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Honda museum opens at company HQ in SoCal, first public day is next month

You don't see too many ordinary cars in automotive museums, and it makes sense. Rare luxury models, iconic muscle cars and obviously collectible vehicles are far more likely to get preserved and find themselves parked upon a climate-controlled pedestal someday. And yet, even if they may not be as collectible, everyday cars typically strike a stronger emotional and nostalgic chord in all of us. They firmly recall a specific time in our lives; what we were doing and where we were. Even if we never owned the car in question, ordinary cars were bound contribute to the overall landscape of your world.  Which is why finding a museum devoted to ordinary cars such a treat. Now, "ordinary" can have negative connotations, so perhaps "ubiquitous" is better to describe what you'll find in the new American Honda Collection Hall at the company's headquarters in Torrance, Calif. As you can see in the gallery above, there are pristine examples of the Hondas we grew up in, learned to drive in, brought us to college ... and those are just my own personal examples. Of course, there are also decidedly less ordinary examples such as the S2000 CR, Civic Type-R Limited Edition and Acura NSX, but apart from perhaps the latter, it would be rare for you to see such "Radwood-era" cars in a museum. You can also see some of the cars we've actually had the chance to review here on Autoblog: the 1999 Honda Prelude, the 1999 Honda Civic Si, the 1985 Honda CRX Si, and a handful of others.  According to Carl Pulley, who is the steward of the collection, the cars on display are just a taste of what is actually available since space was limited within the Collection Hall that's adjacent to HQ's primary lobby. He'll be able to swap different cars in or adopt a theme such as prominent examples from Honda's motorsports endeavors. Indeed, it isn't just Honda and Acura road cars -- we're just focusing on those because, you know, Autoblog. There are race cars, noteworthy motorcycles and even power equipment such as marine engines, generators and weed whackers.  While most car companies have a collection stored someplace, this one will actually be open to the public on a limited but regular basis. There will be scheduled "Cars, Bikes & Coffee" events hosted at the Collection Hall where people are invited to drive or ride their own piece of Honda history (all makes and eras are still welcome) to show off in Honda HQ's vast parking lot and come inside to check out the Collection Hall.

The new Honda Ridgeline will debut in Detroit

Hey, remember the Ridgeline? Honda's unibody midsize truck is coming back, and you'll see it at the Detroit Auto Show next month. I actually already saw it at a private event, but I can't tell you anything about it. Let's just say that this is one debut you won't want to miss at NAIAS in January. There's not much to go on with regard to the accompanying teaser image and press release (below). All I can say is that it's a truck, it's a Honda, and it's called Ridgeline. Expect it to offer all the usual Honda interior packaging magic, as well as a ton of onboard tech and safety equipment. The midsize truck segment is booming right now. General Motors launched the new Colorado and Canyon twins, Toyota is now selling the updated Tacoma, and now Honda's getting back into the game with a similarly sized truck. But given its unibody construction, I'm interested to see how the Ridgeline will stack up against its literally tough competition. Stay tuned for more, next month. Honda Accelerates Sweeping Light Truck Makeover with New Ridgeline Pickup Set for Global Debut at the 2016 North American International Auto Show Honda will challenge conventional thinking in the midsize pickup segment with the return of the Honda Ridgeline truck, set to make its world debut at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday, January 11 at 1:15 p.m. EST. Designed, developed and manufactured in America, the all-new Ridgeline is the fourth new or significantly refreshed light truck model introduced by Honda in the past 18 months and will hit roads nationwide in the first half of next year. "We developed this new Honda Ridgeline to offer something new and fundamentally better suited to the way many buyers use their truck," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. "Ridgeline will deliver everything you'd expect in a Honda from incredible packaging and fuel-efficiency to top safety technologies and innovative, segment-first features. We're honored to once again debut the Ridgeline in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show." Honda began the complete remake of its light-truck lineup in the fall of 2014 with the freshened 2015 Honda CR-V, America's best selling SUV. Earlier this year, Honda launched the all-new HR-V crossover, gateway to the Honda truck lineup, and the third generation of its popular Pilot three-row SUV.

NHTSA expands new Takata probe to 4 more automakers

DETROIT — The U.S. government's highway safety agency has launched an investigation into four additional automakers that have a potentially deadly type of Takata air bag inflator in their vehicles but have yet to recall them. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in documents posted Thursday that it is investigating Audi, Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi in connection with a Takata recall involving 1.4 million inflators. This brings the total number of manufacturers potentially impacted to five, as BMW was connected to the issue when it was brought to light earlier in December. The inflators made by the now-bankrupt Takata have a distinct and separate problem that can cause them to blow apart a metal canister and spew shrapnel into people's faces and bodies. The problem killed a driver in Australia who was in an older 3-Series BMW, which has already recalled more than 116,000 vehicles. The problem is so dangerous that in some cases BMW has told drivers to park their vehicles until repairs can be made. The safety agency says in documents that Takata didn't provide details on the affected makes, models or model years of vehicles with the defective inflators. So it is telling the companies to recall them promptly. The agency says that based on when the faulty inflators were produced, it's likely that the vehicles to be recalled came from the 1995 through 2000 model years. In letters to all four automakers, NHTSA says they have five business days to notify the agency after finding out about a safety defect. “If your company has not yet gathered enough evidence to make a determination that the subject air bag inflators present an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety, reply with a detailed work plan including the benchmark dates required to make the determination,” the agency wrote in letters to all four automakers dated Wednesday. A Honda spokesman said Thursday it hasn't determined yet whether its vehicles are affected, but a decision should be made soon. Audi, Mitsubishi and Toyota said they are still investigating. NHTSA has told the companies to respond by Jan. 17. On Dec. 4, NHTSA posted documents from Takata and BMW detailing the problems. The documents said the Australian driver was killed, while another Australian driver and a driver in Cyprus were injured. Unlike previous recalls, the Takata non-azide inflators do not use volatile ammonium nitrate to fill the air bags in a crash.