The plan was to make the second-gen on a shortened version of the Civic’s platform and to drop the hybrid setup in favor of a de-tuned version of the Civic Type R’s 2.0-liter turbo-four.
That would knock power up considerably from the CR-Z's current output of 140 hp and 127 lb-ft of torque. While that sounds like a cool car on paper we have a hard time believing the big wigs at Honda would approve of it. Adding further fuel to the “CR-Z is dead” fire is the fact that Honda told us the less-than-hot hatch is no longer in its press fleet. This could be for a variety of reasons…or it could be because it’s for journalists to review a car that’s going to be axed.