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Regulators consider adding more carmakers to Takata recall

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal has been getting a lot of press recently, but the Takata airbag inflator affair could be grabbing headlines again soon. According to Bloomberg, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is contemplating an expansion to the campaign that could add seven automakers to the 12 already affected. They are Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Spartan Motors, Suzuki, Tesla, Volvo Trucks, and VW Group. To be clear, there's no recall for any of these automakers, yet. The government is simply asking for a full list of vehicles that each of them have with Takata-supplied inflators containing ammonium nitrate propellant. The agency is concerned this substance could play a roll in the ruptures. "NHTSA is considering not only whether to issue an administrative order that would coordinate the remedy programs associated with the current Takata recalls, but also whether such an order should include expansion of the current recalls," the letters say. All seven can be viewed, here. From a report supplied by Takata, the government already knows that the company supplied 887,055 inflators with ammonium-nitrate propellant to VW and 184,926 of them to Tesla. In an incident during the summer, a side airbag allegedly burst in a 2015 VW Tiguan. In early September, NHTSA put out a revised report that there were 23.4 million inflators to be replaced in 19.2 million vehicles in the US. An earlier accounting from the agency had about 34 million of the parts in 30 million cars. High humidity is still believed to be among the biggest risk factors for the ruptures. Although, if ammonium nitrate also gets the blame, some already recalled models might need to be repaired again. Related Video:

Pentagram aims to cut through the noise of EV sound design

What does an electric vehicle sound like when it goes from 0 to 60, when it signals a turn, when it’s powered down for the night? EV motors have fewer parts and are therefore incredibly silent, which presents safety concerns for drivers who recognize speed by sound and pedestrians who canÂ’t hear an approaching vehicle.  In 2019, regulators in Europe and the U.S. began requiring EVs to have warning sounds, but they left it up to the car manufacturers to choose those sounds. Many have taken the new legislation as an opportunity to not only create a branded sound, but also to stir up some marketing hype by enlisting famous musicians to compose the noise of an electric engine. Hans Zimmer created the Blade Runner-esque sound concept for BMWÂ’s i4 electric sedan, and, strangely, Linkin Park is creating EV sounds for BMW.  Sound designer Yuri Suzuki, a partner at design consultancy firm Pentagram, recently conducted a research project into the crucial role electric car sound has on a userÂ’s safety, enjoyability, communication and brand recognition, out of which he developed a range of car sounds. Suzuki says that while some automakers have chosen beautiful and interesting car sound designs, chasing celebrity clout is not the way to go when designing the sound behind serious machines.  “We really have to design carefully based on the psychological effects on a human,” Suzuki told TechCrunch. “ItÂ’s all about the relation between the human being and the machine itself.” Suzuki says smart sound design can help ease the difference between human and car by providing a shared language. Based on surveys he conducted, Suzuki came up with two new skeuomorphic electric engine sounds as well as adaptive sounds that reflect the time of day and the location of the drive.  His engine sounds are reminiscent of internal combustion engine revs, providing both drivers and pedestrians with a recognizable indication of speed increasing and decreasing. The sounds are placed at different pitches: one quite low, like a spaceship taking off; the other a bit higher, like a hovercraft vertically ascending. Audi, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover have also chosen to make futuristic copies of gasoline engines for some of their new electric vehicles.  SuzukiÂ’s sound design also includes in-car sounds, like powering on, turn signals or horn honking, that use AI to adapt to the time of day.

Suzuki recalling 200K crossovers over airbag woes

Suzuki may not be selling any new cars in the US anymore, but there are still plenty of them on American roads. Nearly 200,000 of those will need to be taken off said roads - for a little while, at least.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall for 2006-2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara SUVs and 2007-2011 SX4 crossovers due to a faulty airbag sensor. The issue apparently results from the front passenger-side floor mat causing the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor to malfunction over time, so whether there's a kid or an adult in the front seat, the airbag could deploy in the event of a crash.
As a result, Suzuki Motor of America is calling in 193,936 vehicles to replace the front passenger-seat cushion assembly. That's a whole lot of cars to recall, but it comes as no big surprise. Owners can expect to be notified in October. Full details in the recall announcement below.