Temple of VTEC Rumors and News - AN: Civic Type R in 2004. Or 2005. And other Future Product info

In the latest Automotive News, there's a "Spotlight on Future Products" feature which focuses on "Asia Brands" this week. Some points of potential interest follow:

Civic Type R - Honda is said to be still mulling whether we deserve the Type R or not (the answer is easy: YES!). And if we get it, whether it will come as 2004 or 2005 model (full model change is set for MY2006). Now, if I may weigh in on this, despite all the rumors that keep surfacing, I'm still a little skeptical that we'll get this iteration of the Civic Type R at all, but if it does come I imagine we won't see it until calendar year 2004 at the earliest. Several 2004 Civic Sis wearing "Factory Performance" badging have already been spotted and photographed in Torrance. It appears the photographs were taken inside a secured facility so we will not be posting them here. Also mentioned in the Civic update is that the widely criticized Mac Struts will return with the 2006 redesign, considering the fact that the Civic platform is being used for more rugged applications these days (Element, CR-V).

S2000 - Now in general, Automotive News is a very credible source of information, but now I'm a little concerned due to this comment regarding the S2000:"an increase to 220hp is possible this fall.". Nothing else is mentioned.

Fit - AN says the current generation won't be coming here. But if Honda decides to create a third brand, the next generation Fit could be sold here in '06 or '07 to compete with Scion.
CR-V - a power boost for 2005 is expected, FMC in 2007
Pickup - There's not much new mentioned. In fact, it's all the same stuff that's already been mentioned here. To summarize: MY06 launch, Pilot-based, 4-door, light duty (unit-body), likely the same AWD drivetrain as the Pilot.

Stream - AN contends that the Stream won't arrive here (likely to be sold as the Latitude) until Model Year 2007 at the earliest.
Odyssey - The FMC for '05 is said to put the "Toyota Sienna and Nissan Quest back in their places". The Odyssey will be slightly upsized with a major interior upgrade.

The remaining Honda models will see little notable change for a while.

On the Acura side of the house, there's a bit of interesting news

RSX - quite notable is the mention of "midcycle changes" for the 2004 model year which "include freshened front and rear fascias and a 220-hp Type S" (could that be a typo? do they really mean Type R?). The redesign is slated for the 2006 model year, which seems to be a suspect claim, because it would indicate that the current model cycle would only run 4 years. By the way, all of their info on the changes for the '04 model year are in direct contradiction with (sealed until 9/1) information that we have.

TL - AN claims the '04 will have a 3.4L motor with more power than the current TL Type S motor. At least they got part of it right.

RL - AN says the '05 will go on sale this spring, and there's still no V-8. Instead it will supposedly arrive with either a 300hp 3.8L V-6 or a hybrid combining a 250-hp 3.0L V-6 with a "160hp motor". It's hard to say what my gut feel is on this, but I'm skeptical that Acura would use a 3.8L when they could easily get 300hp from a 3.5L.

NSX - AN says the full model change will occur for the '05 model year, bringing a larger displacement motor, lighter chassis components and "possibly aluminum body panels". The plans for a hybrid version are said to have been "shelved".

RDX - based on a modified version of the upcoming Civic platform, the RDX's debut is predicted for MY07

MDX - set to soldier on for two more model years, the '06 will likely carry the long-rumoured 3.8L V-6.

TSX - no news

CL - still dead with no hint of revival in the foreseeable future