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Honda Accord barely edges Toyota Prius as California's best-selling car

The Toyota Prius definitely still matters, at least to car buyers in California. The long-lived hybrid was the state's second-bestselling vehicle in 2014 by moving 71,210 units across all of its variants, including the Prius C. The Toyota was the leader there in 2012 and 2013 but lost the sales crown this time – just barely – to the Honda Accord, which sold 71,578 examples. The results in the Golden State illustrate just how different the auto market there is compared to the rest of the country. Prius sales slumped last year nationwide with a drop of 11.5 percent to 207,372 examples sold. However, according to the LA Times, the model's numbers ticked up two percent in California in 2014. Taken by itself, the standard hatchback model would have been the sixth-bestseller there, with 39,036 units purchased. While the Toyota showed modest growth, it wasn't enough to fend off the Accord's 17 percent year-over-year jump in the state, though. According to the Los Angeles Times, the rest of the California top ten included the Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Corolla, Ford F-Series, CR-V, Nissan Altima, Sentra and Chevrolet Silverado, respectively. That list was quite a departure from the nationwide bestsellers in 2014, which was led by the F-Series, Silverado and Ram pickups. The Camry was the country's foremost car on the list in fourth place overall to beat the Accord in fifth. The Prius didn't break into the ten biggest sellers in the US last year. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2014 Honda Accord V6 Touring: Review View 42 Photos News Source: LA TimesImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Green Honda Toyota Car Buying Hatchback Hybrid Sedan sales California hybrid sales toyota prius c

New Honda ads: Fix your airbags

As we've heard on many different occasions, one of the biggest problem with recalls is getting people to actually report to the dealership to have repairs done. This is particularly important in cases where the recalled part can cause some very serious harm. To combat this tendency – you might even call it neglectfulness – on the part of owners, Honda is turning to advertising. The company is launching a multi-million-dollar ad campaign targeting owners of vehicles affected by the Takata airbag recall and asking them to report in to have a replacement inflator installed. "Honda hopes that this new consumer information campaign will bolster our existing and continuing efforts to reach our customers and maximize the vehicle repair completion rates associated with recalls to replace Takata airbag inflators," Honda's John Mendel said in the attached statement. "These ads are a strong call to action from our company designed to break through the clutter, grab the attention of customers driving affected vehicles, and urge that they get required repairs as soon as possible." The campaign will kick off March 16 with full-page color ads in over 120 newspapers and 30-second radio spots in 110 markets. Because it's 2015, the company will also use sponsored Facebook posts "that mention the specific vehicle owned by each identified user." Yep, here's the future. Honda's ads will largely be focused in the 11 high-humidity states and territories (Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) most affected by the Takata recall. Several of the states were part of the initial National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation, like Florida, Hawaii, the USVI and Puerto Rico. "The goals of this campaign is to save lives and prevent injuries," Mendel added. This campaign will be worth watching, not only because they deliver an important message, but they could set a precedent for the handling of future major recalls. Check out Honda's full press release, available below. New Honda Advertising Campaign Urges Owners to Take Immediate Action to Check for Open Recalls to Replace Takata Airbag Inflators Mar 12, 2015 - TORRANCE, CA.

10 automakers sued over keyless ignitions

Keyless ignition has rapidly proliferated throughout the auto industry to become a fairly normal feature on new cars. It's supposed to offer the convenience of keeping the fob in your pocket and just pressing a button to drive away. However, ten major automakers are now being sued in US District Court over claims that the system is dangerous, Reuters reports. The suit alleges that people are forgetting to shut off the engine, and the lack of an idle timer is the cause for 13 deaths by carbon monoxide poisoning and multiple injuries. The suit currently includes 28 plaintiffs, according to Reuters, but the lawyers are asking for class-action status to potentially add many more. The case goes after a major swath of the industry, including BMW, Daimler, FCA, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen, plus their related brands like Acura, Infiniti, Mini, and Lexus. In all, over five million vehicles are affected. The assertion here is that people walk away from their vehicle without shutting it off because they believe the engine shuts off automatically. If parked in a garage, carbon monoxide can build up, leading to poisoning. The lawyers claim automakers know this is a problem and also cite 27 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the issue, according to Reuters. The plaintiffs are asking for an automatic shut-off and damages from the companies. These concerns have come up before, though. Toyota previously faced a lawsuit over a carbon monoxide death after a woman accidentally left her Lexus running. Also earlier this year, GM recalled 64,186 examples of the 2011-2013 Chevrolet Volt because owners weren't shutting them off. The problem resulted in two injuries, and the company released a software update to limit the idling time.