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Takata airbag recalls add another 5 million vehicles

The Takata airbag inflator recall expanded by about 6.5 million vehicles recently when Toyota and Nissan announced global expansions to replace the faulty parts. You can add another 5 million more as Honda and Daihatsu also broaden their replacement campaigns. Although in this latest case, none of the affected models are in the United States or Canada. Honda is recalling 4.89 million more vehicles globally, and Daihatsu has about 260,000 to repair in Japan, according to Automotive News. With these latest expansions, all of the affected automakers have needed to fix about 36 million vehicles globally for these faulty airbags since 2008. Some of the first instances of these problems were found in an Isuzu campaign in 2001. This latest round of recalls was sparked by a study from Takata that found the inflators' propellant could be affected by moisture over time. While the automakers received this information in March, it took time to determine the number of vehicles in need of repair and where they were located, according to Automotive News. To make sure all of the affected vehicles in the US are repaired in a timely fashion, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reportedly considering a strategy to force things to speed up. Honda and Toyota are already using outside suppliers for the parts they need. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Shizuo Kambayashi / AP Photo Recalls Honda Daihatsu Safety Takata airbag recall

Honda delays JDM Legend over quality concerns

Honda has been having some quality issues lately, to say the least. Most of those have revolved around the airbags supplied by Takata, but not exclusively. The new Fit Hybrid, for example, has been subject to five consecutive recalls in the year since it launched. And now the Japanese automaker is reportedly delaying the launch of its new Legend sedan. The Legend, for those unfamiliar, is what Honda calls the Acura RLX in the Japanese Domestic Market – a model that has been subject to a handful of recalls in the United States, affecting components ranging from headlights to seatbelts to suspension bolts. Such quality control issues have prompted Honda to delay the introduction of its flagship sedan in its home market, pushing its arrival in Japanese showrooms back from the fall (when the model was revealed) initially to January 22 and now to February 20, according to the report from Bloomberg. The extra time is earmarked the give Honda engineers the opportunity to look into potential problems with the vehicle's radar safety system and its advanced hybrid powertrain, before introducing it to the local market. Hopefully further recalls can be avoided once deliveries have commenced.

2015 Honda Civic Type-R benchmarks the cream of the hot hatch crop

Honda has something wicked up its sleeve, based on the latest batch of spy photos we've received. This is purportedly the next Honda Civic Type-R, out testing in Germany and on the Nürburgring. The last generation of the Type-R went out of production in Europe in 2010, and while we admired it from afar, it's 2.0-liter, four-cylinder produced similar figures to the American-market Honda Civic Si.
From the looks of both it and the cars Honda engineers are benchmarking, the next Type-R will be much more powerful. In the spy photos, we can see four meaty exhaust pipes along with what is quite clearly an intercooler hiding behind the rear bumper. That's right, the next Type-R will be turbocharged. It'll need to be, though, if it's meant to tackle cars like the Opel Astra OPC, Ford Focus RS500 and Renault Megane RS Trophy (not pictured, but there according to our spies).
300 horsepower from a 2.0-liter engine should be on offer, and would match the competition quite well. Other obvious tweaks from the ho-hum five-door Civic are mainly aerodynamic. It sports an aggressive body kit with a meaty chin spoiler, rocker panels and a big rear wing. Red Brembo brake calipers can also be seen behind the sporty wheels and low-profile tires.