1999 Honda Accord Lx Sedan 4-door 2.3l on 2040-cars

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Florida woman says Takata airbag deployment left her paralyzed

A malfunctioning Takata airbag left a Florida woman paralyzed from the neck down following an otherwise minor car accident last year, a lawsuit filed last week alleges. Patricia Mincey says in court documents that, instead of deploying normally, the driver-side airbag in her 2001 Honda Civic deployed with such force that it injured her neck and rendered her a quadriplegic. The lawsuit accuses Takata and Honda of deliberately concealing information about the defect and taking belated action to protect Mincey and other motorists from airbags that may harm them instead of saving their lives. At least five deaths and 139 injuries have been linked to the flawed airbags in Honda vehicles. "There is a systemic failure of these companies to come clean with information they know very early on of problems," Ted Leopold, Mincey's attorney, tells Autoblog. "Instead of doing the right thing, they try to sweep the problems under the rug until there are so many deaths and injuries they're left with no choice. We saw it with General Motors ignition switches, we saw it with the Toyota unintended acceleration cases and now we see it here." Long History Of Takata-Related Recalls Four days after Mincey's accident, Honda recalled her car as part of a 5,394,000-vehicle recall that sought to repair vehicles in which the airbag inflators could rupture. Her accident took place in Jacksonville, Florida, a state in which manufacturers have said high humidity could cause a heightened risk of problems for Takata airbags. She was wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash, according to court documents, and her car was traveling approximately 22 miles per hour. Mincey remains hospitalized in a long-term care and rehabilitation facility near her Florida home, her attorney said. She is seeking compensation in excess of $15,000 for her injuries and punitive damages. Problems with the Takata airbags were discovered as early as 2001, when Isuzu issued the first recall related to high-pressure deployments. But the company continued to manufacture defective airbags, which have subsequently been flagged in dozens of recalls over the past 14 years. Approximately 21 million vehicles have been affected in the United States. Congress conducted hearings on the companies' delayed responses to the safety crisis last year.

Honda N Box + has incredible versatility as oddly humorous JDM video shows

We want the Honda N Box +. Strangely enough, this video spot, shot in Japanese and gushing with production values that are a bit foreign to us, makes us want the little Honda even more. You see, we don't need to know Japanese to see that the kei car's 'universal bridge' feature isn't a gimmick - it actually looks extremely convenient - and that the car's multi-space system takes interior functionality to a new level. We don't require a translator to laugh at the gags in this spot, either, though we won't pretend to understand them idiomatically.
But really, the video is worth a watch, if for no better reasons than to enjoy a confusion-based laugh, and to marvel at the tiny car's extremely efficient use of space. We don't expect the N Box + to be offered for sale anywhere near North America, so to get your kicks, you'll have to head below to watch the commercial.

Honda CR-V updated for 2015

The CR-V was first introduced way back in the mid-90s, but Honda has done a good job of keeping it fresh. Now four generations in, the CR-V has been replaced every four or five years. And though the latest version just arrived on the scene a couple of years ago, Honda's giving it a refresh for the 2015 model year.
We've already spied these changes, but now, the Japanese automaker has officially released the image you see above, showing the updated 2015 CR-V with some cosmetic enhancements. The chrome bar at the bottom of the grille integrates smartly with the LEDs outlining the projector-beam headlights, capping a reshaped front bumper with new fog lamps.
Of course, the wheels and mirror caps have been redone as well, but we'll have to wait until Honda releases the full monte to see what the new CR-V looks like around back, inside and under the hood. All Honda is confirming at the moment is that the revised styling "portends the significant enhancements made to the 2015 CR-V" and that it will release further information on September 30 before the updated model goes on sale October 1, so watch this space for more.