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WSJ investigation reveals Takata may have hidden testing failures

We're not sure how much more Takata can get wrong concerning its airbag fiasco. The Wall Street Journal says it reviewed internal documents submitted during litigation that reveal US engineers had concerns about altered test data for at least a decade, from 2000 to 2010. This comes after Taktata's largest customer, Honda, stopped doing business with the company, publicly calling Takata out for "misrepresented and manipulated test data." On top of that, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hit the Japanese company with an open-ended fine of $70 million. Ford took away its business, as have Toyota and Mazda. The latest recall tall has surpassed 19 million vehicles in the US alone. The in-house memos show US employees complaining among themselves that their Japanese equivalents were burying validation test failures and changing the results of validation tests. Such tests are conducted to show automakers that Takata products met specification, and employees specifically cite Honda as the recipient of those edited or redacted reports. One US engineer wrote that the "prettying up" of data "confounded my engineers," and "has gone beyond all reasonable bounds and now most likely constitutes fraud." The engineer apparently said his team made sure that the products were up to spec by using alternative data. Takata said the issues the Journal article covers don't have anything to do with the exploding airbags, and that in one case the problem with the airbag inflator was resolved, and in another case the problem airbag inflators didn't reach production. Takata admitted to the Journal that there have been past instances of "selective, incomplete or inaccurate data" in customer validation reports and apologized, laying the situation at the feet of employees trying to meet production deadlines. News Source: Wall Street JournalImage Credit: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Recalls Honda Safety

The Civic goes hybrid, driving the Nissan Z Nismo and more | Autoblog Podcast #833

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They discuss the refreshed 2025 Honda Civic and its new hybrid powertrain, a possible Ford Maverick sport truck, rumblings of a new Mitsubishi Delica, the continued growth of hybrid sales, the UAW's loss in Mercedes' Alabama plant, the VW ID.7 being delayed, Tesla Semi news and the BYD Shark headed to Mexico. They chat about Formula 1 for a moment before hopping into the reviews section. Zac's been driving the new 2024 Nissan Z Nismo, and Greg's been spending a bunch of time in the long-term 2024 Mazda CX-90 PHEV. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #833 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid refresh Maverick sport truck on the way? Is Mitsubishi bringing a new Delica to North America? Hybrid sales are booming The UAW loses in Mercedes vote Volkswagen ID.7 delayed in North America Tesla Semi picks up more steam BYD Shark is headed to Mexico as a mid-size pickup Formula 1 catch-up Cars we're driving: 2024 Nissan Z Nismo 2024 Mazda CX-90 PHEV Long-Termer Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Government/Legal Green Motorsports Podcasts Ford Honda Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mitsubishi Nissan Toyota Volkswagen Truck Crossover Hatchback SUV Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Sedan Podcasts

The 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback is here: all turbo, manual optional

The car you see above may look familiar. Honda showed a mildly conceptified version of the tenth-gen Civic hatch in March, and just last week a production model was caught being loaded onto a ship. Now it's finally here and official, and we can tell you that a hatchback Civic will once again be sold in the US starting this fall. Utility lovers rejoice. This new body style joins the somewhat-hatch-looking sedan and the coupe Honda has been selling for about a year. It will be available in LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, and Sport Touring trims, with that last one being a new addition. All will get Honda's 1.5-liter turbo four offered in upper trims of the sedan and coupe, but they won't all get the same amount of power: LX, EX, and EX-L models will use a 174-hp version, while anything that says Sport on the back gets bumped up to a 180-hp tune, thanks in part to the sweet center-exit exhaust you see on the car above. Torque doesn't vary between the trims – it's 162 lb-ft on all of them. The other exciting bit of news is that the hatchback (along with other 2017 Civics) will be available with the turbo engine and a manual – in the same car. (For 2016, turbo coupes and sedans were sold exclusively with the CVT, and the manual was offered only on lower trims with a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four.) The six-speed stick will be standard on LX, Sport, and EX models, while the CVT will be available on those trim levels and standard on the others. The turbo engine is a charmer, and we have said from the start that it would be that much better with a stick, even though most people will choose the CVT anyway. But yay for freedom of choice. Equipment should pretty well mirror what's available on the same trims in the two- and four-doors, with the exception of that new Sport Touring trim. It sounds like that will be Touring equipment – including the Honda Sensing suite of safety tech (available on other trims), Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, and LED headlights – plus some more sport-like looks and the power bump. Civic hatches will be built exclusively at Honda's plant in Swindon, England. Fun fact: The last Civic hatch to be sold in the US, the oddball 2002–2005 Si, came from the same factory. Big changes come in the rear, obvs, and include a hatch with glass that's bisected (something Honda loves to do) by a spoiler spanning the taillights.