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It turns out Takata isn't willing to expand airbag recall nationally after all

There have been "approximately 0.000006 failures per air bag deployment, which is far below the failure rate" of most recalls, Takata claims. Takata has seemingly made an about face following reports that it would expand its regional airbag recall into a nationwide repair effort, issuing a scathing, four-page letter rebutting allegations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and its Office of Defects while simultaneously attacking the government's handling of the situation. The Japanese supplier claims in its letter that the "currently available, reliable information does not support a nationwide determination of a safety defect," arguing that there were "approximately 0.000006 failures per air bag deployment, which is far below the failure rate in the vast majority of the thousands of recalls," The Detroit News reports. Takata then breaks down the two specific incidents mentioned in NHTSA's original recall request letter, a 2005 Honda Accord and 2007 Ford Mustang. Referencing the two crashes, NHTSA Administrator David Friedman said last month "one incident is an anomaly, but two are a trend." The supplier, though, argues the Honda issue is already being covered by that company's soon-to-be-national recall (more on that in a moment). The company then goes on to point out that neither Takata nor NHTSA has been able to analyze the Mustang's airbag inflator, saying that such a lack of examination meant there was "no way to ascertain what actually occurred during the incident, whether any inflator ruptured, and whether any inflator rupture that may have occurred was related to the incidents that led to the current regional campaigns." Takata alleges that NHTSA has disobeyed its own statutes. Takata also took the opportunity to take a few swipes at NHTSA's behavior during the airbag scandal, saying it was "very surprised to receive" a recall request letter because the ODI had yet to even receive the company's responses to a pair of special orders. It also alleged that NHTSA was disobeying its own statute, which says only manufacturers of vehicles and replacement equipment can "decide in good faith whether their products contain a safety related defect," and that the government can only "issue an initial decision that a safety-related defect exists" to those same entities.

Honda and Acura expand CPO offerings to include 10-year-old cars

With valuations having gone ballistic, buyers are spending more than ever to purchase used cars at the same time cars with 100,000 miles or more are now considered just mildly used. Effectively, the market is full of folks splashing what was new-car money not long ago on a vehicle that would have been considered all used up. Nevertheless, used car sales, especially manufacturer Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) programs, are booming. Anything that can help a shopper with peace-of-mind about what they're getting would be a boon to the process, which is why Honda and Acura have revamped their CPO program to include a wider range of used cars.  At the bottom, the new HondaTrue Used tier now accepts vehicles up to ten years old, with no mileage limit. This wasn't the case before. The entire vehicle is covered for 100 days or 5,000 miles after purchase, whichever comes first. Used buyers at this tier also benefit from common CPO perks such as roadside assistance, trip interruption reimbursement (if your new-to-you used car breaks down far from home), and one complimentary oil change within the first year or 12,000 miles. As with the other two tiers, this one offers an exchange policy for another Honda CPO vehicle within three days or 300 miles. Above that, HondaTrue Certified accepts Hondas up to five years old. The entire vehicle is covered for one year or 12,000 miles after the original new vehicle warranty expires, and the powertrain-only warranty runs for seven years from the vehicle’s model year or 100,000 miles on the odometer. This one offers a second free oil change within the first year as well. HondaTrue Certified+ is only for vehicles purchased within their new vehicle warranty coverage period — so, under four years old and with less than 48,000 miles. It provides the same powertrain coverage as HondaTrue. Acura says its CPO division has posted five straight years of growth and had a record-breaking 2021, allowing it to take over Audi's spot at #4 for luxury CPO sales. Its Acura Precision CPO now offers an Acura Precision Used tier for its vehicles up to ten years old, with no limit on miles. After purchase, each Acura Precision Used vehicle gets complete and powertrain coverages for up to six months or 7,500 miles.

Honda takes us through 50 years of automobiles in 60 seconds

Honda's wonderfully simple, fun ads are not in short supply right now. We showed you Hands, the followup to 2003's The Cog, last week. If you haven't had a chance to look at those two great videos, we strongly encourage you to head over that way and give them a watch.
The latest minute-long commercial is a bit more dear, though. And while it may be in Japanese, it's still a cool look back at Honda and its car-building history.
This is also a great video if you're a fan of odd, vintage Japanese vehicles. Honda's T360 and a few old Civics are featured heavily, although we can't help but notice that a few very big names are missing. Where's the NSX or the S2000? How about the original Insight, a car so revolutionary it still has a cult following today? Honda has made some great cars, we just wish it'd show off more of them. Check out the video below.