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Honda, Top Gear working on 130-mph lawn mower

We're not even sure they've got a blade of Kentucky Bluegrass to cut, but the folks at Top Gear have gone ahead and started building what will become, if they're successful, the world's fastest lawn mower. Actually, it appears Top Gear is not doing much of the design and assembly work at all, instead having solicited help from experts at Honda and Team Dynamics, which oversees the automaker's touring car efforts.
What the three are working on is a riding lawnmower with a 110-hp engine that can reach 60 miles per hour in four seconds and trim turf at speeds up to 130 mph. If they succeed, such a maximum velocity would put them well ahead of the current record for the world's fastest lawnmower, which is 96.529 mph set by Bobby Cleveland and his Snapper race mower at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September of 2010. Top Gear hasn't said whether or not it will officially go after Cleveland's record, but the build will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Top Gear magazine and is scheduled to be completed by June 17, so we may learn what this maniacal mower's true purpose is then.
According to TG's report on how the build is going, as well as the video of it being fired up (literally) for the first time below, there aren't many actual mower parts left on this machine. What started out as a Honda HF2620 mower now sports wheels and tires from a racing quad, a back axle from a go-kart, a steering rack from a Morris Minor and a 1000cc engine from a Honda VTR1000F sport bike. All that remains from the original mower are the pedals and body panels; even the steel cutting deck has been replaced with a lighter fiberglass version. And blades? This mower will be bladeless, instead using two electric motors to spin lengths of brake cable like a weed whacker.

Honda is replacing airbags nationwide, not just in humid states

With a Senate hearing scheduled for November 20, the investigations into the exploding airbag inflators from automotive supplier Takata are just beginning. Honda is among the automakers most affected by the problem with over five million vehicles potentially in need of repair in the US, according to the last estimate from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But the actual number being fixed could be even higher because the company is also working with worried owners nationwide.
According to the Associated Press, Honda is willing to perform the repair for concerned owners of affected vehicles who live outside of the high-humidity regions that the recall covers. In a letter to customers online, the company explains that it wants to work with them to fix the problem and even provide temporary transportation, if necessary.
"This is not a new thing, and it does not represent us including vehicles outside of those regions within the recall or investigatory campaigns. It is a part of our ongoing efforts to work with our customers individually to resolve their concerns, even if their vehicle is not technically part of one of those actions," said Honda spokesperson Chris Martin to Autoblog via email.

Honda and Michael Bolton wish you happy holidays, social-style

There's nothing like landing a big celebrity for a high-profile advertising campaign to say to the world "Our brand has still got it!" Dodge, for instance, has been getting huge publicity by landing Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy, to pitch its entire lineup on TV and on YouTube. Honda meanwhile, has reeled in the biggest fish in the 1990s Soft Pop category, the ineffable Michael Bolton. (We're assuming that Kenny G was booked.) We don't see how this can backfire, Honda.
In an effort to promote its annual holiday-season sales event, Honda has tapped the multitalented Bolton - he sings, acts and stares longingly at you from across the room - to dangle himself as a prize for ardent social media users. That's right, for the next few days (November 18 to 22), people that use the hashtag #XOXOBolton on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Vine, will be entered to win one-of-a-kind "musical greeting cards" from the now very blond crooner.
Not enough Bolton for you? Don't worry, Honda's got Michael booked for six TV commercials to air throughout the holiday season, too. Scroll down to get lost in Bolton's luxuriant eyes watch the promotional video from Honda.