2011 Odyssey Ex-l 3.5l V6 24v Automatic Fwd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Honda fined $70 million for failing to report deaths, injuries

The federal agency charged with keeping US motorists safe announced Thursday it has fined Honda $70 million for failing to report death and injury data in a timely manner. Honda failed to report 1,729 incidents involving death or injury over an 11-year period, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials. Federal law requires automakers to report deaths, injuries and certain warranty claims. Officials said Thursday that information could have been used to spot trends in automotive defects and potentially save lives. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said it is possible the Department of Justice could conduct a criminal investigation into the failures, but it was not immediately known whether the Justice Department would pursue such charges. NHTSA officials still don't know much about the 1,729 incidents of death or injury that were missing from the Early Warning Reporting records, because in some cases, they still haven't been reported. Mark Rosekind, the agency's new administrator, said Honda is still in the process of sending investigators the missing information. "Our first task will be to review that, and determine actual deaths and injuries," he said. "That data is in the process of coming to us and being processed right now." The $70 million is the largest civil penalty levied against an automaker in history, officials said. It actually consists of two $35 million penalties, the maximum allowed by statute for a single TREAD Act violation. In this case, NHTSA broke the fine into separate violations, one for the missing deaths and injury information and one for the company's failure to report certain warranty-claim information. Honda reached an agreement with the federal government in late December, in which it accepted additional regulatory oversight and third-party audits that will ensure reporting is properly completed in the future. Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Government/Legal Honda transportation

2013 Honda Accord Coupe V6 6MT

One of the first cars I reviewed for Autoblog was - say it with me now - a 2010 Honda Accord Coupe EX-L V6 w/Navi 6MT, perhaps the rarest of all modern Accord models. I mean, think about it: Of all the different Accord variants on the road, how many are coupes? And how many of those have the larger V6 engine? And how many of those are fully loaded with leather, navigation and all the trimmings? And finally, how many of those have option sheets where the only box that isn't checked is the automatic transmission?
That has to be something like one percent of one percent, right?
So when Honda started rolling its all-new 2013 Accord into the test fleet, I was happy to hear that yet another Coupe EX-L V6 w/Navi 6MT model was available out of the Detroit pool. And while this really isn't the car that serves as the control for judging the entire Accord line, it's still one heck of a sweetheart.

Cafe racer motorbikes storm Japan

Japan may be best known, at least among motorcycle enthusiasts, for its sport bikes. But as we found at the Tokyo Motor Show this year, Japanese motorcycle manufacturers are capable of producing all kinds of motorbikes. And to our delight, that includes cafe racers.
Along with the myriad electric bikes, dirt bikes, crotch rockets and scooters, the halls of Tokyo's Big Site convention center this year were full of the retro-infused rides we love. Chief among them was the Bolt (shown above) which Yamaha exhibited alongside their various electric two-wheelers, sporting a delicious metallic blue paintjob, inverted handlebars and hanging mirrors, machined metal bits, blacked-out trim and saddle brown leatherwork.
Honda was also on hand with a new EX version of its '70s-style CB1100 retro roadster in sinister and low-key matte black. And this was our first chance to check out BMW Motorrad's new birthday present to its 90-year-old self, the R NineT, a model recently unveiled at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. But one of the most amusing retro rides we came across was the Honda Monkey Limited, a mini bike that makes the new 125cc Grom (which was displayed alongside it) look positively gigantic.