1979 Daihatsu Taft on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1990 Daihatsu Charade SE Hatchback

The third-generation Daihatsu Charade could be purchased in the United States for the 1988 through 1992 model years, but competition against the likes of the Ford Festiva, Geo Metro, Subaru Justy, and Pontiac LeMans proved too tough for the relatively unknown Japanese marque. You won't see many Charades (or Rockies) today, but this gold '90 Charade manage to avoid the crusher until age 27. The Charade name is up there with Achieva, Starion, ETC, and Aspire, when it comes to model names from the "what could they have been thinking?" category. Like the Metro and Justy, the Charade's standard engine was a straight-three driving the front wheels. This engine was good for 53 horsepower, compared to 66 in the Justy and 55 in the Metro. An optional four-cylinder making 80 hp was available. The Charade listed for $6,497 in 1990, which is about $12,000 in inflation-adjusted 2017 dollars. The '90 Geo Metro was $6,995 and the Justy was a mere $6,295. This Charade never even made it to 100,000 miles, which may or may not be indicative of its build quality. Daihatsu USA tried to make the brand's obscurity a selling point in this 1991 ad, but the company was gone after the following year. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1990 Daihatsu Charade View 17 Photos Auto News Daihatsu Automotive History

Takata airbag recalls add another 5 million vehicles

The Takata airbag inflator recall expanded by about 6.5 million vehicles recently when Toyota and Nissan announced global expansions to replace the faulty parts. You can add another 5 million more as Honda and Daihatsu also broaden their replacement campaigns. Although in this latest case, none of the affected models are in the United States or Canada. Honda is recalling 4.89 million more vehicles globally, and Daihatsu has about 260,000 to repair in Japan, according to Automotive News. With these latest expansions, all of the affected automakers have needed to fix about 36 million vehicles globally for these faulty airbags since 2008. Some of the first instances of these problems were found in an Isuzu campaign in 2001. This latest round of recalls was sparked by a study from Takata that found the inflators' propellant could be affected by moisture over time. While the automakers received this information in March, it took time to determine the number of vehicles in need of repair and where they were located, according to Automotive News. To make sure all of the affected vehicles in the US are repaired in a timely fashion, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reportedly considering a strategy to force things to speed up. Honda and Toyota are already using outside suppliers for the parts they need. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Shizuo Kambayashi / AP Photo Recalls Honda Daihatsu Safety Takata airbag recall

Question of the Day: What's the most irritating car name?

You hear a lot about how the Chevrolet Nova was a sales flop in Mexico because "No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish; in fact, the Nova sold pretty well south of the border, and in any case most Spanish-speakers know that "Nova" means "new" in Latin and Portuguese. However, General Motors doesn't deserve to be let off the hook for bad car names, because the Oldsmobile Achieva— no doubt inspired by the excruciating "coffee achievers" ads of the 1980s— scrapes the biggest fingernails down the screechiest chalkboard in the US-market car-name world. That is, unless you think Daihatsu's incomprehensible choice of Charade was worse. Meanwhile, Japanese car buyers could get machines with cool names like Mazda Bongo Friendee or Honda Life Dunk. It's just not fair! So, what car name drives you the craziest? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chevrolet Honda Mazda Daihatsu Automotive History questions car names