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How the Honda Civic got a fast makeover

Jay Guzowski was getting more nervous by the day. As senior product planner for the redesign of the 2012 Honda Civic, Guzowski was shepherding the compact car from design freeze to market. But as he listened to others around the American Honda conference table -- with a year to go before the car's on-sale date -- he heard a disturbing refrain: The upcoming Civic was not good enough.

Mercedes-Benz Citan

Mercedes-Benz has revealed its new Citan urban delivery van ahead of its public debut at September's IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover and is the first product of Daimler's partnership with Renault/Nissan. The company's latest model, the first to be designed specifically for the urban environment, will complete the Mercedes-Benz family of vans and is available in a choice of three lengths – Compact (3,940mm), Long (4,320mm) and Extra-long (4,710mm) – and three model variants. The basic version is the panel van, available in all three lengths, with another model being the Citan Mixto with five seats, based on the extra-long version and has a foldable rear bench seat and two sliding doors.

Porsche 918 Spyder races toward production

OK, let's put the usual arguments to rest first: The Porsche 918 Spyder is going to be even faster than the Carrera GT in a straight line. That's based on Porsche's own computer simulations in anticipation of the production version of the gasoline-electric-powered 918 Spyder, which is due to roll off a dedicated line within a decommissioned paint shop at Porsche's Zuffenhausen, Germany, headquarters next year. The claimed 0-to-62-mph time is 2.8 seconds; 0-to-124 mph is 8.9 seconds, and top speed should be about 202 mph, thanks in part to series of active aerodynamic functions, including a multistage rear wing.