2014 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited on 2040-cars

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Takata air bag recall list

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed yesterday that 33.8 million vehicles with Takata airbags are going to be recalled. It's the largest recall in automotive history. The already record-breaking rate of automotive recalls this year shows no signs of slowing down, especially since millions of cars with defective airbags made by global supplier Takata are under ongoing scrutiny. The federal government is warning owners that inflator mechanisms in the air bags can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are deployed. The faulty air bags have already been blamed for multiple deaths. How do you know if your vehicle is safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released an updated list of vehicles under recall. Sometimes however, the government's website will crash and the list may not be complete. Check your VIN at the NHTSA website to make sure. The list of cars affected by the recall has not been released, but seem to span multiple models over the years for many of the automakers.

Subaru Levorg STI Sport should get us closer to the future WRX

At the Tokyo Motor Show, Subaru showed a "prototype" of the next-generation Levorg, itself a Japanese-market wagon derivative of the Subaru WRX sedan. While it gave us a good idea of what to expect from the next WRX, the Levorg STI Sport that will be shown at Tokyo Auto Salon in January should give us an even better look at the hot Subaru we'll get. This is based on the fact that among current Levorg trims, the STI Sport has a front bumper fascia that's more aggressive and that echoes the design of the WRX, whereas the standard trim is more mellow. So far, Subaru has only released a teaser video of the sportier Levorg. It shows STI badging on the back of the car and on the exhaust tips. There's also a glimpse of the tachometer that shows a redline of just over 6,000 rpm. Since that's lower than the WRX's turbo 2.0-liter engine's 6,500-rpm redline, this is probably the new 1.8-liter turbocharged engine Subaru announced will replace the current base turbo 1.6. It will probably make at least 170 horsepower to match the outgoing model. Based on the current STI Sport engine offerings, this should be the base engine, while the WRX's turbocharged FA20 will be an option. The full reveal of the Levorg STI Sport will come on January 10. Expect further details on mechanical changes as well, which will hopefully include information on a more powerful engine that could appear in the WRX. We wouldn't be surprised if it ended up using a slightly updated version of the current WRX's 2.0-liter FA20 engine, since even the WRX STI is expected to get a more powerful - probably over 300 horsepower - version of that same engine.

California adapts ZEV mandate with PHEVs for smaller automakers

California is the nation's largest market for zero-emissions vehicles with over 100,000 of them estimated to be on the roads there. The state's goal is to keep that number growing every year. To that end, the California Air Resources Board is now tweaking its rules in a way that might not boost ZEVs but could mean more plug-in hybrids for the Golden State. Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Volvo asked for an exemption to the state's zero-emissions vehicle mandate last year due to their relatively small development budgets compared to larger automakers. CARB denied their request but did craft a compromise, according to Automotive News. Rather than being required to offer a ZEV in the state, companies with an annual global revenue of less than $40 billion, like those in this group, may instead sell plug-in hybrids to earn ZEV credits. The companies aren't completely off the hook, though. If these plug-in hybrids don't earn enough credits, the corporations must buy them on the market to make up the difference. Automakers with popular electric models like Nissan and Tesla have made a big business through this trading system by selling their surplus to rivals. Tesla alone pocketed $51 million in the first quarter from this part of its business, according to Automotive News. The changes to the regulations also aren't set in stone, yet. CARB is meeting in 2016 and could adjust things further at that time. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. via Hybrid CarsImage Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Government/Legal Green Jaguar Land Rover Mazda Mitsubishi Subaru Volvo Emissions Electric Hybrid California zev credits zero emissions vehicle