2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan Sunroof Ground Effects 59k Mi Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

New death linked to Takata airbag crisis, Honda recalls 170k vehicles overseas

The safety crisis surrounding Takata's exploding airbags continues to expand. In the latest revelation, Honda confirms another death linked to the faulty parts, and the company is expanding its recall of the components. However, none of the newly added vehicles are in the United States.
With the confirmation of this report, there are now five deaths linked to the faulty airbags. According to The New York Times, a pregnant woman in Malaysia was killed on July 27 in a 2003 Honda City when she crashed into another vehicle, and the inflator ruptured. This was the first announced case outside of the US.
The faulty part in the woman's car was reportedly made at a now-closed Takata factory in Georgia, according to the NYT, and it's the first known example from that location. In response, Honda recalled about 170,000 vehicles in Europe and Asia to replace the potentially bad inflators. The latest campaign brings the total number of recalled vehicles worldwide to around 14.3 million units.

Weekly Recap: Ferrari looks to reclaim old success with new manager

Clearly, Ferrari doesn't race for fourth place, and this week, major changes continued at the Scuderia. It was a rough year for Ferrari, and the Scuderia conducted its season-ending tests in Abu Dhabi this week with a view toward a fresh start in 2015 with new leaders and a new ace driver. Though plenty of other Formula One teams were disappointed with their finishes in 2014, Ferrari was perhaps the most eager to put this season in its rear-view mirror. The Scuderia finished a distant fourth in the Constructors standings with 216 points, well behind No. 1 Mercedes (701 points), and Ferrari failed to win a single race as the Silver Arrows dominated the grid. It was an especially bitter pill for a team that claims 16 Constructors championships and 15 Drivers titles – the most in history – and is the only surviving team from F1's first season, 1950. Clearly, Ferrari doesn't race for fourth place, and this week, major changes continued at the Scuderia. Ferrari named Philip Morris executive Maurizio Arrivabene as team principal. He replaced Marco Mattiacci, who held the job for only seven months after taking over for Stefano Domenicali, who resigned in April amid the Scuderia's early-season struggles. Phillip Morris (through its Marlboro brand) is a key Ferrari sponsor, and that played a role in Arrivabene's ascension. Still, he's no stranger to F1, and has been intimately involved in the Ferrari-Marlboro partnership. He also has served as the sponsors' representative on the FIA's F1 Commission since 2010. In a statement, new Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne said: "We decided to appoint Maurizio Arrivabene because, at this historic moment in time for the Scuderia and for Formula One, we need a person with a thorough understanding not just of Ferrari, but also of the governance mechanisms and requirements of the sport." Arrivabene's background is primarily in marketing and communication, and most recently he held the title of vice president of consumer channel strategy and event marketing for Philip Morris. He has been with the company since 1997. Arrivabene now leads a team that's rife with change. Marchionne took over in October when longtime boss Luca di Montezemolo quit in a disagreement about Ferrari's future, and the company itself will be spun off from parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2015.

Honda CEO says we shouldn't expect any new sports cars

It wasn't so long ago that Honda was known for its sporty two-door models, with models ranging from the Civic del Sol to the Prelude and from the Acura Integra and RSX to the Honda S2000. But look at its range today and all you'll see are the Civic and Accord coupes. Honda has essentially let competitors like the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ and Nissan 370Z take the place it once claimed as its own. But if you were hoping Honda would fight back with a new coupe or convertible of its own, we're afraid you're going to have to downgrade those hopes to pipe dreams.
While in Japan ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show, Autoblog had a chance to sit down with American Honda CEO Tetsuo Iwamura (pictured at right). When we asked about the potential for a new sports coupe or convertible in the Honda or Acura lineup, he pointed to the current Civic and Accord coupes - not to mention the upcoming new NSX - but said that Honda has no replacement for any of the aforementioned models (or a rival for the FR-S or 370Z) in the pipeline, saying only that the company is monitoring potential demand.
What Iwamura-san did note was that he's a personal fan of the new S660 roadster (pictured above) set to be unveiled tomorrow, and he is pushing (or at least hoping) that it will come to North America. Given that he's head of both Honda's American office and its global automobile operations, one might think that the only person he would have to persuade is himself (well... himself, and potential buyers), but the sporty droptop looks to be about kei-sized, which sadly suggests that it may be too small for American tastes and perhaps not designed with US crash-test standards in mind anyway.