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2015 Pikes Peak Hill Climb: Practice Day 1

Based on what we learned from the first day of practice for the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the quickest race pace up the paved road to more than 14,000 feet above sea level may not be from internal combustion locomotion anymore. "If it all goes well, and the planets align, [under nine minutes] shouldn't be out of the question," said Paul Wilding, team manager for Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima's Rimac Automobili Monster Sport E-Runner entry. Wilding added that if Tajima's car held up during the week it could finish first overall, which would be the first time an EV takes the overall crown at the hill climb. Last year, the gap between overall winner Romain Dumas' Norma M20 RD Limited and the fastest EV was just over two seconds. In the 2014 race, Tajima finished third in his class. "We think this car is the fastest way up now," said Wilding. "There's no affect from the altitude – this car is a monster, our driver is a monster." The practice, which isn't mandatory but is sanctioned by race officials, concluded Tuesday morning with a few surprises ahead of Sunday's race. Tajima will be racing for the fourth consecutive year in the all-electric modified division. Wilding said today's conditions weren't ideal and the race Sunday could be more challenging than initially expected. "It was a lot bumpier than we expected today," he said. "But today means nothing. It was all [reconnaissance]. Tomorrow means everything." The Honda ARX-04B LMP2 prototype brought to Pikes Peak had a difficult start to the week. Honda Racing spokesman Eric Mauck said the car struggled and didn't run in practice Tuesday. "We're looking for data and research more than anything else," Mauck said. "We're not going for Sebestain's record this year, we're just looking to gather information for years to come." Colorado-native, Honda driver, and Formula E racer Justin Wilson will pilot the LMP2 up the mountain Wednesday – assuming the car is ready. "He's obviously a guy that Honda thinks very highly of. Anytime we have an opportunity to put Justin behind the wheel of anything we want to," Mauck said. Honda driver Tetsuya Yamano, who is driving an all-electric Honda CR-Z in the exhibition class, echoed Mauck's assessment. "We're not making a racecar," Yamano said through an interpreter. "This is part of [research and development] and we're looking to get as much data back to engineers in Japan as possible ...

Brand new cars are being sold with defective Takata airbags

If you just bought a 2016 Audi TT, 2017 Audi R8, 2016–17 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, or 2016 Volkswagen CC, we have some unsettling news for you. A report provided to a US Senate committee that oversees the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reported on by Automotive News claims these vehicles were sold with defective Takata airbags. And it gets worse. Toyota and FCA are called out in the report for continuing to build vehicles that will need to be recalled down the line for the same issue. That's not all. The report also states that of the airbags that have been replaced already in the Takata recall campaign, 2.1 million will need to eventually be replaced again. They don't have the drying agent that prevents the degradation of the ammonium nitrate, which can lead to explosions that can destroy the airbag housing and propel metal fragments at occupants. So these airbags are out there already. We're not done yet. There's also a stockpile of about 580,000 airbags waiting to be installed in cars coming in to have their defective airbags replaced. These 580k airbags also don't have the drying agent. They'll need to be replaced down the road, too. A new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time. If all this has you spinning around in a frustrated, agitated mess, there's a silver lining that is better than it sounds. So take a breath, run your fingers through your hair, and read on. Our best evidence right now demonstrates that defective Takata airbags – those without the drying agent that prevents humidity from degrading the ammonium nitrate propellant – aren't dangerous yet. It takes a long period of time combined with high humidity for them to reach the point where they can rupture their housing and cause serious injury. It's a matter of years, not days. So a new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time – and six years seems to be about as early as the degradation happens in the worst possible scenario. All this is small comfort for the millions of people who just realized their brand-new car has a time bomb installed in the wheel or dashboard, or the owners who waited patiently to have their airbags replaced only to discover that the new airbag is probably defective in the same way (although newer and safer!) as the old one.

The glorious return of the Civic Type R

This is it Honda fans, the moment you've all been waiting for. This is the new generation Civic Type R that will finally come to the US. Or at least it pretty much is. Technically this is still a prototype, and the production model will be shown early next year. However, based on Honda's recent Civic "concepts," you can rest easy knowing nothing major is going to change. The biggest change you'll probably see is in paint finish. The concept here has been given an interesting brushed aluminum-look vinyl wrap. If you're really have to have it, there's probably a decal shop nearby that could hook you up. View 22 Photos Moving past that, the Type R takes the standard hatchback and adds aggression rather than lightness. The front bumper is widened with extra slats, along with the fenders front and rear. It also gets a deeper chin spoiler in bare carbon fiber with a red accent stripe. Up on the hood is the intriguing addition of a scoop. We assume it's functional, and we imagine it feeds a top-mounted intercooler like the scoops on the Subaru WRX and last Mazdaspeed3. According to rumors, the engine under the scooped hood could produce as much as 340 horsepower. The sides of the car also get carbon fiber side skirts to go along with the front spoiler. The widened fenders accommodate fat wheels shod with 245 width tires. This leads to the back where the Type R once again receives an over-the-top rear wing, which we assume to be just as functional as the last one. The rear of the Type R also gets one more cool feature. It has functional, triple tailpipes, just like the Ferrari 458 Italia and the F40. Honda also brought attention to the exhaust by painting the center pipe red. We don't yet know the exact purpose of the third pipe, but we're excited to find out. As previously mentioned, this is just a "concept" and the production model will be shown early next year. After that, the Type R will be released in Europe first during the second half of 2017. US availability has not been announced yet. Related Video: Related Gallery Honda Civic Type R Concept Paris Motor Show Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillilps / Autoblog Paris Motor Show Honda Hatchback Performance honda civic type r hot hatch 2016 paris motor show civic type r hot hatchback