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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.

Japan wants to boost fuel-cell numbers 100x by 2020

How many hydrogen refueling stations will Japan need? Can each station handle 250 fuel-cell vehicles? They can in the Japanese government's new plans for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle growth and station deployment throughout the country. With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continuing to trumpet fuel cells as the advanced powertrain of the future, the government says the number of fuel-cell vehicle on its roads will multiply by 100 within the next four years, according to the Japan Times. Specifically, Japan, which is home to about 400 fuel-cell vehicles today, hopes to have 40,000 by 2020 and a whopping 800,000 by 2030. More importantly, Japan has 80 stations either in operation or slated to be deployed soon, and hopes to double that number by the end of the decade. For perspective's sake, the US has about two-dozen publicly accessible hydrogen fuel cell stations today, according to US Department of Energy. The newer ones are can dispense 100 kilogram a day, which can fuel 20-25 cars a day. Japanese automakers Honda and Toyota appear to be trying to do their parts in the H2 plan. Earlier this month, Honda started leasing its Clarity fuel-cell vehicle in Japan and is planning to bring them to California later in the year. The vehicle, which is priced at about $68,000 in Japan, is said to be able to travel about 466 miles on a full hydrogen tank, per the more lenient Japanese driving cycle (roughly 300 miles on the US scale). Honda will start production at a rate of 200 vehicles a year. With skin in the game, though, Honda indicated late last year that it was frustrated with what it said was the slow pace of fuel-cell station deployment in Japan, according to Bloomberg News. Honda was collaborating with hydrogen supply company Iwatani Corp. on what they called a "Smart Hydrogen Station," though that concept was in its testing phase as of last December. The Mirai also started sales in Japan and debuted in limited numbers in California last year. Last fall, Toyota set a rather lofty goal of selling 30,000 fuel-cell vehicles a year by 2020 as part of its Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050. Related Video: News Source: Japan TimesImage Credit: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO via Getty Images Green Honda Toyota Hydrogen Cars

2018 Nissan Kicks vs other tiny crossovers: How they compare on paper

Update: As we now have now driven the 2018 Nissan Kicks and have all the specs and figures available, we thought it was time to update this comparison post. The data chart has been updated with final Kicks information as well as changes to competitors made for 2019. Anyone else have "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People stuck in their heads? Well, you do now. I couldn't be the only one. Anyway, the 2018 Nissan Kicks is a thing. It replaces the Nissan Juke, which Mr. Stocksdale thought was a bad idea and Mr. Myself thought was a smart idea. Nevertheless, neither of us were especially pumped up by the Kicks. However, the majority of car buyers are all about SUVs, and this littlest segment of them has been multiplying like Tribbles in the past few years. The Juke was one of the first of these subcompact crossovers, but it was probably too oddball for a mainstream audience (not to mention inefficient) and never really caught on. Newer competitors certainly didn't help. Well, to see how the Kicks compares to those very competitors, lets fire up the Autoblog Comparo Generator 3000 (TM). Specifically, we'll be looking at those subcompact crossovers with similarly small dimensions, especially low prices and/or a disinclination to offering all-wheel drive. We're talking about the Nissan Kicks vs the Toyota C-HR, Hyundai Kona, Kia Soul, Honda HR-V and Jeep Renegade. Now, if you're interested in literally the exact opposite SUV segment, check out our recent Mercedes G-Class comparo. Otherwise, on to the spreadsheet: Dimensions and passenger space In terms of exterior dimensions, the new Kicks is right smack in the middle of the segment. It's virtually the same as the Honda HR-V, yet manages to eek out a few extra cubic feet of cargo space behind its raised back seat. The Honda and its "Magic Seat" still beats it in terms of maximum capacity, but it sure is close. The Kia Soul has the biggest maximum number, but that's largely the result of being a box. Its small behind-the-back-seat cargo number is likely a better indicator of how much you'll be dealing with on a day-to-day basis. And in that day-to-day way, the Kicks is excellent. Backseat legroom seems to be a Kicks downside, as all but the C-HR surpass it. (Seriously, it's almost impressive how large the C-HR is on the outside but cramped inside.) However, the Kicks' tall greenhouse not only allows for ample headroom, but seats that are mounted high off the ground.