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YouTube viewers prefer BMW

BMW owners sometimes get a bad rap as being snobbish, rude drivers, but according to a new study by the online marketing company ZEFR, Bimmer aficionados also have a close relationship with the brand's vehicles. With well over 4 billion YouTube views, the German automaker is the industry's king of the road online. Making the popularity even sweeter for marketers, 95 percent of those clicks are for fan videos, which represents loads of free advertising. BMW isn't the only automaker with such an extensive following. Honda comes in a close second with around 4 billion views, and Mercedes-Benz is just a little behind it. Among all brands, it's the norm for fan-made videos rather than the official ones to get the lion's share of the clicks, generally 95 percent or more. "YouTube has become a treasure trove for connecting with the right people for automakers," Dave Rosner, ZEFR marketing boss, said to Automotive News. Beyond just a popularity contest among brands, automotive videos are big business on YouTube, according to ZEFR's research. Enthusiasts are leading the way, too. Racing is by far the most-watched category with 895,000 clips generating a staggering 8.2 billion views. Classic cars are also a very hot topic with 305,000 videos getting 1.6 billion clicks. Surprisingly, when it comes to watching auto videos, sedans are most popular on YouTube with over 9 billion views, according to Automotive News. Meanwhile, SUVs, performance vehicles, and pickups were each around 3 billion or less. You can check out the full study for yourself, as a PDF, here. Related Video:

Honda integrating Siri into select models

Honda has partnered up with Apple to bring Siri to the Accord, Acura RDX and ILX. Owners who have an iPhone running iOS 6 will be able to ask the software to perform a number of tasks via voice command using the vehicle's on board microphone and speaker systems. What's more, the tech will put the iPhone into an "eyes free" mode, which turns the screen off to help reduce distraction while driving. Honda says it has reworked its Bluetooth and HandsFreeLink systems to accommodate the Siri functionality. While the tech will only be available on three of the company's models right now, we imagine it won't be long before it shows up elsewhere.
As you may recall, Chevrolet integrated Siri into its products with vehicles like the Spark and Sonic, but Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler have also toyed with the tech to varying degrees. The seamless voice command seems to be light years ahead of the tech manufacturers are currently playing with. Check out the full press release from Honda below for more information.

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: