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Honda recalling 871,000 SUVs and minivans over rollaway fear

Honda is recalling 871,000 SUVs and minivans for an issue in which the vehicles may roll away after the key has been removed from the ignition. Ninety-two percent of the recalled vehicles, or 807,000 vehicles, are in the US. According to a report from Reuters, the effected vehicles include certain numbers of the Honda Odyssey and Pilot, as well as the Acura MDX. Here are the recall figures:
2003-2004 Honda Odyssey: 318,000 vehicles
2003-2004 Honda Pilot: 259,000 vehicles

Honda revamps F1 engine for McLaren

Things haven't been going smoothly for Honda since returning to Formula One, and the Japanese automaker says the challenge has been greater than it anticipated. But after a stronger showing at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, Honda says its reliability issues are behind it and is working on introducing a revamped engine for the second half of the season. "I am confident our reliability problems are now behind us, which means we can turn our attention to increasing power," Honda racing chief Yasuhisa Arai told Autosport. "After the summer shutdown our plan is to apply a new-spec engine using some of our remaining seven tokens." The "tokens" to which Arai refers are a way for the FIA to limit engine development. The power units are broken down into 66 such tokens in the regulations, and each engine supplier can change up to 32 of them throughout the season. The allowance was at first afforded only to returning suppliers Mercedes, Ferrari, and Renault, but Honda succeeded in convincing the FIA to allow it the same leeway. Honda has been spending its development tokens on fixing reliability issues, but will shift its focus to improving performance. The McLaren team that Honda powers has only gotten both of its cars to the finish line at two out of 10 races this season. Most of those problems came down to the new engine package. That's compared to only two retirements the team suffered last season, when it was still under Mercedes power, and none the year before. In Hungary, however, the team not only got both cars to the finish line, but placed both in the points for the first time this season. "The sport has changed immensely since the McLaren-Honda 'glory days'," said Arai. "The current technology is much more sophisticated, and it is tough to make a good racing car. We knew it wouldn't be easy, but perhaps we didn't imagine it would be this hard." The Japanese manufacturer is now spending the summer break developing its power unit. Many of those changes are expected to be rolled out in time for the Belgian Grand Prix later this month, with the rest to follow in the ensuing races. Beyond reliability, engine performance is particularly important for the high-speed races at Spa and Monza, where the subsequent Italian Grand Prix will be held early next month. Related Video:

Ever wonder how to really pronounce Japanese automaker names?

People tend to get very set in their ways when it comes to the pronunciation of words. Just look at the endless debates over whether or not to say the final 'e' in Porsche (which you should in terms of correct German enunciation). Or the argument about whether to follow the British convention and give the 'u' in Jaguar a special delivery or to say the 'ua' diphthong as more of a 'w' sound, as usually happens in the US.
This short video doesn't answer either of those automotive questions, but it does allow a native Japanese speaker to demonstrate the accepted pronunciations for several, major automakers from the country. One benefit is that it clears up the occasional debate over whether Nissan should be said with a long or short 'i' sound. Also, listen closely to how the female host says Mazda as Matsuda, the way it's actually said in the language. Even if this doesn't change the way you enunciate these brands, at least now you know the accurate way in Japanese.