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Takata adds millions to recall expansion in US [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker has advised Autoblog that of the 1,509,535 total vehicles worldwide that the company is recalling, 966,504 of them are new additions for this expanded safety campaign. Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the Takata airbag inflator recalls would expand to an estimated 33.8 million vehicles in the US. However at the time, automakers weren't sure specifically which of their models might be affected under this enlarged campaign. Now, the numbers for BMW, FCA, Ford, and Mitsubishi are being released by the agency. Additionally, Honda is outlining the broadening of its own campaign. BMW's recall amounts to 420,661 vehicles in the US, an increase from 140,696 previously. All of the following models need their front, driver's side airbag replaced: 2002-2005 BMW 325i/325xi/330i/330xi Sedan 2002-2005 BMW 325xi/325i Sportswagon 2002-2006 BMW 330Ci/325Ci/M3 Convertible 2002-2006 BMW 325i/330i/M3 Coupe 2002-2003 BMW M5/540i/525i/530i Sedan 2002-2003 BMW 540i/525i Sportswagon 2003-2004 BMW X5 3.0i/4.4i BMW has received no reports of any injures or deaths from this problem in its vehicles. FCA has 5,224,845 vehicles globally in need of inflator replacements, according to its statement. However, the company is only aware of one injury related to the issue, which occurred in a 2006 Dodge Charger in southern Florida. There are 4,747,202 vehicles worldwide from the company that are affected on the front, driver's side. Among these, 4,066,732 are in the US, 374,508 are in Canada, and the rest are in other countries. The models are: 2005-2009 Dodge Ram 2500 Pickup 2004-2008 Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup 2006-2009 Dodge Ram 3500 Pickup 2007-2009 Dodge Ram 3500 Cab Chassis 2008-2010 Dodge Ram 4500/5500 Cab Chassis 2008-2009 Sterling 4500/5500 Cab Chassis 2004-2008 Dodge Durango 2007-2008 Chrysler Aspen 2005-2010 Chrysler 300/300C/SRT8 2005-2010 Dodge Charger/Magnum 2005-2011 Dodge Dakota 2006-2010 Mitsubishi Raider Also, there are 438,156 vehicles in the US, according to the NHTSA documents, that need their front passenger's side inflators replaced in the expansion of an earlier regional recall: 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 The total number of vehicles from Ford now covered under these campaigns stands at 1,509,535 worldwide. Of this total, there are 1,380,604 in the United States, 93,207 in Canada and 16,953 in Mexico.

Mitsubishi Motors Chairman Masuko resigns due to health reasons

Osamu Masuko (Getty Images)   TOKYO — Mitsubishi Motors said on Friday Osamu Masuko resigned as chairman due to health reasons and has handed over the role to CEO Takao Kato on a temporary basis. A veteran of the larger Mitsubishi conglomerate, Masuko joined the automaker in 2004 and became president in 2007. He oversaw the creation of the partnership between Mitsubishi and Nissan in 2016, which saw Nissan take a controlling stake in the company. The 71-year-old will stay on at Mitsubishi as a special adviser, the company said in a statement. It did not specify what Masuko was ailing from. Masuko was at the helm of Mitsubishi during a 2016 scandal in which the automaker was found to have overstated the fuel economy on its vehicles. An investigation uncovered slack governance and pressure on resourced-starved engineers as chronic issues at the company. CEO Takao Kato adds the role of chairman. (Getty Images)   The scandal was Mitsubishi's third in two decades, and it pummeled profits and tarnished the automaker' s brand. At the height of the scandal, Nissan lent its smaller rival a lifeline by offering the company $2.2 billion for a 34% controlling stake. The deal was agreed between Masuko and then Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, and brought Mitsubishi in as a junior partner in the Nissan-Renault automaking alliance. Masuko later denounced his ties with Ghosn following Ghosn's 2018 arrest in Japan over financial misconduct, charges that Ghosn has denied. All three members of the alliance are currently mired in financial problems after years of aggressive expansion policies under Ghosn's leadership resulted in falling vehicle sales. A further drop in global car demand due to the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated these problems, and Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault are each bracing for steep annual operating losses this year. Related Video:      

Mitsubishi Mi-Tech turbine-PHEV buggy blows the doors off our dreams

TOKYO — For this year's Tokyo Motor Show, Mitsubishi went all out with the Mi-Tech concept. It's a tough-looking open off-roader with a wild hybrid powertrain. It's glorious, which makes it all the more sad it will likely never see the light of day. From the outside, the Mi-Tech impresses with blocky lines and fat fender flares. But its star feature is the fact that it has no roof and no doors. The only thing that comes close is the pair of cowls behind the seats. The inside has a spare design with a body-color dash and cutouts for vents. It does have modern cues such as the piano-key buttons and fullscreen heads-up display. Under the skin, it's powered by four motors, each controlling an individual wheel. This allows it to adjust power precisely in off-road settings. It's a plug-in hybrid, and when the battery runs down, electricity is produced by a turbine engine, similar to the Jaguar C-X75 concept. Mitsubishi opted for the turbine for its high power, small size, smooth operation and the fact it can run on just about any combustible liquid. As much as we love the Mi-Tech, it's obvious it's not going into production anytime soon. Mitsubishi has no car-ready turbine engines, and it would be expensive to make an SUV with no doors, or even removable doors, pass safety standards. And the people that would buy a vehicle like this will probably be satisfied with a Jeep Wrangler or the upcoming Ford Bronco. Oh well, it's at least a pleasant dream, and a sign that Mitsubishi still has some spark.