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It turns out Takata isn't willing to expand airbag recall nationally after all

There have been "approximately 0.000006 failures per air bag deployment, which is far below the failure rate" of most recalls, Takata claims. Takata has seemingly made an about face following reports that it would expand its regional airbag recall into a nationwide repair effort, issuing a scathing, four-page letter rebutting allegations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and its Office of Defects while simultaneously attacking the government's handling of the situation. The Japanese supplier claims in its letter that the "currently available, reliable information does not support a nationwide determination of a safety defect," arguing that there were "approximately 0.000006 failures per air bag deployment, which is far below the failure rate in the vast majority of the thousands of recalls," The Detroit News reports. Takata then breaks down the two specific incidents mentioned in NHTSA's original recall request letter, a 2005 Honda Accord and 2007 Ford Mustang. Referencing the two crashes, NHTSA Administrator David Friedman said last month "one incident is an anomaly, but two are a trend." The supplier, though, argues the Honda issue is already being covered by that company's soon-to-be-national recall (more on that in a moment). The company then goes on to point out that neither Takata nor NHTSA has been able to analyze the Mustang's airbag inflator, saying that such a lack of examination meant there was "no way to ascertain what actually occurred during the incident, whether any inflator ruptured, and whether any inflator rupture that may have occurred was related to the incidents that led to the current regional campaigns." Takata alleges that NHTSA has disobeyed its own statutes. Takata also took the opportunity to take a few swipes at NHTSA's behavior during the airbag scandal, saying it was "very surprised to receive" a recall request letter because the ODI had yet to even receive the company's responses to a pair of special orders. It also alleged that NHTSA was disobeying its own statute, which says only manufacturers of vehicles and replacement equipment can "decide in good faith whether their products contain a safety related defect," and that the government can only "issue an initial decision that a safety-related defect exists" to those same entities.

Sunday Drive: Variety is the spice of life

If there's any one new vehicle the entire world is anxiously waiting for, it's the Jeep Wrangler. Yes, of course the iconic off-roader has a loyal following here in America, but you could plop a Wrangler pretty much anywhere on the globe and everybody will know what it is. Put simply, the redesigned 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL has big, muddy shoes to fill, and the readers of Autoblog are just as interested in the Wrangler's rebirth as anyone else. Moving along, we were fortunate enough last week to spend a bit of time in nearly every version of the venerable Volkswagen Golf all in one day. There isn't a Golf we don't like, but there's one, easily identifiable by its three-digit name, that stands above all the rest: GTI. We think it's the best Golf you can buy, even if there's an R-badged variant that slots above the GTI in VW hierarchy. Rounding out our recap are three vehicles that could hardly be more different. The 2019 GMC Sierra, which was seen wearing pretty light camouflage, is a truck. The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio – which isn't going to go on sale, ever, at any price – is a conceptual supercar. And the Honda CB1000R is a retro-themed naked standard motorcycle. Variety really is the spice of life. 2018 Jeep Wrangler spy shot mega gallery Driving nearly every VW Golf: Base, GTI, R, Alltrack — here's what we learned 2019 GMC Sierra spied sporting just a thin wrapping The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio is a brutally fantastic EV supercar concept Honda unveils 2 new motorcycles, including retro-flavored CB1000R Image Credit: Brian Williams GMC Honda Jeep Lamborghini Volkswagen Technology Truck Convertible Crossover Hatchback SUV Performance sunday drive vw golf gti lamborghini terzo millennio

Best compact SUVs of 2023 and 2024

Compact SUVs are now the go-to choice for family transportation. Actually, considering how popular they are, they have clearly moved beyond only family duty. With such popularity, though, comes an awful lot of competitors, and it can be difficult to figure out which one might be the best compact SUV for you.  It's important to note that by "compact SUV" we're talking about a specific segment. As we describe in our more comprehensive "Best small SUVs" list, there are also subcompact SUVs that vary widely in size amongst themselves, but are clearly smaller than the SUVs below. Frankly, today's segment of compact SUVs isn't exactly compact — some have more cargo space than vehicles that are considered midsize based on their exterior dimensions. They've all grown considerably over the years. While many lists out there just rattle off every vehicle available in a segment, we thought we'd be a bit more helpful and curate your shopping a bit with the top-recommended choices reviewed by Autoblog. We've included both mainstream and compact luxury SUV choices. Best compact SUVs of 2023 and 2024 2024 Honda CR-V Why it stands out: Best-in-class space; excellent hybrid powertrain; sharp interior style; Honda dependabilityCould be better: No lower-price base trim levels; no sporty or off-road niche models; no plug-in hybrid Read our full 2024 Honda CR-V Review Consider the CR-V the baseline for any compact SUV search, and look extra closely at the superb CR-V Hybrid option. Objectively speaking, it's tough to beat due to its massive cargo capacity, voluminous back seat, strong-yet-efficient engines, well-balanced driving dynamics, competitive pricing and features,  and well-regarded reliability. It's easy to see why it continues to be such a best-seller: for the vast majority of compact SUV buyers, and especially families, it checks every box. That's been the case for many years now, however. The all-new 2023 Honda CR-V changes things up by adding a bit more style and character, particularly in terms of its interior design and how surprisingly enjoyable the Sport and Sport Touring hybrid trim levels are to drive.