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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.

2017 Honda Accord Hybrid comes with $300 price hike

The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid went on sale at US dealerships today with an MSRP of $29,605, or $300 more than the 2016 model. Among other new bells and whistles, the sedan, which is available in three trims, includes features such as front and rear parking sensors, remote engine start, heated rear seats, and rain sensing wipers, not to mention the "elegantly contoured" aluminum hood. Honda Sensing driver-assist features are now part of the standard equipment package, while the EX-L version includes touchscreen interface with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. Honda revealed details about the model in April, saying at the time that it had a combined fuel-economy rating of 48 miles per gallon. Honda notes that rating can't be compared to the 2016 model-year's fuel economy because of "new more stringent ratings requirements enacted by the US EPA," though has estimated that, apples to apples, the fuel-economy of the 2017 version is up about four percent. That, even though the car's horsepower is also increased about eight percent to 212. The new price tag means the Accord Hybrid will start about $1,600 higher than the Toyota Camry Hybrid. That model kept its pricing at $27,625 for the 2017 model year. Regardless, Honda is hoping to goose its hybrid sales with the updated model. Honda and its Acura division's hybrid sales through May plunged 79 percent from a year earlier to 1,975 units. Last year, Honda sold 11,063 Accord Hybrids, down 21 percent from a year earlier. By comparison, Toyota sold 30,640 Camry Hybrid's last year, marking a 22 percent drop from 2014. Meantime, take a look at Honda's press release below. Related Video: Honda Launches 2017 Accord Hybrid: America's Most Sophisticated, Powerful and Fuel Efficient Midsize Hybrid Sedan Jun 15, 2016 - TORRANCE, Calif. Next-generation two-motor hybrid powertrain with class-leading 212 horsepower and top-in-class EPA fuel economy ratings of 49/47/48 mpg1 Dynamic new styling and advanced features including standard Honda Sensing™ technology, plus available Display Audio with Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ America's best-selling midsize sedan bolsters its resume for 2016 with the arrival of the restyled and reengineered 2017 Accord Hybrid, America's most powerful and fuel-efficient midsize hybrid sedan, launching today at Honda dealerships nationwide.

10 automakers shack up in Detroit hotel to talk Takata airbags

Since Takata has decided not to take the lead concerning potential issues with its airbag inflators, the automakers have. Perhaps that's unsurprising, since it's the automakers, not Takata, that will take a beating on the dealership floor if consumers decide its models are a health hazards. The Detroit News reports that Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru met in a hotel conference room near the Detroit Metropolitan Airport last week to sort out a way to understand the technical issues involved. So far, faulty airbag inflators have been ruled the cause of five deaths and 50 injuries around the world, but neither Takata nor investigators understands exactly why the inflators are malfunctioning. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently asked Takata to issue a national recall, Takata declined, citing a minuscule failure rate and the fact that it's still investigating the issue. Toyota and Honda then made an industry-wide appeal for "a coordinated, comprehensive testing program" that would pinpoint the problem inflators and get them replaced, and that's what the Detroit meeting was about. Numerous issues, however, will make this a long row to hoe: simply getting the parts to replace the nearly 20 million inflators in cars recalled around the world so far - even working with other suppliers - will take a years, but more importantly, no one knows if the replacement inflators currently being installed will suffer the same issue. Answers will hopefully come quickly with Takata, the ten automakers and NHTSA all independently investigating the problem.