1997 Honda Civic Type R Rhd Jdm 97 Hatchback Volks Ce28n Takata Recaro B16b Ek9 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Takata doubling production of replacement airbag inflators

Takata is scrambling to fill the massive backlog of orders for replacement airbag inflators, announcing that a recently completed pair of production lines are only the beginning of a production ramp up. The company has kicked up the pace on the two new production lines at its Monclova, Mexico factory, increasing the plant's production from 300,000 to 450,000 units per month. As AN reports, though, even at that pace, it'd take Takata years to produce enough replacements for the 25 million recalled vehicles. A spokesperson confirmed to AN that, globally, Takata will be producing 900,000 replacement airbag inflators by September. Even at that pace, it'd still take around two years to provide a new inflator for every affected vehicle. That's why other companies, perhaps smelling blood in the water, are providing their own replacements for the faulty inflators. We've already reported on Honda's plans to team with the world's largest airbag producer, Autoliv. Now, though, AN has confirmed that the Swedish supplier is in negotiations to provide millions of additional replacement inflators to other automakers affected by the Takata recall. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Carlos Osorio / AP Aftermarket Recalls Honda Safety Takata airbag recall autoliv

Honda announces 2015 Pilot Special Edition

Honda doesn't have any exciting new mechanical or aesthetic changes for the 2015 Pilot eight-passenger crossover, but it is adding a new trim level to give families a compromise between the EX and EX-L models.
The new Special Edition trim is available on either the front-wheel or all-wheel drive versions of the Pilot, and it adds Pewter Gray aluminum wheels, a power moonroof, a rear seat entertainment DVD system and Sirius XM radio. Prices come to $33,950 for the two-wheel drive version, after the $830 destination charge, or $35,550 for all-wheel drive after destination.
Prices for the rest of the trims are up $200 over last year, and they all still come standard with remote entry, a rearview camera and Class III trailer hitch. Power is still provided by a 3.5-liter V6 with 250 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque with a five-speed automatic. Fuel economy is unchanged as expected with front-wheel drive models rated at 18 miles per gallon city, 25 mpg highway and 21 mpg combined, and four-wheel drive models make 1 mpg less at 17 mpg city, 24 mpg highway and 20 mpg combined. Scroll down to read the official release.

How to charge up your BMW i3 with a Honda

Behold a cheaper version of BMW's range extender for its i3 plug-in. And it's brought to you by ... Honda? Sort of, if you take the approach that Gadget Review took when it looked for an alternative to ponying up the $4,000 or so for the gas-powered i3 range extender that comes from the factory. What was procured was a Honda portable generator for Home Depot for the experiment, which involved gassing the generator up in a parking lot, plugging in the i3 and going out for a cup of coffee. The result was that, after about a half-hour of charging, the i3 picked up about four miles of driving range. Not exactly revolutionary but it least a bit instructive. And given that Honda generators start at about $800, the idea, while clunky, is potentially cash-saving. Gadget Review briefly took the experiment one-step further by trying to run the generator inside the back of the car and plugging in, complete with a rigged-up ventilation system, but the host thought better of it once he realized that there'd be suffocation involved. Why this was never tried on the Nissan Leaf, we'll never know. Check out Gadget Review's five-minute video below.