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Honda CEO carless, waiting on Civic Type R

As chief executive of Honda, Takahiro Hachigo could get his hands on anything the automaker produces, or has produced: a new Acura RLX luxury sedan, a luxed-out Odyssey minivan, a top-of-the-line CBR sport bike... even an old NSX supercar. Heck, he could probably even get the skunkworks to cook him up a road-going version of the ten-cylinder HSV-010 that was supposed to be the new NSX but only ever ended up racing in Super GT. So what does he drive? "Unfortunately, I don't have a car now," Hachigo-san revealed to journalists during a roundtable discussion in Tokyo. That situation won't last forever, though: "There is a model I want, which will, as I have told you, be launched this autumn," said Hachigo. "I want to buy the Civic Type R." The Honda chief is referring, of course, to the company's new hot hatch that will be produced in the UK and exported around the world, including back to Japan. It's got a 2.0-liter turbo four pumping out 306 horsepower to send it to 60 in 5.7 seconds, making it one of the fastest and most powerful hatchbacks ever devised. And more than anything else the company makes, that's what Hachigo wants for himself. The news should be welcomed by performance enthusiasts who may have been concerned about the future of Honda's performance models. The company has a slew of them coming out, including the new NSX and Civic Type R, and may even produce another sports car to slot in between. Those, however, were spearheaded under the administration of Hachigo's predecessor, Takanobu Ito. But if Hachigo's stated driving preferences are anything to go by, he's got some high octane pumping through his veins as well. Until the Civic Type R starts arriving in Japan, though, Hachigo's garage will have an empty space in it, filled only by his wife's N-One kei car and his own VTR 250 motorcycle. We're sure his chauffeur has him well taken care of, though, in the back of an RLX or whatever else the company sends to pick up its new chief executive. Related Video:

Honda expands Takata recall for older CR-Vs

Honda has added another 127,000 bad Takata airbag inflators to its growing recall. This latest round affects 2003 and 2004 CR-V crossovers and brings Honda's total inflator tally to 3.4 million units. This marks the first time that the 2004 CR-V has been included in the airbag recall. Repairs will be conducted free of charge, and Honda notes that "it has sufficient replacement parts supplies to begin recall repairs of the added vehicles immediately, nationwide." The company's recall repair is nearly half complete, with 47.1 percent of the bad inflators replaced across the US. "American Honda continues to urge owners of Honda and Acura vehicles affected by the Takata airbag inflator recalls to get their vehicles repaired at authorized dealers as soon as possible," the company said in the attached statement. "Vehicle owners can check their vehicles' recall status at www.recalls.honda.com for Honda owners or www.recalls.acura.com for Acura owners or by calling their authorized dealer." Read on for the official release. Statement by American Honda Regarding Expansion of Nationwide Recall of Certain Takata Passenger Front Airbag Inflators Dec 23, 2015 - TORRANCE, Calif. Nationwide recall of passenger front airbag inflators expands to include approximately 127,000 inflators in 2003-2004 CR-V vehicles not previously subject to recall or safety improvement campaign No change to national recall of driver front airbag inflators Honda's national Takata airbag inflator recall repair completion rate is 47.1% Honda announced today that it will expand a national recall (15V-370) to replace, free of charge, Takata passenger front airbag inflators installed in certain 2003-2004 CR-V models sold in the United States following a recent defect determination by Takata, the airbag inflator supplier. This expansion will add approximately 127,000 passenger front airbag inflators not previously subject to either a recall or safety improvement campaign. Approximately 78,000 of the affected 2003-2004 CR-V vehicles included in existing passenger front airbag inflator recalls and Honda's voluntary safety improvement campaigns (14V-353 and 14V-700) will also transition into the new recall. The same free repair - replacement of the passenger front airbag inflator - will be completed under the new national action. This updated recall (15V-370) now includes approximately 3.4 million passenger front airbag inflators now requiring replacement in this action.

Honda: We won't be able to sell ICE cars in China by 2025

China's push to clean up the country's woeful air pollution levels could mean the end of the traditional internal combustion engine there. In an interview with WardsAuto, Keiji Ohtsu, Honda's chief technology strategy officer at the company's automobile R&D center, predicts a lineup only of models with electric assistance in the country within a decade. He also discusses the Japanese automaker's green car goals worldwide. Ohtsu foresees China adopting some of the strictest fuel economy standards in the world in the coming years. "In 2025, we don't expect to be able to sell conventional internal-combustion engines [there], meaning we will be selling mostly hybrids including plug-in types," he said to WardsAuto. China's push to clean up its air comes as major cities continue to struggle with massive levels of pollution. For example, Beijing recently banned half of the cars from the road due to dire levels of smog. To fight back, the government has pushed automakers to launch more plug-ins, and the strategy has shown some success. China's BYD has already become the world's largest producer of plug-in vehicles in 2015. Even outside of China, Honda intends to become a far greener automaker in the coming years. In the near term, the company expects 20 percent of its global volume could be hybrids by 2020. According to Ohtsu, as much as 80 percent of Japanese deliveries could have some form or electrification by that time, but the US would be closer to 20 percent. However, the company sees hybrids more as a stepping stone than as the future of motoring, and the mass adoption of hydrogen is the real goal. "We think that fuel-cell vehicles will come into the mainstream in 2030, along with battery-powered electric cars. We also feel that going forward hydrogen will be the best fuel alternative," Ohtsu said to WardsAuto. Honda's experimental FCEV (pictured above) already hints at the brand's future direction.