2007 Honda Civic Ex Coupe 2-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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Honda updates Takata airbag recall status for some models

The net enveloping vehicles in the Takata airbag inflator recall just seems to keep widening. Honda is now updating its previous campaign to revise the status for even more models that were ever registered in (or originally sold in) 13 high-humidity US states and territories.
All of these vehicles were included in the company's earlier repairs. However, at the time this fix was titled "a safety improvement campaign." This latest action upgrades that condition to "a formal recall," according to Honda's official statement. The models include: the 2003-2005 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic (pictured above), 2002-2005 CR-V, 2003-2004 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2005 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003-2005 Acura MDX and the 2005 Acura RL. All of these need to have their passenger-side, front airbag inflator replaced, and the recall affects Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Saipan, Guam and American Samoa.
As with the rest of these affected vehicles, it's possible in a collision for the inflator to rupture spraying metal shrapnel at occupants. There are at least 139 injuries attributed to this problem from a variety of automakers so far. Among this latest population of vehicles, Honda says there have been no confirmed injuries or fatalities related to these exploding inflators.

Honda UK closes pre-order books on NSX, opens for Civic Type R

Most of us would probably deliberate pretty carefully before buying a new car – do a little research, read the reviews, take it for a test drive, compare it to the competition. But that's not everyone. Some buyers will order a new car sight unseen. Some will even place their order – for a performance model especially – before the production model is even revealed. And those buyers in the UK have been flocking to Honda for not one, but two upcoming new products. Even before the reveal of the finished car, Honda's British office has taken over 100 orders for the upcoming new NSX just from within the UK. The orders have been coming in so fast, in fact, that Honda has had to stop taking them for the time being. But don't worry, British enthusiasts: the Japanese automaker has just opened the order books for another yet-to-be-revealed performance model. That, of course, would be the new Civic Type R – a promising new hot hatch that Honda has showcased repeatedly in concept form, but has yet to reveal in production guise. That'll happen sometime in the new year, ahead of the start of production slated to take place at Honda UK's own plant in Swindon, England. But before it does, the company's dealers have started taking GBP3,000 ($4,700) deposits on the hot hatch we drove in prototype form but which does not, we're sad to say, look likely to be offered in North America. DEMAND FOR HONDA HOTS UP! TYPE-R ORDER BOOK IS OPEN Honda is pleased to announce that the Civic Type R is on the starting blocks and gearing up for its much awaited 2015 launch. Due to unprecedented demand, customers wanting to be one of the first behind the Type R steering wheel can now place an order with a GBP3,000 deposit at their local Honda dealer. The all-new hot hatch – due in UK showrooms next year – will be the most extreme and high-performing Type R in the 22 year history of the red 'H' badge, signalling the start of a new performance era for the brand. The all-new Civic Type R has been developed and engineered for European drivers. The car will be built at Honda's state-of-the-art plant in Swindon, UK, arriving in dealerships during 2015. The new Type R will mark the debut of the new '+R' button, for example. Located to the side of the steering wheel, a press activates '+R' mode for the most exhilarating driving experience. Engine responsiveness is heightened, with torque-mapping changed to a more aggressive and performance-focused setting.

A closer look at the motorcycle El Chapo used to escape prison

Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera, better known by his nickname, El Chapo, stands five-feet, five-inches tall. This defining trait – his nickname, not coincidentally, can be translated as "Shorty" in Spanish – is an important detail in his escape, as the tunnel that stretched a mile underground that led the drug kingpin to safety measures just one inch taller than Guzman's height. Clearly, this was a well-planned and executed escape. The tunnel that was custom-sized to perfectly fit El Chapo started at an abandoned building in the middle of an empty field and ended in a tight shaft that led to the shower stall in Guzman's jail cell. In between those start- and finish-points was an impressively dug-out hole in the Earth, complete with ventilation shafts, wiring for electricity and lights, and rails on the bottom to serve as tracks for a custom-built motorcycle that El Chapo apparently rode to freedom. There are specific traits that could be useful in figuring out what kind of motorcycle we're looking at. All of these facts are well-known to anyone who's been following the story of how the most notorious criminal in Mexico could escape from a maximum-security prison in broad daylight. Especially considering that this event marks the second time since 2001 that Guzman has arranged his own prison break. There's one detail, though, that has caught our attention. A close look at the images released by Mexican authorities shows us a motorcycle that's been heavily modified specifically to work underground. We can't be certain, based on the grainy shots and limited viewing angles of the pictures we have access to, but there are some specific traits that could be useful in figuring out what kind of motorcycle we're looking at. For starters, there's the engine. It's a single-cylinder, air-cooled powerplant, canted slightly forward. The exhaust exits on the right side of the bike, when looking from above, and there's a short chain guard on the opposite side. Granted, that doesn't narrow it down all that much. A look at the shape of the fins on the cylinder and the shape of the head, though, makes us think this may be one of Honda's ubiquitous CG-series of engines. A quick look at the bike's frame shows a single downtube, dual shocks and a steel-tube swingarm. That means it's probably not of particularly recent vintage, but we can't really pinpoint exactly what model it may be.