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Euro Honda Civic Type R engines are American-made

With 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, the latest Honda Civic Type R stands among the top of the current front-wheel drive, hot hatch heap. Sadly for the time being, it's exclusive to European buyers, and folks on this side of the pond might be waiting until 2017 to experience one. American Type R fans can be proud in the meantime, though. That's because the 2.0-liter turbocharged heart in each car doesn't come from Japan or Europe, but instead from Honda's Anna Engine Plant in Ohio. In a new video, the company is showing just a little of what goes into that production. Honda has been building engines at the Anna plant since 1985 and added the capability to produce the new, turbocharged units last year. The automaker currently employs 2,600 people there. In addition to the Type R mill, the factory makes the four- and six-cylinder powerplants for models like the Accord, Civic, CR-V, Acura ILX, TLX, and RDX. Honda intends to offer the next-gen Civic in coupe, sedan, and five-door hatch body styles in the US, and based on the company's concept, the Type R engine might come here in a two-door body. Regardless of the shape it's wrapped in, we look forward to experiencing the turbo 2.0-liter on America's roads.

Honda working with new supplier Autoliv for Takata inflator recall

Takata is fighting against US regulators over whether to expand its airbag inflator recall nationwide, but the affected automakers are continuing to broaden their own campaigns to get these vehicles fixed. Honda is the first company to take the bold move of partnering with another supplier for its replacement parts. It just announced plans to work with Autoliv to create components for models needing repaired in the US. "The agreement is made in order to meet the expanded supply of inflators needed by Honda and is subject to definitive documentation," Autoliv said in a statement. The company plans to add the extra capacity for these replacement parts at its existing factories, and deliveries are expected to begin in six months. The decision to switch suppliers was quite surprising because the choice was largely considered impractical previously. Automakers believed that changing manufacturers could take as long as a year or more to implement. However, Autoliv apparently found a way to accelerate that. According to Reuters, Honda said at a hearing in the House of Representatives on December 3 (pictured above) that it was in talks with Autoliv and another supplier called Daicel about building more inflators. The extra parts are sure to come in handy for Honda, as it is now officially expanding its driver side inflator recall nationwide. Although, that that option was already available to any concerned drivers who asked for the remedy. Even with added capacity, Takata had estimated it would take two years to manufacturer enough replacements to fix all of the affected vehicles from all of the automakers. Scroll down to read Autoliv's statement on its new role. Autoliv to supply replacement airbag inflators to be used by Honda (Stockholm, December 3, 2014) – – – Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE: ALV, and SSE: ALIV sdb), the worldwide leader in automotive safety, will supply replacement airbag inflators to be used by Honda Motor Company in support of the ongoing field action initiatives in the United States. The agreement is made in order to meet the expanded supply of inflators needed by Honda and is subject to definitive documentation. In order to be able to meet increased demand, Autoliv will build additional inflator capacity in its existing manufacturing facilities. Deliveries are estimated to commence after a period of about six months from today.

Honda fixes Fit flaw, improves performance on key crash test [w/video]

The Fit's grade on the small-front overlap test improved from "marginal" to "acceptable."
Back in March, safety engineers at Honda were disappointed when the much-anticipated 2015 Fit received a substandard grade on an important crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.