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Even Ferrari swept up in latest Takata recall expansion

The scope of Takata's deadly airbag problems continues to widen. Eight manufacturers announced recalls Friday that affect more than 12 million vehicles, according to documents filed with federal regulators. The automakers include Honda, which is recalling 4.5 million units, Fiat Chrysler with 4.3 million, Toyota with 1.65 million, and Subaru, which is recalling almost 400,000. Some of these cars include the Saab 9-2x and Pontiac Vibe that Toyota and Subaru made for General Motors. Mazda will recall 730,000 vehicles and Nissan has 400,000 affected units. The smallest numbers were posted by Mitsubishi, with 38,000 Lancers manufactured from 2006 to 2007, and as a noteworthy high-end manufacturer, Ferrari is calling back 2,800 vehicles. These are all US-market cars. Beyond America, the Japanese Transport Ministry has announced seven million additional vehicles will be recalled, which means 19.6 million vehicles across the globe are affected by recalls announced. The defects have been traced to an insufficiently manufactured airbag inflator, which lacks a drying agent that would prevent the inflators from deteriorating over time. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, which have become unstable and are prone to exploding and showering vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal shrapnel. A private equity firm, KKR & Co., has been named in a possible buyout of the struggling Takata. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Recalls Ferrari Honda Mazda Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Subaru Toyota Saab Safety

Japan readying first stealth fighter for 2016 test

This post is appearing on Autoblog Military, Autoblog's sub-site dedicated to the vehicles, aircraft and ships of the world's armed forces. The nation of Japan is somewhat unique in terms of the world's militaries. Following its loss in World War II, the country was stripped of its ability to wage war, and its military was reestablished nearly a decade later not as an aggressive force but as a self-defense force. Today, the Japanese constitution forbids the country from maintaining anything but its Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces. Since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe first took office in September 2006 and continuing in his second term, which began in late 2012, Japan's military has seen something of a renaissance. Earlier this year, the country's legislature officially approved a new law that allowed Japan to use its military in international conflicts, even if there's no direct threat to the Home Islands. And even earlier still, Japan announced a desire to increase its drone capability. Now, like the US, Russia, and China, the country is preparing its own stealth fighter. Slated to take to the skies for its maiden flight in early 2016, the Advanced Technology Demonstrator X is a Mitsubishi-built plane that looks like the lovechild of an F-22 Raptor, an F-16 Falcon, and an F/A-18 Hornet. According to the attached video from Bloomberg, the ATD-X carries all the stealth fighter hallmarks. Its shape is designed to minimize its radar cross-section, while the body is coated in radar-absorbent material. And of course, the weapons systems are stored within underbelly bays. But why is Japan even testing it, especially when you consider the company placed an order for 42 F-35 Lightning IIs way back in 2011? Well, for one, it's going to be a lot more affordable than the F-35, which is the single most expensive weapons platform in human history. Where individual F-35s cost around $100 million, depending on what source you're looking at, Bloomberg reports that the ATD-X could be developed for just $324 million. Even if there are some utterly absurd cost overruns and the per-unit cost is closer to astronomical than affordable, putting together a fleet of production ATD-X's is probably going to be cheaper overall. You can hear more about why Japan is considering the ATD-X in the video down below. Check it out.

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #357 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #357 tonight, joined by Jeff Glucker of the Hooniverse Podcast. You can check out the topics below, drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module, and don't forget to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so. To take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #357
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