Here's another instance of Honda calling a car a concept when it's actually mere inches away from production. This is the 2011 Honda CR-Z, and it is a reborn 1983-92 Civic CRX. It goes on understanding in Nihon in February 2010, with the U.S. following a few months after that.

Compact and sleek, this 161-inch long coupe/three-door hatch was first shown as a real concept at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show. Now two years on, the 2009 show car is "95 percent" of the real thing, according to Honda officials. The final, final production version will be  unveiled at the 2010 Detroit Show in January. 

We know that the 2011 CR-Z will be powered by a 1.5-liter i-VTEC inline-4 combined with Honda's IMA hybrid powertrain, tied to a 6-speed manual gearbox — essentially the sportiest drivetrain setup the company has offered in a hybrid to date. However, we still think it's likely that Honda will broaden the appeal of the CR-Z line by offering several drivetrain options — perhaps a price-leader base model with just the 1.5-liter gas engine and perhaps, perhaps a CR-Z Si with a slightly larger, revvier engine.

The CR-Z's busy, compact 2+2 cabin is now virtually production ready and it's believed the car's Ni-Mh battery pack lies beneath the rear floor, as per the Honda Insight, on which it's is based. Even the wheels on this "concept" look production-spec, and if the "lack" of exhaust pipes on the CR-Z gives you pause, just have a look at the tail of a production Insight — the pipes are concealed on that car, too.

More photos after the jump.

Ill-fitting floor mats, be they works or aftermarket, are enough of a problem that Toyota issued an advisory today to an estimated 3.8 million to Toyota and Lexus owners to remove their driver foot-well floor mat immediately. This applies to all "removable" mats, and Toyota and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are asking that owners not replace them with any other mats. A formal recall is forthcoming, the company said in a press conference today, and a more permanent solution will be announced at that time.

Complaints about floor mats date back to 2004, Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said today, when Prius owners reported that their cars experienced unintended acceleration when improperly fastened, or unfastened extractable mats crowded the accelerator pedal into an 'open' position.

However, the graveness of the situation undoubtedly increased when a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family died in an August 28 crash blamed on a stuck accelerator pedal in their Lexus ES 350 dealer loaner car. The pedal was apparently crowded by an ill-fitting floor mat.

The following vehicles are included in today's warning:

2007-2010 Camry
2005-2010 Avalon
2004-2009 Prius
2005-2010 metropolis
2007-2010 Tundra
2007-2010 ES 350
2006-2010 IS 250 and IS 350

Toyota's advisory on floor mats

Green Car Advisor: Toyota Urges Gen 2 Prius Owners to Remove Floor Mats to Avoid Stuck Gas Pedals

Ill-fitting floor mats, be they works or aftermarket, are enough of a problem that Toyota issued an advisory today to an estimated 3.8 million to Toyota and Lexus owners to remove their driver foot-well floor mat immediately. This applies to all "removable" mats, and Toyota and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are asking that owners not replace them with any other mats. A formal recall is forthcoming, the company said in a press conference today, and a more permanent solution will be announced at that time.

Complaints about floor mats date back to 2004, Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said today, when Prius owners reported that their cars experienced unintended acceleration when improperly fastened, or unfastened extractable mats crowded the accelerator pedal into an 'open' position.

However, the graveness of the situation undoubtedly increased when a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family died in an August 28 crash blamed on a stuck accelerator pedal in their Lexus ES 350 dealer loaner car. The pedal was apparently crowded by an ill-fitting floor mat.

The following vehicles are included in today's warning:

2007-2010 Camry
2005-2010 Avalon
2004-2009 Prius
2005-2010 metropolis
2007-2010 Tundra
2007-2010 ES 350
2006-2010 IS 250 and IS 350

Toyota's advisory on floor mats

Green Car Advisor: Toyota Urges Gen 2 Prius Owners to Remove Floor Mats to Avoid Stuck Gas Pedals

Photo source: de Ferran Motorsports

Veteran driver Gil de Ferran will retire from professional racing at the end of the 2009 ALMS season, and in tribute to his career, he will serve as "Grand Marshal" of Laguna Seca at the last race of the season there on October 10.

De Ferran has his own ALMS team (de Ferran Motorsports), and he and co-driver Simon Pagenaud drive the number 66 XM Radio Acura ARX-02a in the LMP1 class. For this last race only, the car will wear the all-white livery of Jim Hall's Chaparral cars. De Ferran credits Hall as a mentor, and both he and two of the Chaparral cars will be present at the race, along with the yellow Pennzoil that de Ferran drove in his first IndyCar victory (1995 at Laguna). De Ferran won IndyCar crowns with Penske Honda in 2000 and 2001, and the Indianapolis 500 in 2003.

Of course, there will be all sorts of festivities the weekend of the Monterey Sports Car Championships, and de Ferran will have the honor of giving the "start your engines" command.

de Ferran Motorsports

If you lived in the New York area in the 1960s and street-raced your muscle car, the Connecting Highway was the place to go. It's just a short stretch of roadway that connects the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, NY, but all the big-money drag races were here.

The Connecting Highway gained more notoriety when Joe Oldham dared to write about the motorsport that most everyone knew about, but hardly anyone talked about, in the August 1968 issue of Cars magazine.

This era is over now, but there's no proper tribute to the cars and the drivers in any of the car museum we've visited. So the "veterans" of the Connecting Highway have started their own room on the web.

It's called Connecting Highway Tribute, and anyone who raced a car here is invited to submit photos (like this 1967 Oldsmobile 442) and stories of their experiences to this living collection.

After the jump, there's an old Super 8 video of drivers prepping their cars for racing on the Connecting Highway.

Connecting Highway Tribute

IL Feature: Street Racing in New York City

If you lived in the New York area in the 1960s and street-raced your muscle car, the Connecting Highway was the place to go. It's just a short stretch of roadway that connects the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, NY, but all the big-money drag races were here.

The Connecting Highway gained more notoriety when Joe Oldham dared to write about the motorsport that most everyone knew about, but hardly anyone talked about, in the August 1968 issue of Cars magazine.

This era is over now, but there's no proper tribute to the cars and the drivers in any of the car museum we've visited. So the "veterans" of the Connecting Highway have started their own room on the web.

It's called Connecting Highway Tribute, and anyone who raced a car here is invited to submit photos (like this 1967 Oldsmobile 442) and stories of their experiences to this living collection.

After the jump, there's an old Super 8 video of drivers prepping their cars for racing on the Connecting Highway.

Connecting Highway Tribute

IL Feature: Street Racing in New York City

In its original generation, the Chevrolet Equinox was a pretty average compact SUV, but this is not the case with the redesigned 2010 Equinox, writes Chief Road Test Editor Chris Walton. Rather, this newest Equinox looks and feels like it resides a class above the Honda CR-V and Nissan Rogue, which are its main competitors.

Although our four-cylinder, 182-horsepower Equinox LT2 tester isn't any quicker or more agile than its rivals, its cabin design sets it apart. Naturally, the five-passenger cabin is roomy. But the calibre of the materials and the level of content are equally impressive, according to Walton, and surpass those of any other small SUV – short of the premium-brand class.

Full Test: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox

In its original generation, the Chevrolet Equinox was a pretty average compact SUV, but this is not the case with the redesigned 2010 Equinox, writes Chief Road Test Editor Chris Walton. Rather, this newest Equinox looks and feels like it resides a class above the Honda CR-V and Nissan Rogue, which are its main competitors.

Although our four-cylinder, 182-horsepower Equinox LT2 tester isn't any quicker or more agile than its rivals, its cabin design sets it apart. Naturally, the five-passenger cabin is roomy. But the calibre of the materials and the level of content are equally impressive, according to Walton, and surpass those of any other small SUV – short of the premium-brand class.

Full Test: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox

Citroen WRC driver Sebastian Loeb has confirmed he will drive a GP2 car in an official test session for the DPR team in Spain on October 8. There has been considerable speculation that Loeb would like to drive for Formula One, and this would be a step toward that goal. The Spain test is said to be a preparation for a more serious test on the Abu Dhabi circuit in primeval November.

A WRC press release reports that Loeb has modified his training regimen to be ready for open-wheel racing, apparently wearing a weighted helmet to strengthen his neck muscles.

WRC, Autoweek

IL Feature: Driving the 2009 Citroen C4 WRC Car

A convertible version of the Ferrari 458 Italia is assured, and in an interview with Ferrari Chief Executive Amadeo Felisa, the editors at CAR learned that the 458 Italia Spider will show up in "early 2011." So we'd presume a debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, or perhaps Geneva in 2011. 

CAR