Japanese buyers are no strangers to special edition versions with extremely subtle modifications, the newest one coming from Honda with its CR-Z 'Label α' model, which goes on sale this week and will be available for a limited release until May 31.

What makes the 'Label α' special in Honda's eyes is the bespoke burgundy pearl metallic finish on the outside with a matching interior color for the seats, door panels and the stitching on the leather steering wheel and manual gearbox shifter.

While not as near as successful as its native rival Toyota when it comes to hybrid models, Honda remains a major player in the category having recently topped the 800,000 sales mark.

As we learned today, the milestone came at the end of December 2011 and was achieved 12 years and 2 months after Honda launched the first generation of its Insight hybrids in Japan in November 1999. For the record, last April Toyota sold its 1 millionth Prius in the States.

The first Insight delivered a fuel economy of 35km/liter (equal to 82.3mpg US or 2.9lt/100km) on the Japanese driving cycle, lending it the title of the most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered model of its time - according to Honda.

We don't know if the rumors circulating around the net about a Type-R version of Honda's CR-Z hybrid sports coupe are true or not, but nevertheless, Daniel Youn from PS-Garage wanted to render what the car may look like if Honda ever decided to build such a model.

Daniel used the Honda Performance Development (or HPD for short) CR-Z Hybrid R concept from last year's SEMA aftermarket show as a base to build his rendered vision of the CR-Z Type R.

As we rightfully suspected when Honda revealed the Mugen CR-Z RR Study at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011 earlier in the summer, the Japanese carmaker confirmed a production version of its hotted-up hybrid sport hatch that will go on sale in Britain next spring.

And for those of you wondering, unfortunately, Honda has no plans to offer the car in other markets – at least for the time being.

The production model is named CR-Z iCF and it has been developed in partnership with Mugen's European arm. At the heart of the car lies a modified version of the CR-Z's 1.5-liter hybrid powertrain that gains a supercharger, a new induction system and a reprogrammed ECU.

It's recall time for Honda that said on Monday it is calling in three of its models globally in order to repair three unrelated problems. The bulk of the recall campaign concerns the Fit/Jazz subcompact: 960,000 cars built between October 2005 and October 2009 and sold mainly in China and other Asian countries are recalled to fix malfunctioning power window switches. Read more »

Honda announced today that it will invest $800 million to build a new assembly plant in Mexico. The factory, which is expected to be operational in 2014, will employ around 3,200 workers producing up to 200,000 vehicles per year. Read more »