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Honda CEO carless, waiting on Civic Type R

As chief executive of Honda, Takahiro Hachigo could get his hands on anything the automaker produces, or has produced: a new Acura RLX luxury sedan, a luxed-out Odyssey minivan, a top-of-the-line CBR sport bike... even an old NSX supercar. Heck, he could probably even get the skunkworks to cook him up a road-going version of the ten-cylinder HSV-010 that was supposed to be the new NSX but only ever ended up racing in Super GT. So what does he drive? "Unfortunately, I don't have a car now," Hachigo-san revealed to journalists during a roundtable discussion in Tokyo. That situation won't last forever, though: "There is a model I want, which will, as I have told you, be launched this autumn," said Hachigo. "I want to buy the Civic Type R." The Honda chief is referring, of course, to the company's new hot hatch that will be produced in the UK and exported around the world, including back to Japan. It's got a 2.0-liter turbo four pumping out 306 horsepower to send it to 60 in 5.7 seconds, making it one of the fastest and most powerful hatchbacks ever devised. And more than anything else the company makes, that's what Hachigo wants for himself. The news should be welcomed by performance enthusiasts who may have been concerned about the future of Honda's performance models. The company has a slew of them coming out, including the new NSX and Civic Type R, and may even produce another sports car to slot in between. Those, however, were spearheaded under the administration of Hachigo's predecessor, Takanobu Ito. But if Hachigo's stated driving preferences are anything to go by, he's got some high octane pumping through his veins as well. Until the Civic Type R starts arriving in Japan, though, Hachigo's garage will have an empty space in it, filled only by his wife's N-One kei car and his own VTR 250 motorcycle. We're sure his chauffeur has him well taken care of, though, in the back of an RLX or whatever else the company sends to pick up its new chief executive. Related Video:

Honda adds 4.5 million vehicles to Takata recall, none in North America

The already massive Takata airbag inflator recall is getting 4.5-million units larger across the world. Honda is issuing an expansion to its safety campaign in many foreign markets. Of those newly affected cars, about 1.63 million of them are in Japan. None of these models are in North America. According to Reuters, Honda decided on this recall expansion after analyzing 1,000 inflators from vehicles not previously covered by its campaigns. The company found that the density of the gas-producing chemicals varied in them, which could cause a safety problem in the future. The models affected include foreign versions of the Fit and CR-V with production dates between 2007 and 2011, the Associated Press reports. Research suggests that Takata's inflators can be affected by exposure to moisture. This can cause the propellant to ignite too quickly and the component to shoot metal shrapnel when the airbag deploys. The issue has been linked to eight deaths worldwide, and there was a recent report of the issue causing a vehicle fire in a Nissan in Japan. The global inflator recall has had serious affects on Honda's books, as well. The Japanese automaker recently had to revise earnings from last year to account for an extra $363 million in costs from the campaigns and has been dealing with lawsuits over the issue. To improve quality, the company decided not to set sales goals through at least 2017. Honda last expanded the recall in Japan in late May to cover another 340,000 vehicles. It has also been searching for Takata's inflators in junkyards in the US. Related Video:

Ford tumbles to second worst in Consumer Reports reliability survey, list dominated by Japanese [w/video]

It's no secret that MyFord Touch has had its share of problems since being introduced, but the most recent reliability survey from Consumer Reports shows just how much this infotainment system has affected Ford. Just two years ago, the automaker was in the top 10 for the institute's reliability rankings, but since then, it has tumbled to the second-lowest rung just above dead-last Jaguar. In addition to MyFord Touch, CR also attributes a handful of new products that have had issues right out of the gate.
Compiled from 1.2 million subscriber surveys, this year's auto reliability survey heavily favors Japanese automakers, with eight of the 10 spots hailing from Japan. Toyota brands grabbed the top three spots (Scion, Toyota and Lexus - in that order) with Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura filling the next four spots. The only non-Asian automaker cracking the top 10 was Audi at number eight.
Audi climbed a total of 18 spots from last year, and Cadillac and GMC round out this year's top gainers breaking into the top 15. Helping Cadillac's upward movement, the CTS Coupe was named the most reliable domestic car. Lincoln, Volvo and Chrysler join Ford on this year's biggest loser list.