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Honda profit targets tumble in wake of Takata scandal

Takata's massive airbag inflator recall will likely do some damage to Honda's bottom line this year, according to the Japanese automaker's latest forecasts. The company will allocate 50 billion yen ($425 million) to fulfill costs related to the safety campaigns, Reuters indicates. The decision will reduce estimated operating profit by about 6.5 percent to 720 billion yen ($6.1 billion US) for the fiscal year ending March 31. In addition to lower profits, Honda also cut back its sales estimate for the year to 4.45 million vehicles from the previous 4.62 million, according to Reuters. This was largely due to lower-than-expected demand in Japan. "We are not seeing a big impact on sales in North America from the airbag issue," company vice president Tetsuo Iwamura (pictured above) told Reuters. The decreased forecasts come at the same time as the possibility of another death in a Honda vehicle from the Takata parts. According to Automotive News, a man in Florida died in a crash in his 2002 Accord, but investigators have not yet determined whether the inflator was the cause. However, the vehicle was included in a 2011 recall for the part and was not repaired. The family intends to file a lawsuit alleging the inflator ruptured, spraying metal shrapnel into the driver's neck. Reportedly, the owner was never notified of the recall. While the Takata inflator recall is affecting many companies with alleged links to at least five deaths and 139 injuries worldwide, Honda has it among the worst. Including vehicles covered under the previous regional repair campaign for the issue, the automaker needs to repair roughly 5.4 million vehicles just in the US. Honda has taken action by employing suppliers other than Takata to supply some of its replacement parts for the recall. The business is also reportedly switching airbag suppliers for the next-gen Accord and possibly the 2016 CR-V and Odyssey.

We drive Honda's turbo/manual Civic prototype (briefly)

You could almost hear it. There was a furor. And it all had to do with a transmission. On September 16, Honda showed the all-new, tenth-generation Civic. Fitted with a turbocharged engine for the first time, enthusiasts were excited. Until they realized the new 1.5-liter Earth Dreams four-cylinder turbo would only be offered with a continuously variable transmission, something that elicits a passionate, all-consuming, and utterly unquenchable hatred among (most) enthusiasts. Honda was listening. On the recent Civic Coupe launch, the company confirmed to us that a manual transmission will soon be offered on turbocharged Civics, regardless of body style. And then we drove a prototype. Now, let's be very clear, the car we drove was an early test vehicle. It was camouflaged, cobbled together – it was born with a turbo and an automatic before Honda's engineers got their hands on it – and to cap it all off, we got approximately five minutes of seat time. We couldn't even shoot the darn thing, which is why you're looking at one really bad iPhone picture up top. But five minutes is better than nothing at all, right? View 40 Photos The 1.5T and six-speed manual are a natural fit, simply because they're both already so good on their own. Our immediate impression is that even though this is an early development vehicle, fitting the 1.5-liter turbo with a manual transmission is a natural pairing. This is largely because the engine and transmission are so good on their own. We've raved about the turbocharged four-cylinder and its ultra-broad torque peak before – all 162 pound-feet of torque are on tap between 1,700 and 5,500 rpm – but the six-speed stick is no slouch either. Normally paired with the 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated four-cylinder, the clutch's action is light and springy, and finding the catch point is easy. And the shift lever, in typical Honda fashion, has a smooth, enjoyable action and easy-to-access gates. Putting the turbo and manual together doesn't transform a normal Civic into an Si or Type R, but it automatically (sorry) makes for a more engaging and entertaining compact sedan. Because of the broad torque curve, more speed is just a single-gear downshift away. And that downshift is downright easy to kick out, too. Simply put, the turbocharged engine feels more urgent and eager, especially off the line, with the manual.

Honda Jazz looks like a good fit for Paris

The quirky, utilitarian little hatchback that we know as the Honda Fit in the US carries the more melodious Jazz name in Europe. And while the newest Fit is already on sale in our market, folks are still waiting for it across the pond. Honda is unveiling its new Jazz Prototype to the 2014 Paris Motor Show in October, and it's nearly identical to what is currently on sale in North America. In fact, it's hard to image Honda changing much from this "prototype" before launching it for Europeans.
The Jazz's design is exactly what you would expect after even a glance at the current North American Fit. Except for a different wing at the rear, a shark fin antenna and a new set of wheels, this Jazz plays the same tune we've heard before.
The one thing keeping the Fit and Jazz from truly being identical siblings is that the European model packs Honda's new 1.3-liter i-VTEC Earth Dreams engine under the hood, rather than the 1.5-liter used in North America. But just like our Fit, the Jazz will be available with a six-speed manual or CVT. The Japanese automaker says that the Jazz goes on sale in the summer of 2015. Scroll down to read the company's announcement for its upcoming hatch.