2014 Honda Odyssey Ex-l on 2040-cars

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Is Fernando Alonso preparing to sit out 2016?

Things have not been going well for Fernando Alonso since moving to McLaren. In fact they've been going so poorly that the Spanish driver may end up sitting out next season if things don't improve. At least those are the rumors presently occupying the Formula One paddock. The notion was first raised by McLaren chief Ron Dennis. When asked by reporters about Alonso's near-term future with the team, Dennis said, "I have an open mind to anything, and some of the ideas have involved those sorts of considerations, yes, sabbatical years etcetera." Though far from confirmed, the basic idea would be to see how next year's car performs in pre-season testing, and if it's not up to spec, Alonso could end up sitting out a season while McLaren and Honda get their partnership up to speed, so to speak. Alonso appeared to be puzzled by the prospect his boss raised, but couldn't rule it out, either. It would be a rather unprecedented move, but could end up avoiding some frustrations as the Anglo-Japanese teething process works itself out with time. Alonso has been a constant on the grid since 2003, missing only two grands prix in thirteen seasons: the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis when all the Michelin-equipped teams sat out the race in protest, and the Australian Grand Prix at the beginning of this year, when Alonso was still recovering from a crash in pre-season testing. Out of 254 grands prix contested to date, Fernando has landed on the podium 97 times, including 32 wins and two world championships. This season, however, he's only finished in the points once, with his fifth-place finish in Hungary. Of the eighteen races he contested this year, his car failed to get him to the finish line altogether at seven. His seventeenth place in the final standings for the season are the worst he's done since his debut in 2001 with Minardi (the team now known as Toro Rosso). News Source: Autosport (1), (2), (3)Image Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports Honda McLaren F1 mclaren-honda

Some Hondas and an Acura can now take delivery of your Amazon packages

Some new Honda and Acura owners will now be able to have their Amazon packages delivered directly to their cars starting today. The company just announced a slew of compatible vehicles from the 2018 and 2019 model years that will be compatible with the service. Several other manufacturers offer the same thing — itÂ’s mostly GM and Ford vehicles, but some Volvos will also work. YouÂ’ll need to be a HondaLink or AcuraLink subscriber for the service to function. That subscription costs $110/year, so itÂ’s not exactly cheap. The compatible Hondas include the 2018-19 Accord (including the Hybrid), 2018-19 Insight, 2018-19 Odyssey, 2019 Passport and 2019 Pilot. The caveat here is that you'll need to have the Touring or Elite trim of any of those vehicles. As of now, the Acura RDX in any trim is the only compatible Acura. This system works just the same as it does in other vehicles. YouÂ’ll need to be parked within two blocks of your delivery address. Then the driver will locate your car, scan your package and unlock your vehicle. After placing the package in your car, the delivery person “requests” for the vehicle to be locked, which sends a notification to your phone confirming that your car is now locked with the package inside. ThereÂ’s a certain level of trust thatÂ’s necessary to let a total stranger gain access to your car, but you donÂ’t have to use the service if you donÂ’t want to. That $110 for HondaLink gets you a bunch of other useful stuff like remote vehicle start, remote lock/unlock, stolen vehicle locator and speed alerts and geofencing for parents. All of that can be set from an app on your smartphone.

Takata doubling production of replacement airbag inflators

Takata is scrambling to fill the massive backlog of orders for replacement airbag inflators, announcing that a recently completed pair of production lines are only the beginning of a production ramp up. The company has kicked up the pace on the two new production lines at its Monclova, Mexico factory, increasing the plant's production from 300,000 to 450,000 units per month. As AN reports, though, even at that pace, it'd take Takata years to produce enough replacements for the 25 million recalled vehicles. A spokesperson confirmed to AN that, globally, Takata will be producing 900,000 replacement airbag inflators by September. Even at that pace, it'd still take around two years to provide a new inflator for every affected vehicle. That's why other companies, perhaps smelling blood in the water, are providing their own replacements for the faulty inflators. We've already reported on Honda's plans to team with the world's largest airbag producer, Autoliv. Now, though, AN has confirmed that the Swedish supplier is in negotiations to provide millions of additional replacement inflators to other automakers affected by the Takata recall. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Carlos Osorio / AP Aftermarket Recalls Honda Safety Takata airbag recall autoliv