2009 Honda Civic Ex 2dr Coupe 5m on 2040-cars

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Driving the Kia K5 and Mini Cooper JCW GP, plus an interview with Jimmy Chin | Autoblog Podcast #637

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and News Editor Joel Stocksdale. They veer off right away into talking about their dream project garages. Next up is news, including some info on the next Nissan Z car, the Honda Fit being discontinued in the U.S., new Mercedes-Benz EQS details, and some talk about the new, electric GMC Hummer being adapted for the military. Then they talk about driving the new Kia K5 sedan and the Mini Cooper JCW GP, before they opine about the 1966 Pontiac GTO. Autoblog Senior Producer Chris McGraw interviews Oscar-winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin about his collaboration with Ford for the Bronco reveal, and more. Finally, our editors help a listener in the U.K. pick a used vehicle in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #637 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Some thoughts on project cars News Nissan suggests the next-generation Z won't be electrified at launch Fit Is Gone! Honda drops subcompact hatch in U.S. Mercedes-Benz announces the electric EQS will offer over 435 miles of range GMC's electric Hummer could someday serve alongside the Humvee in the U.S. Army Driving the 2021 Kia K5 Driving the 2020 Mini Cooper JCW GP 1966 Pontiac GTO: Love it or hate it? We talk Ford Bronco and other adventures with Oscar-winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Honda and NHTSA report 11th death linked to Takata airbags

Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed the 11th death due to a faulty Takata airbag today. A 50-year-old California woman died from injuries sustained after the recalled airbag inflator in her 2001 Honda Civic ruptured in a crash, Automotive News reports. The Civic in question was one of 313,000 Honda/ Acura vehicles built between 2001 and 2003 with a bad Takata airbag inflator. According to AN, Honda issued an initial airbag recall in 2008, eventually sending more than 20 notices to owners of affected vehicles. NHTSA issued a dire warning in June, suggesting owners stop driving cars with recalled inflators due to the "grave danger" they posed. In the case of the 2001-2003 Hondas and Acuras, NHTSA warned of as much as a 50 percent chance an airbag inflator would rupture if it wasn't replaced in a previous recall. Between now and 2019, NHTSA plans on recalling 70 million faulty Takata inflators. But as of October 7, only about 36 percent, or 11.4 million of the officially recalled inflators, have been pulled off the road. With 11 deaths and over 100 injuries linked to faulty Takata airbags, we implore owners of recalled vehicles (regardless of the make) to heed manufacturer recalls. Yes, it's annoying to stop by the dealership, but manufacturers issue recalls for your safety. Best to pay attention to them. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Newsome Melton / Reuters Government/Legal Recalls Honda Safety Economy Cars Sedan airbag Takata airbag recall

Watch the latest Civic Type R hit the track in Japan

The latest Honda Civic Type R is very sweet forbidden fruit because the launch of the new generation Civic in the US suggests that the 306-horsepower turbocharged hot hatch might not arrive on this continent in its current form. However, the next one should come here and could have an even more powerful version of the Ohio-made 2.0-liter engine. While North American buyers wait, Best Motoring host Keiichi Tsuchiya slips behind the Type R's wheel in this video to show us what we're missing. After the Drift King's drive, the CTR looks a little rotten. Tsuchiya seems to fight understeer from the moment he hits the first corner of the very tight Nikko Circuit, and it doesn't appear to let up over his couple of laps. Unfortunately, this clip doesn't have English subtitles, so we can only draw conclusions from Tsuchiya's driving – unless you understand Japanese. There could be a few explanations for the Civic Type R's performance in this video. There's still snow on the ground, so the performance tires could have trouble with grip in the cold. The track's layout also doesn't provide much opportunity to open the throttle. The tight corners really tax a vehicle's handling, and the hot hatch's front-wheel drive lap record at the Nurburgring suggests the Type R might prefer a quicker track. We also remarked on understeer during our First Drive, but it wasn't this bad. If you're unfamiliar with Best Motoring and Tsuchiya, you're missing out. The show puts racing drivers into mostly Japanese performance cars and lets them offer their driving impressions. Tsuchiya is the star and quite an accomplished racer, one of the drivers who took a class win in a Honda NSX in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. If you've missed out on these clips, prepare to waste a weekend watching the series on its YouTube channel. Related Video: