04 Polaris Virage 800 I Exhaust Solenoid on 2040-parts.com

Natural-gas-powered Honda Civic can stay in California carpool lane

Honda Civic GX drivers in California are smiling this week as they continue to have access to the high-occupancy-vehicle lane, even with just one person in the car. Even though one-occupant hybrid cars have lost access to the carpool lane, natural-gas-powered vehicles get to use it for another four years. Beginning on July 1, yellow-stickered partial hybrids were banned from HOV areas on the highways unless they carried the mandated number of people.

Honda CR-Z Mugen (2011): the first sketches

This is our first glimpse of the new, Mugen-tweaked Honda CR-Z. Developed by Mugen Euro, the UK-based arm of Honda’s long-standing tuning partner Mugen, this CR-Z features a whole raft of tweaks to turn it into a hot hybrid. As with the previous UK-spec Civic Type R Mugen, this new Mugen model is currently being touted as a one-off prototype, but just as that Civic was then built in limited numbers the same may happen with the CR-Z – and the individual parts may become available as aftermarket accessories too.

Chrysler recalls 200 and Dodge Avenger for fuel-tank valves

Chrysler is recalling 1,934 examples of the 2013 Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger sedans, looking for 16 vehicles in particular with damaged fuel-tank-control valves. A routine maintenance operation led the tank supplier to discover it had shipped damaged goods. The damaged valves could cause engine stalling or fuel leakage.