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Question of the Day: Ever consider driving a minivan?

Since I'm supposed to know something about cars, it happens all the time: friends and relatives ask me advice about what kind of vehicle they should get. Very often, the only type of vehicle that can check every item on their wish list (e.g., hauls lots of people and stuff, gets good fuel economy, has great crash-test ratings, can take four Great Danes camping, and so on) is a modern minivan... and, of course, nobody wants to hear this. I'm not a minivan person, they will wail, and so they end up with a cramped, fuel-swilling SUV or a not-so-space-efficient minivan-in-disguise CUV. So, is it worth becoming one of those minivan people in order to get the incredible usefulness of these masterpieces of vehicle engineering, or do you hold your head high and drive something that doesn't quite meet your needs? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chrysler Honda Toyota Minivan/Van question of the day questions

Honda demonstrates driverless valet parking system with special Fit EVs

There are many challenges that will need to be sorted out before full autonomous driving becomes a reality, but automakers are taking small steps toward this advancement with semi-autonomous technologies. Nissan, Toyota and Ford have already revealed various automated driving systems, and now Honda is getting into the game with an automatic valet parking system that was unveiled recently at the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) World Congress in Tokyo.
Unlike Ford's recently demonstrated self-parking Focus, which is fully operational on its own, Honda's new system requires input from the parking lot via cameras. Combining information provided by the car's rearview camera as well as cameras positioned around the parking lot, drivers are able to drop their car off at a central location, and using a touchscreen display, the car can park itself and return when the driver is ready to leave. The benefit of this is that multiple cars can be parked at the same time and no additional sensors (other than a backup camera) are needed for the car, but the downside is that it can only operate on properly equipped parking lots. According to Honda's demonstration, this system can be practical by 2020.
Honda also showed off some semi-autonomous driving and non-contact electric vehicle recharging technologies at the ITS World Congress, although information is limited and there are no demonstrations available. Scroll down to read more about Honda's latest tech, including a video demonstration of the automatic valet parking system.

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.