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Weekly Recap: Car-pedestrian crashes remained elevated in 2014

The death of American Horror Story: Freak Show star Ben Woolf served as a reminder this week that car crashes involving pedestrians remain a problem, and a new study issued on Thursday reinforced that the situation isn't really getting better. The Governors Highway Safety Association found a slight decline, 2.8 percent, in the number of pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2014. Fatalities dropped from 2,141 to 2,125 compared with the same period in 2013, though the association says it's a statistical wash when factoring in undercounting. Deaths are still 15-percent higher than in 2009. "The number of deaths remains relatively high and is cause for concern," wrote Allan Williams, who compiled the report and is the former chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This is the first look at data from last year, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will issue its full-year results later. The GHSA found some progress on the roadways, as 24 states and the District of Columbia reported drops in pedestrian deaths. In some states, the problem isn't even a problem at all: Nebraska and Wyoming reported one fatality apiece, though large population centers in urban areas are where most accidents occur. "This is a clearly a good news, bad news scenario," Jonathan Adkins, GHSA executive director, said in a statement. "While we're encouraged that pedestrian fatalities haven't increased over the past two years, progress has been slow." Other News & Notes Cadillac previews CT6 during Oscars Cadillac previewed its upcoming flagship sedan, the CT6, in commercials that aired Sunday during the Oscars. As expected, the creased sedan carries on Cadillac's recent design language, and the car in the commercial looks like a larger version of the CTS and ATS sedans. The CT6 will be revealed this spring at the New York Auto Show and launch late this year. It will be assembled at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck factory on a rear-wheel-drive chassis, and the CT6 is the first car to use Cadillac's revised alpha-numeric naming scheme. The commercials also kicked off Cadillac's "Dare Greatly" campaign, which is the first with its new advertising agency, Publicis Worldwide. Honda unexpectedly changes CEOs Honda unexpectedly announced this week that it will change CEOs. Current chief Takanobu Ito will step down in June and be replaced by company veteran Takahiro Hachigo.

Honda Civic Si making big debut at 2016 LA Auto Show

Auto shows love attracting attention, even if it doesn't necessarily fit in with an automaker's plans. We saw an example of that today when the Los Angeles Auto Show let slip in a press release that Honda is introducing the first hot version of its excellent Civic, the new Si. Listed near the top of a release highlighting the "50 vehicle debuts and 25 press conferences" coming to southern California next week, the LAAS announced the Civic Si would make its global debut alongside a slew of crossovers. Seriously, just about everything else mentioned in the press release is a crossover-y thing. Anyone remember when LA was the green auto show? We already have a fair idea of what the new Civic Si will look like when it arrives in LA – angrier than the base Civic but not so mean as the Type R "Concept" shown in Paris. To dive a bit deeper into what is in store for the Si, we recommend a look at the spy shots up top. Notice the taping around the grille, fascia intakes, and rear end; that's all likely to get a sportier look in LA. Along with a prominent center-exit exhaust, will help Honda bridge the gap between the Civic we know and the car we met last month in Paris. Alongside the Honda, Land Rover Discovery, and Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, expect the Star Wars-spec Nissan Rogue, Alfa Romeo's long-awaited Stelvio crossover, the new Jeep Compass, and a whole heap of other stuff next month. We can't wait. Related Video:

Watch this LSR Honda Insight crash at 190 mph in the desert

Like any form of motorsports, attempts at breaking land speed records are inherently dangerous. To wit: During a recent speed competition at El Mirage dry lake beds in southern California, racer Brian Gillespie and his first-gen Honda Insight crashed at nearly 190 miles per hour, and it was all caught on video.
According to the Southern California Timing Association website, which hosts the event, the weather was good and there was no wind on November 10, so it isn't clear what may have caused the crash. Despite the car being destroyed (including the entire front end being sheared off), Gillespie suffered only "minor injuries" and is recovering. The SCTA site does state that Gillespie managed to crack the 200-mile-per-hour mark in a previous run with a top speed of 200.9 mph, so congratulations to him on that! Scroll down to watch the horrifying crash.