Toyota Tundra Xsp-x W/8" Lift, 17k Miles, Pro Comp, Toyo, Tis Wheels, Volant Cai on 2040-cars

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Sunday Drive: Subaru Ascends up to the hottest market segment in America

Utility vehicles – in other words, crossovers and SUVs – are so hot right now. Two of our top stories from last week revolve around the utilitarian vehicle, but besides their jacked-up, five-door bodystyles, they couldn't be more different. The 2019 Subaru Ascent is headed into an extremely crowded and competitive segment, where it'll have to go up against industry stalwarts like the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot, not to mention upstart contenders like the Volkswagen Atlas. The Mercedes-AMG G63, on the other hand, has very little competition – there simply aren't very many ultra-luxurious, off-road-ready SUVs in the world vying to attract the dollars of the wellest-to-do customers across these United States. Moving on from crossovers and SUVs, our readers remain attracted to classic front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sportscars. The Toyota Supra's upcoming rebirth earns two places on our list of stories worth highlighting from the week that was; one with leaked information from a Japanese magazine, and another with rumors indicating that maybe we shouldn't be quite so excited. And finally, there's the strange case of the long-lost 2009 Chevy Corvette Z06 that one lucky individual happened to find squirreled away in a storage container with just 720 original miles. A high-horsepower head scratcher if we've ever seen one. As always, stay tuned to Autoblog this week for all the latest automotive news that's fit to print. 2019 Subaru Ascent vs Honda Pilot vs Toyota Highlander: How they compare on paper 2019 Mercedes-AMG G63 set to bare its 577-horsepower heart in Geneva Toyota Supra leaks in Japanese magazine ahead of Geneva debut Toyota Supra to be little more than a rebodied BMW Z4? Forgotten 720-mile 2009 Corvette Z06 emerges from storage Chevrolet Mercedes-Benz Subaru Toyota Coupe Crossover SUV Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance barn find sunday drive subaru ascent mercedes-amg g63

Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Nissan recall 3.4 million vehicles for faulty airbags

Most vehicle recalls that take place these days are a result of some problem that happens during the manufacturing process by the automaker, but as we see here, parts suppliers can also factor in to problematic safety issues. Automotive News is reporting that a total of 3.4 million vehicles produced by Japanese automakers between 2000 and 2004 are being recalled globally due to faulty airbags produced by an outside supplier, Takata Corp.
According to the report, vehicles from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda are being recalled because of passenger front airbags that do not inflate properly. Globally, Toyota is said to be recalling around 1.73 million cars including 510,000 in the US composed of Toyota Corolla, Matrix, Sequoia and Tundra as well as the Lexus SC430 for the 2001 through 2003 model years; this is the second time this year the 2003 Corolla and Matrix have been recalled for an airbag problem. Honda is recalling 1.14 million models, Nissan another 480,000 and Mazda 45,463. The article says that Takata supplied faulty airbags to non-Japanese automakers, but it did not specify which ones.
Honda and Toyota have released information on their own websites about the recall, while Nissan and Mazda have not yet commented. Read official press releases from Honda and Toyota, below, and look for updates as we have word from the others.

Honda, Subaru airlifting parts to bypass port labor diputes

It should be abundantly obvious that a vital element in building cars is actually having the components on hand to assemble them. A labor dispute on the West Coast between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and management is not making that quite so easy for some Japanese automakers. Work slowdowns at the ports have pushed Honda and Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries into flying some parts into the country. The two automakers began shipping by airplane late last month to avoid production delays, according to Bloomberg, but it has been an expensive solution. Subaru's chief financial officer said the decision cost around $60 million more per month than sending components by cargo ship. They aren't the only companies dealing with the problem, either. Toyota reportedly stopped overtime assembly at some of its factories here because of the delays in getting parts, according to Bloomberg. The dockworkers have been negotiating on a new contract since May 2014, and the current offer on the table to them has offered a 3 percent raise, according to Bloomberg. Although, the union is reportedly considering another slowdown at 29 ports along the West Coast in the coming days. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Nick Ut / AP Photo Auto News UAW/Unions Honda Subaru Toyota shipping port labor dispute