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2011 Honda CR-Z
Oct 13th
Honda CR-ZA sport hybrid concept car with 3 models Hard-core enthusiasts will likely be disappointed, but somebody just looking for a sporty two-door with good fuel economy will likely be pleased with the 2011 Honda CR-Z. Pros Nimble size and handling, quick steering, good fuel economy, sporty looks. Con Poor rearward visibility, most competitors have backseats, missing a few upscale features. A sporty hybrid, at first glance, the 2011 Honda CR-Z might seem a bit oxymoronic. After all, Americans expect their hybrid cars to be purely about fuel economy, with flowers, rainbows and unicorns coming out of the tailpipe. But Honda is hoping that people are ready for a car that not only gets very good fuel economy but also happens to be fun to drive — a hybrid without the drive-induced narcolepsy, if you will.
You might recall that Honda actually tried this approach a few years ago with the Accord Hybrid, a V6-powered Accord that promised strong performance and enhanced fuel economy. Sales were slow, however, and Honda cancelled the car after a short run. Of course, those of you with an even longer memory will also recall the original Honda CRX, the CR-Z’s spiritual predecessor that crystallized Honda’s reputation for building fun and efficient cars from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s.
Like the old CRX, the CR-Z is front-drive with two doors and just two seats. Mechanically, though, the CR-Z is related most to Honda’s current Insight hybrid, sharing its basic structure and suspension design. To bring some sport to that formula Honda made the CR-Z shorter by about a foot, widened the track slightly and reduced overall height by a couple inches. This trimming doesn’t reduce curb weight by as much as you might hope (the CR-Z only weighs about 80 pounds fewer than the Insight) but it does make the CR-Z one of the most nimble cars you can buy.
Under the hood is Honda’s familiar Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) mild-hybrid system. For more punch, the CR-Z starts with a slightly bigger gasoline engine than the Insight (1.5 liters versus 1.3) that produces 112 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque. The electric motor is the same and generates another 13 horse power and 58 lb.-ft. Notably, Honda is offering a six-speed manual transmission in addition to the more hybrid-typical continuously variable transmission (CVT). The resulting fuel economy isn’t exactly Prius-like, but it is still quite good, with the CVT variant returning an estimated 35 mpg city and 39 mpg highway.
The end result of all this is that Honda has indeed created a sporty hybrid. The CR-Z looks sharp and is fun to drive around town thanks to its small size and quick steering.
“Looper” about Time-Travel Assassins
Oct 11th
“Time-Travel Assassins”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Looper is a pretty good movie about time travel that uses the classic paradoxes about time travel, but doesn’t bother going into too much detail trying to explain them.
That is why they are called “paradoxes.”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe, and Bruce Willis stars as Joe, too. I mean, “also,” not the number “2,” because they are both playing the same person. So, let me call the Willis character Old Joe.
The story begins in 2044 in Kansas, and Joe is an assassin for the mob 30 years in the future who is called a “looper.”
You see, even though time travel is illegal in the future, the mob uses it in order to get rid of people they want killed. If people are killed in the past, then they never existed in the future, right?
Then Joe tells us in a voice-over that the mob boss of the future, who is called The Rainmaker, is closing all the loops by sending his assassins’ future selves back in time to be killed by their younger selves, and he says, “This is called ‘letting your loop run’; it’s not a good thing.”
Joe is notified of the time that a victim will show up, and it occurs out in a field where Joe has already made disposing of the body easy. The victim suddenly appears with a hood on, and Joe blasts the person with his weapon, a blunderbuss that can’t hit anything over 15 yards.
Joe is paid with bars of silver strapped to the victims’ bodies, and he is saving for his future and learning French, because he plans to retire and move to France.
However, Joe knows about “closing the loop,” and so he is not completely surprised when Old Joe shows up as a victim.
Then we get some flash-forwards into the future that explain Old Joe’s life and how he suddenly shows up in 2044 in Kansas, but in different circumstances from Joe’s other victims that allows Old Joe to escape from Joe.
And so the rest of the movie is about both Joes trying to kill his other self in order to get out of the dilemma he is in, which also involves a Kansas woman named Ana, played by Emily Blunt.
Looper closes all the loops and then manages to end.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Portion of Artillery Lane to be closed
Oct 10th
Closure’s trial period starts on Wednesday
A portion of Artillery Lane, at its juncture with Avilés Street, will be closed to vehicular traffic for a trial period starting on Wednesday, October 10.
Wooden posts will be installed in the roadway to indicate the point at which vehicular traffic is prohibited. The change will result in the portion of Artillery Lane that remains open to traffic will be made two-way and, to accommodate the new traffic pattern, two parking spaces on the street will be taken out of service.
Following the trial period, expected to last until the end of the year, an evaluation will be made to determine if the closure should be permanent.
For more information, call the Public Works Department at 904.825.1040.
Source: City of St. Augustine