White 3.5l Nav Cd Front Wheel Drive Power Steering 4-wheel Disc Brakes Abs on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Florida woman says Takata airbag deployment left her paralyzed

A malfunctioning Takata airbag left a Florida woman paralyzed from the neck down following an otherwise minor car accident last year, a lawsuit filed last week alleges. Patricia Mincey says in court documents that, instead of deploying normally, the driver-side airbag in her 2001 Honda Civic deployed with such force that it injured her neck and rendered her a quadriplegic. The lawsuit accuses Takata and Honda of deliberately concealing information about the defect and taking belated action to protect Mincey and other motorists from airbags that may harm them instead of saving their lives. At least five deaths and 139 injuries have been linked to the flawed airbags in Honda vehicles. "There is a systemic failure of these companies to come clean with information they know very early on of problems," Ted Leopold, Mincey's attorney, tells Autoblog. "Instead of doing the right thing, they try to sweep the problems under the rug until there are so many deaths and injuries they're left with no choice. We saw it with General Motors ignition switches, we saw it with the Toyota unintended acceleration cases and now we see it here." Long History Of Takata-Related Recalls Four days after Mincey's accident, Honda recalled her car as part of a 5,394,000-vehicle recall that sought to repair vehicles in which the airbag inflators could rupture. Her accident took place in Jacksonville, Florida, a state in which manufacturers have said high humidity could cause a heightened risk of problems for Takata airbags. She was wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash, according to court documents, and her car was traveling approximately 22 miles per hour. Mincey remains hospitalized in a long-term care and rehabilitation facility near her Florida home, her attorney said. She is seeking compensation in excess of $15,000 for her injuries and punitive damages. Problems with the Takata airbags were discovered as early as 2001, when Isuzu issued the first recall related to high-pressure deployments. But the company continued to manufacture defective airbags, which have subsequently been flagged in dozens of recalls over the past 14 years. Approximately 21 million vehicles have been affected in the United States. Congress conducted hearings on the companies' delayed responses to the safety crisis last year.

Ford, Toyota clean up in Best Car For The Money Awards

The U.S. News Best Cars for the Money Awards picks winners by looking at the average transaction price, five-year total cost of ownership, the regard a car has from the automotive press, reliability figures from J.D. Power and Associates and safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The result, according to the magazine, is "the best combination of critical acclaim and long-term value."
Ford nabbed six of the 21 categories that received awards this year, the Focus, Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, Taurus, Escape and Edge getting trophies. Toyota and its Lexus and Scion sub-brands took another five, the Tacoma and Tundra owning the two categories given to pickup trucks. The other ten awards were split between Honda with three, Buick with two, and one each for Subaru, BMW, Hyundai, Chevrolet and Mazda.
Follow the link to see all the winners and read about why they were chosen.

2016 Honda Civic pricing leaked, starts at $19,475

You're going to get a whole load of 2016 Honda Civic information very, very soon. As a teaser, take a look at this pricing information on Honda's latest compact sedan, leaked by the folks at the civicx.com forums. As you can see, both invoice and retail pricing is included in this dealer ordering guide, and, assuming it's all legit, it looks like Honda has done a very good job of keeping its 2016 Civic competitive with its rivals in the compact segment. At the low end, a 2016 Civic LX with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and six-speed manual transmission will cost $19,475 (including an $835 destination fee). That's a $150 increase from 2015. Considering that the new car is larger and more powerful than it was last year, that small additional cost initially strikes us as reasonable. If you want an automatic, in this case a continuously variable unit paired to that same naturally aspirated base engine, you're looking at a minimum of $20,275. More good news comes in the form of the EX trim, which, at $21,875, is actually a little bit less than it was last year. Upgrading to the 1.5-liter turbocharged powerplant, which Honda promises will be the most powerful engine it has ever offered in a Civic not labeled Si, brings the asking price to $23,035. If you want leather and more bells and whistles, the Civic EX-L will start at $24,535. The Civic range tops out at $27,335 in Touring trim, assuming these leaked prices are accurate. We'll be able to confirm these prices, along with a whole heck of a lot more, on Monday morning. In other words, Civic fans, stay tuned. And get excited. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2016 Honda Civic Sedan News Source: www.civicx.com Honda Car Buying Sedan pricing