Honda has announced that the new CR-Z hybrid sports car will go on sale in August at a price starting below $20K. They have also announced that the CR-Z will not get an SI or electric version. Want to hear some more bad news? Well, sorry, you have to hear it anyway. There will be no federal tax credit on the sporty hybrid coupe: "No. The limit per car company is 60,000 hybrids, and we passed that long ago."

The CR-Z will be offered in three trim levels: CR-Z, CR-Z EX, and CR-Z EX Navi. When asked about a SI version, John Mendel, Honda's U.S. executive vice president of sales said: "Nothing official." He said the same thing about an electric version: "I don't think that there's plans to make this vehicle a pure electric. I wouldn't say that we believe that the pure EV or BEV will flop in the U.S. It depends upon the application. If you talk about longer charging times and limited range, it speaks to a different usage than a 150-miles-per-day commuter would require."

The Honda->ke34 hybrid sports coupe is powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine mated to an electric motor that deliver a combined output of 122 HP and 128 lbs-ft. The engine is linked to either a six-speed manual transmission or a CVT.

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