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Honda is spending $124 million on a new wind tunnel facility in Ohio

Ford isn't the only company building a multi-million dollar wind tunnel this year. Honda is also getting in on the action. Its new facility will cost less than Ford's at $124 million, and construction begins this summer. It will be built at the Transportation Research Center in Ohio, which is where Honda's NSX proving grounds are located. Honda will install a five-belt rolling road in the tunnel for testing of more pedestrian vehicles, and a wide, high-speed, single belt version for testing of sports cars and race cars. However, it seems the Honda facility will only be capable of testing wind speeds of up to 192 mph, whereas Ford claims a top speed of 200 mph. Cameras and microphones will also be set up inside the testing area at the Honda tunnel to help find wind noise trouble spots. Honda won't necessarily be the only company using the new wind tunnel either. The facility will be available for other groups and companies to use. There are even secure bays those groups can use for their work. Related Video:

Former NHTSA chief may lead automaker-backed Takata investigation

An automaker-led effort may see the former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration take on the probe into the Takata airbag inflator disaster. A coalition of at least ten automakers is in talks with former NHTSA administrator David Kelly, with unnamed sources familiar with the discussions telling The Wall Street Journal he is "among those we are considering to coordinate" the investigation.The Detroit News, meanwhile, is reporting he could be hired "in the coming days." Takata, the Japanese seatbelt and airbag manufacturer, has been the center of a defect scandal since last year. Takata is under fire for air bag inflators that can explode, shooting out metal and plastic pieces. At least five deaths and dozens of injuries have been linked to the problem worldwide. Earlier this year, Honda Motor Co., the automaker with the biggest exposure to the defective Takata air bags, was fined $70 million in the U.S. for not reporting to regulators some 1,729 complaints that its vehicles caused deaths and injuries, and for not reporting warranty claims. It was the largest civil penalty levied against an automaker. Should he take the role, Kelly would be at the fore of an investigation being assembled by an alliance of ten automakers, which includes the Detroit Three and Honda. Toyota first suggested a joint investigation back in December, The Journal reports. Kelly's goals, meanwhile, will be many. The Detroit News reports that questions abound regarding not only the recalled airbag inflators and the conditions that cause them to fail, but the whether the replacement units will have similar problems in the future. The automaker committee is far from the only one analyzing the airbag issue. Takata has assembled its own panel, led by former Secretary of Transportation Samuel Skinner, while NHTSA's deputy administrator, David Friedman, has brought in an outside engineering firm to investigate the inflators, The Detroit News reports. Separately, on Friday Takata Corp., the Japanese seatbelt and air-bag maker at the center of a defect scandal, is expecting more red ink for the fiscal year through March. It is projecting a 31 billion yen ($264 million) loss, worse than the previous forecast for a 25 billion yen ($214 million) loss, despite higher sales expected for the fiscal year. Ten automakers have recalled about 12 million vehicles in the U.S. and about 19 million globally for problems with the air bags.

Honda tags Civic, Accord, HR-V, Fit and more in fuel pump recall

American Honda Motor Company's recent issues with fuel pumps continue, as a new recall affects a large number of Honda and Acura vehicles from the 2018-2020 model years. The recall covers a total of 136,057 vehicles, including select 2018-2019 Acura NSX, 2019 Acura RDX, RLX, and RLX Sport Hybrid models, as well as 2018-2019 Honda Accords, Civic Hatchbacks, Civic Type Rs, HR-Vs, 2019-2020 Insights, and 2019 Fits.  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration campaign No. 20V314000, published May 28, 2020, states that the low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tanks of the aforementioned vehicles could falter or completely fail. Should the low-pressure fuel pump fail, the car could stall, regardless of its state of motion. Recall documents reveal fuel pump might fail due to swelling of the fuel pump motor impeller, which would cause the pump to seize. This issue is the result of a problem with how the parts were manufactured. These "lower density impellers" were "exposed to production solvent drying for longer periods of time." This caused some impellers to have surface cracking, which resulted in "excessive fuel absorption," which warps the impellers. Here's a breakdown of how many vehicles of each type were potentially affected:  2018-2019 Acura NSX: 146 2019 Acura RDX: 34,405 2019 RLX: 124 2019 RLX Sport Hybrid: 206 2018-2019 Honda Accord: 11,227 2018-2019 Civic Hatchback: 24,235 2018-2019 Civic Type R: 1,785 2018-2019 HR-V: 39,676 2019-2020 Insight: 14,959 2019 Fit: 9,294 Honda will notify owners to schedule an appointment with local dealerships. The fuel pump assembly on all affected vehicles will be replaced for free. For more information, visit NHTSA. Related Video: