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Next Honda Ridgeline to eschew weird visuals, go mainstream?

Last year, Honda gave us the first furtive glance at the next-generation Ridgeline with a shadowy photo of it in profile (above), and it promised that the pickup would "come to market in less than two years." That would have put the truck on track for a 2015 debut, but the automaker hasn't said anything more officially about the new model since then.
A new report from USA Today might shed some new light on the mysterious model. It claims that the next Ridgeline has more conventional pickup styling than the original model in a bid to conquest some buyers. You can get that feeling from the sketch, which appears to showing something far more traditional than the unorthodox original Ridgeline, whose odd tapering bedsides terminated in a double-hinged tailgate.
USA Today goes on to claim that the new Ridgeline will go on sale around late 2015 or early 2016. That's a bit later than expected, but fits with an earlier rumor.

Honda audit says Takata manipulated airbag inflator data

Takata is already feeling the pressure of being tied up in the automotive industry's largest recall ever, which affects millions of vehicles worldwide, but an ongoing audit by Honda recently revealed that engineers manipulated airbag inflator test results. According to a report by Reuters, the audit found widespread manipulation of test results, but showed no safety risks for vehicles that were not involved in the recall. The audit, which Honda claims started last October, examined Takata-made airbag inflators and was led by former IIHS president Brian O'Neil. According to Automotive News, O'Neil found that Takata engineers had removed test results to make airbag inflator performance more favorable. In an interview with Automotive News, O'Neil stated that the audit results indicated that engineers selectively edited results to make the reports, which were given to Honda, shorter and prettier from the supplier's standpoint. So far, the automaker has received preliminary information from the first phase of the audit, with Honda and US regulators getting a full report later this week. There's no word on how much Takata will have to pay to fix the faulty airbag inflators, but some automakers have decided to drop the supplier for another source. The New York Times also reports that Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada would be stepping down after the company becomes stable. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Automotive News-sub.req., Reuters, The New York TimesImage Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Government/Legal Recalls Honda Safety Takata airbag recall

F1's Fernando Alonso gets 35-place penalty for latest Honda engine change

MONZA, Italy — McLaren's Fernando Alonso will collect a 35-place grid penalty for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix after Honda announced changes to his car's power unit. The penalty means the double world champion, whose future at McLaren remains uncertain due to the team's continuing engine woes, will start at the back of the 20-car grid for the last European race of the season. His chances were limited anyway at Monza's 'Temple of Speed,' the fastest circuit on the calendar where engine performance is crucial. His Belgian teammate Stoffel Vandoorne suffered a similar fate when he was handed a 65-place penalty for his home race at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend. Such meaningless penalties incurred through no fault of the driver have come increasingly under scrutiny in Formula One with some saying the system has got out of control and must change. "I hate the fact that we're having to affect the racing because of the technical issues," Formula One managing director Ross Brawn, a title-winning former team principal and ex-Ferrari technical director, told motorsport.com. "I know you can say if a car breaks down in a race that's a technical issue and you've affected the race, but I think the fans understand that. "For a fan to stomach that his hero is on the back of the grid because he had to change the engine, that's not great sport," added the Briton. Brawn suggested a different form of penalty, or removing it altogether, but acknowledged that the sport might have to wait until 2021 when new engine regulations will come into force. The current Formula One regulations stipulate that each driver may use no more than four power units during a championship season, with that number due to be reduced to three next year. Each power unit is made up of six separate elements; the engine, the motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K), the motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H), the energy store, turbocharger and control electronics. Grid penalties are imposed if a driver uses more than four of any one of the elements during the course of a season, and for successive breaches. Honda said Alonso was now on his seventh engine and MGU-K, his ninth turbocharger and MGU-H, his sixth energy store and fifth control electronics. Alonso retired from the Belgian Grand Prix but some components of the power unit used there will be run again in Friday's second practice after Honda said they could find no obvious problem.