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Alonso wants an NSX, but did Honda block him from Le Mans?

One of the biggest changes in store for the 2015 Formula One World Championship will see Fernando Alonso moving back to McLaren. That means he'll be driving under Honda power for the first time, after spending the bulk of his career driving for Renault and Ferrari. And being Honda's new poster child, as the two-time World Champion is fast discovering, has its advantages and its drawbacks. According to the latest reports, Alonso had been negotiating a clause in his contract with McLaren that could have seen him driving a Porsche 919 Hybrid at Le Mans this year, but Honda reportedly stepped in at the last minute and scuttled the plan. The drive would have been Alonso's first in the famous 24-hour race, after having had the honor of waving the flag at La Sarthe last summer. In one of the wilder rumors that emerged during the prolonged silence over his move for this season, the Spaniard was also linked to a potential return for Ferrari to Le Mans. That prospect came to naught, and now the Porsche deal has been wheeled into the garage, as well. The upcoming F1 season is expected to be one of transition, adjustment and development for McLaren and Honda, but the Japanese automaker's involvement in his hiring may not be all bad news for Alonso. Following the reveal of the new Acura NSX, Alonso tweeted "You still don't know, but one day we will be together..." followed by a series of heart-eyed smiley-face emoticons and accompanies by images of Honda's new supercar. The implication is that the two-time World Champion is expecting to get his talented hands on an NSX of his own, and we can certainly see how Honda would appreciate the imagery of Fernando driving around in its flagship. Even if it doesn't, though, we're sure McLaren would be glad to hook him up with a company car of its own – though Lewis Hamilton encountered some trouble securing (a very specific) one for himself. Even discounting the front-running F1 machinery he's been tasked with piloting on track to an impressive 32 career wins, Alonso has had some lustworthy company cars at his disposal over the years. At Renault, he had a Megane RS to drive, and during his last stint at McLaren, he had an SLR 722. But since signing with Ferrari, he's been given the keys to FCA models as varied as a Ferrari FF, a special 599 GTO, a Maserati GranCabrio, a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and an Abarth 695... and those are just the ones we know about.

Cadillac Celestiq and Honda Civic Type R revealed | Autoblog Podcast #740

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. They kick things off by talking about the latest vehicle reveals, specifically the Cadillac Celestiq show car and the 2023 Honda Civic Type R. They discuss Chevy's move to offer incentives to help prevent customers from flipping the new Corvette Z06. Greg has spent time behind the wheel of the 2022 Range Rover First Edition, while John has been driving the 2023 Genesis GV60 Performance. From the mailbag, a listener is looking to replace a 2003 Subaru Forester with something that can hold three dog crates and gets decent fuel economy. Another listener asks whether to keep a 2008 Porsche 911 Turbo or replace it with a 992-generation 911 for which he is awaiting an allocation. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #740 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 Cadillac Celestiq show car revealed 2023 Honda Civic Type R revealed Chevy offers incentives to prevent Corvette Z06 flipping Cars we're driving 2023 Genesis GV60 Performance 2022 Land Rover Range Rover First Edition Spend My Money: Replacing a 2003 Subaru Forester Spend My Money Update: New or 2008 Porsche 911? 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:

Honda safety campaign hunting for faulty Takata airbags in junkyards

Honda has been working for months to recall about 5.5 million vehicles to replace their faulty Takata airbag inflators. With many of these models dating back over a decade, some of them aren't on the road anymore; instead they're sitting in salvage yards across the country as a possible source for inexpensive, recycled parts. There's a serious risk for injuries and fatalities if these bad components end up in cars still on the road, and the automaker is on the hunt to track the dangerous parts down. According to Automotive News, Honda thinks there could be over 24,000 recalled Takata airbags in the company's vehicles in junkyards in the US. The automaker has been working with an outside business to find them and issued notices to salvage lots around the country about an offer to buy the parts back. So far, it has tracked down around 3,900 inflators. Bizarrely, Honda is facing pushback on this safety campaign from the Automotive Recyclers Association. "The buyback program appears to be offering recyclers a price for airbags materially lower than the fair parts value," organization CEO Michael Wilson said to Automotive News. Although, under federal law it's illegal to sell faulty components to people. The trade group also has a pending lawsuit against the automaker for alleged lost value in buying vehicles with Takata inflators. In addition to getting the word out to auto recyclers, Honda had a nationwide advertising campaign for people to get their cars fixed. However, the company and Takata are facing many lawsuits for injuries and deaths related to the faulty inflators.