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Honda readying Veloster-rivaling concept for Beijing?

Maybe the rumors of the CR-Z's death have been exaggerated. Honda has just released the first teaser of a new concept that it plans to debut at the Beijing Motor Show at the end of April. It shows off a sporty looking coupe that looks like the child of a CR-Z and Hyundai Veloster. However, the concept looks to be for the Chinese market, as it's a joint proposal with one of its domestic partners there, Guangqi Honda Automobile.
Unfortunately, we don't have any other details about the concept yet - not even a name. The teaser also doesn't give a very good indication of the car's size. It appears to be roughly the size of a small coupe, and if Honda hadn't already tried the idea with the CR-Z, you could almost see it as a modern CRX, but it could be a little bit larger, too.
In addition to the coupe concept at the Beijing show, Dongfeng Honda will premiere the concept for the next Spirior, which is the foreign version of the Accord. Guangqi Honda will also bring a mid-size SUV and the third-generation Fit. Acura will also be there and will have both the NSX Concept and a model of its powertrain. Scroll down for the full release about everything Honda will show in China.

Honda Civic Type-R caught out in the cold

The Honda Civic Type R already has an award winning ad campaign, and the concept keeps showing up at auto shows around the world. What the model doesn't possess yet are firm production specs, and as these latest spy shots show, Honda is still doing cold weather testing in Sweden on its future hot hatch. The striking thing about this test car is just how similar it is to an earlier version wearing no camouflage at all. Both sport a toned down body kit compared to the concepts. The obfuscation makes the exact lines on this latest prototype hard to spot, but the two models appear practically identical. Although, at the rear, the taillights might now be slightly reshaped, compared to earlier. As of the 2014 Paris Motor Show, the Civic Type R was scheduled for a 2015 release in Europe. In concept form, it sported a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 276 horsepower and routed power to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. Adaptive dampers and a system called "steer axis" to reduce torque steer were promised to get the grunt to the ground effectively. The company even had a goal of making the new hatch the world's fastest front-wheel drive vehicle around the Nurburgring Nordschleife, too. Rumor has it, this potent mill might even cross the Atlantic for a Honda product in the US. Until then, check out the gallery to see the latest shots of what the Type R has in store for Europe at some point in 2015.

Continental Automotive recalls 5 million airbag control units

Takata isn't the only supplier having airbag problems. Rival manufacturer Continental Automotive Systems announced a recall of 5 million airbag control units fitted to vehicles from Honda, Fiat Chrysler Automotive, Mercedes-Benz, and even a certain Chrysler-based Volkswagen. This sweeping recall has actually been in progress for some time, although the exact scope is only now becoming evident. In October of 2015, Mercedes-Benz recalled 2008 and 2009 model year C- and GLK-Class vehicles because their Continental-made airbag control units could corrode. Such a condition could cause the airbags to deploy without cause or warning, or in the event of a crash, not deploy at all. You can read all about it in our post from last year. Now, Continental's recall is going wide. Alongside the already recalled C and GLK, you've already heard about the 2008 and 2009 Honda Accord airbag recall, which we reported on yesterday. Now, Fiat Chrysler is announcing the recall of the 2009 Dodge Journey, as well as the 2008 and 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town and Country, and their rebadged counterpart, the Volkswagen Routan. Yes, one manufacturer is recalling another manufacturer's vehicle. The models listed above only amount to about 580,000 vehicles out of 5 million bad airbag control units. And since Continental will notify manufacturers who will then issue their own recalls, it's extremely likely that more brands and vehicles will be ensnared. Stay tuned. Related Video: News Source: NHTSA via Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Fabian Bimmer / Reuters Recalls Chrysler Dodge Fiat Honda Mercedes-Benz Safety Crossover Minivan/Van Sedan FCA