2002 Honda Cr-v Lx Sport Utility 4-door 2.4l - Blue on 2040-cars

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Autoblog Podcast #387

Episode #387 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing and Michael Zak talk about more General Motors recalls, upgrades and a diesel for the 2015 Ford Focus ST, and the BMW M235i scoring ahead of the Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette Stingray in Consumer Reports testing. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #387: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: GM recalls 8.4M more cars in North America Ford Focus ST upgrades and diesel CR says M235i is better than 911 In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel 2014 Honda Accord Coupe V6 6MT Long-Term 2015 Subaru WRX 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Michael Zak Runtime: 01:35:26 Rundown: Intro & Garage - 00:00 GM Recalls - 26:26 2015 Ford Focus ST - 41:56 BMW M235i - 50:24 Q&A - 59:16 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Government/Legal Podcasts BMW Ford GM Honda Jeep Subaru Safety Diesel Vehicles Performance bmw m235i

Honda updates Takata airbag recall status for some models

The net enveloping vehicles in the Takata airbag inflator recall just seems to keep widening. Honda is now updating its previous campaign to revise the status for even more models that were ever registered in (or originally sold in) 13 high-humidity US states and territories.
All of these vehicles were included in the company's earlier repairs. However, at the time this fix was titled "a safety improvement campaign." This latest action upgrades that condition to "a formal recall," according to Honda's official statement. The models include: the 2003-2005 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic (pictured above), 2002-2005 CR-V, 2003-2004 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2005 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003-2005 Acura MDX and the 2005 Acura RL. All of these need to have their passenger-side, front airbag inflator replaced, and the recall affects Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Saipan, Guam and American Samoa.
As with the rest of these affected vehicles, it's possible in a collision for the inflator to rupture spraying metal shrapnel at occupants. There are at least 139 injuries attributed to this problem from a variety of automakers so far. Among this latest population of vehicles, Honda says there have been no confirmed injuries or fatalities related to these exploding inflators.

Honda wins Commercial of the Decade, but not for the ad you think [w/VIDEO]

Honda's Commercial of the Decade: "Grrr" - Click above to watch video
The mad men at Adweek recently voted for the Commercial of the Decade (Super Bowl commercials not included) and Honda took top honors over memorable ads from the last ten years by companies like Nike, Budweiser and Sony. That's not a big surprise considering Honda often puts a huge amount of effort into its on-air spots. However, the Japanese automaker didn't win for the commercial you might have expected: "Cog." Though Honda's famous commercial that breaks down a European Accord Tourer into a Rube Goldberg-esque machine was also a finalist, it was beaten by another Honda commercial called "Grrr" that's narrated by Garrison Keillor of all people. You've probably never seen it, but you can after the jump.
Volkswagen also made the list of finalists, but the particular ad chosen out of all the comical VW ads we've seen was unexpected as well. Most surprising carmaker with a commercial in the finals: Saturn. Who knew...