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Even Ferrari swept up in latest Takata recall expansion

The scope of Takata's deadly airbag problems continues to widen. Eight manufacturers announced recalls Friday that affect more than 12 million vehicles, according to documents filed with federal regulators. The automakers include Honda, which is recalling 4.5 million units, Fiat Chrysler with 4.3 million, Toyota with 1.65 million, and Subaru, which is recalling almost 400,000. Some of these cars include the Saab 9-2x and Pontiac Vibe that Toyota and Subaru made for General Motors. Mazda will recall 730,000 vehicles and Nissan has 400,000 affected units. The smallest numbers were posted by Mitsubishi, with 38,000 Lancers manufactured from 2006 to 2007, and as a noteworthy high-end manufacturer, Ferrari is calling back 2,800 vehicles. These are all US-market cars. Beyond America, the Japanese Transport Ministry has announced seven million additional vehicles will be recalled, which means 19.6 million vehicles across the globe are affected by recalls announced. The defects have been traced to an insufficiently manufactured airbag inflator, which lacks a drying agent that would prevent the inflators from deteriorating over time. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, which have become unstable and are prone to exploding and showering vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal shrapnel. A private equity firm, KKR & Co., has been named in a possible buyout of the struggling Takata. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Recalls Ferrari Honda Mazda Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Subaru Toyota Saab Safety

Honda Accord sets the pace as Indy safety car with HPD upgrades

Honda has rolled out a new pace car to lead the pack in the IndyCar Series. But it didn't just slap some graphics and auxiliary lighting on a production model and call it a day. Honda Performance Development (HPD) was tasked with giving the Accord coupe a thorough overhaul to prepare it for the task at hand. To the 3.5-liter V6, HPD bolted a Borg-Warner turbocharger and fitted high-flow fuel injectors and custom intake, exhaust, pistons, connecting rods and intercooler as well as the crankshaft from the Acura RLX to drive output up to 400 horsepower. The transmission was beefed up as well, with a limited slip differential to help get the power down to the track surface. To keep it all in check, HPD fitted new brakes, a stiffened suspension and rolling stock. It's all been topped off with a factory aero kit, special graphics and lighting, with Sparco seats and four-point racing harnesses fitted inside. The latest in a series supplied by Honda since 2006, the Accord safety car made its debut this weekend at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Honda Unveils 2015 Accord Safety Car Apr 24, 2015 - TORRANCE, Calif. - Will pace IndyCar Series races starting Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park - Latest in series of Honda safety cars for Indy car competition - Production 2015 Honda Accord modified by Honda R&D Americas Honda today unveiled the 2015 Honda Accord Safety Car, which will lead the Verizon IndyCar Series field to the green flag for Sunday's Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. The latest in a series of Honda Safety Cars utilized since 2006 for Indy car competition, the 2015 Honda Accord Safety Car is a production model featuring performance enhancements created by Honda R&D Americas, Inc., for its new role. "The 2015 Honda Accord Coupe is an ideal match for IndyCar Safety Car duties," said Jim Lee, manager of Experiential Marketing for American Honda. "Taking its already large and powerful 3.5-liter V6 engine, we asked the team at Honda R&D Americas to enhance and develop a car that is perfectly suited to lead the Verizon IndyCar Series field. I think they accomplished all that we asked, and more." The Honda R&D team started with a production Honda Accord Coupe, then added a mix of engine and chassis modifications to create a fun, fast vehicle fully capable of pacing Indy cars at both road courses and oval tracks across North America.

Judge allows class-action lawsuits against Honda, automakers

Millions of plaintiffs in 2014 brought a class-action lawsuit in against Takata and Honda, and the airbag manufacturer and carmaker petitioned to have the case thrown out. A US District Judge in Miami ruled against the companies on December 3, allowing the case to proceed. The case in question, Craig Dunn et al vs. Takata Corporation et al, is thought to be the first class action filed in the ongoing airbag imbroglio. Other cases have been filed, but on behalf of individuals. Takata and Honda are named defendants in the case, but the 453-page suit is also aimed at BMW, Ford, Mazda, Nissan, and Subaru. The plaintiffs claim violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act specifically by Takata and Honda, alleging that those two companies conspired to hide information about airbag inflators that could rupture and spray shrapnel around a car's cockpit. Honda said Takata hid information from it and ceased doing business with the airbag company, while a recent Wall Street Journal review of documents indicated that Takata changed testing information to suppress actual results from Honda. The class-action suit charges violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, too. Meanwhile, Takata has strengthened its legal team with the addition of Lanny Breuer, a partner at Covington & Burling LLP. Breuer was a US assistant attorney general from 2009 to 2013, heading the criminal division. Honda has been dealing with individual cases out of court, with litigation in cases of five out of six US deaths settled for undisclosed sums.