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Yesterday, four leading Japanese automakers announced a massive recall due to a front passenger airbag that may deploy with excessive force and rip apart. Toyota and Mazda, which had yet to identify the affected models in Canada, are finally confirming the list.

Here they are:
• 2002-2003 Lexus SC 430;
• 2003 Toyota Corolla;
• 2003 Toyota Matrix;
• 2003 Toyota Sequoia;
• 2003 Toyota Tundra;
• 2004 Mazda6.

Nissan remains the only manufacturer not to publish the list of affected models in Canada.

Owners of vehicles subject to this recall will receive a notification letter by mail. Dealers will inspect the front passenger airbag and, in the event of a bad inflator, the inflator will be replaced with a newly manufactured one at no charge to the owner.

Another recall by Honda
In other news, Honda Canada is now recalling 20,763 vehicles because the brake-shift interlock may not function properly at low temperatures. This could allow the gear shift lever to be moved out of the PARK position without depressing the brake pedal.

Dealers will therefore replace the gear shift assembly stopper on all affected units, including:

• 2012-2013 Honda Odyssey;
• 2012-2013 Honda CR-V;
• 2013 Acura RDX.

Source: Transports Canada

Photo: IIHS

From GMM

The last time Adrian Sutil was in China, he was involved in a nightclub altercation that almost ended his formula one career.

It was early 2011, and the blood-stained run-in with Lotus team executive Eric Lux ultimately left him with a criminal conviction and without his Force India seat.

But he is back on the grid and right back on form in 2013, even moving Red Bull's influential Dr Helmut Marko to mark the 30-year-old German as the surprise of the season so far.

"It is nice to hear that there are still things that surprise him (Marko)," Sutil smiled in an interview with F1's official website.

Photo: Sahara Force India

Dr Helmut Marko is not the only paddock insider expressing surprise at Sutil's 2013 form.

"The car, for my opinion, is very good. It's the best car I've driven," he said on Thursday.

But it's also being driven by teammate Paul di Resta, who over the winter only narrowly missed out on becoming Lewis Hamilton's successor at McLaren.

Told he has been quicker than the sister car so far, Sutil answered: "Yes, to be honest I thought I would need some more time to get into the racing mode again."

So with his career right back on track, Sutil was wasting no time explaining his emotions about being back in Shanghai, or whether he worried Chinese authorities would even let him back in with a criminal record.

"No worries, no emotions," he told reporters on Thursday. "The past, for me, is done and I'm concentrating on my future."

Tesla Motors has won a round in its legal fight against franchised dealership laws in New York over direct sales to consumers while it continues to lobby Texas legislators on the issue.

When the 2014 Ford Fusion debuts this fall it will be offered with a new 1.5-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, the fifth member of Ford's EcoBoost family, Ford said today.

Ford will introduce this month a 1.5-liter version of its turbo-charged EcoBoost engine. The UK-designed engine will be offered in the Mondeo in Europe and China and in the Fusion in the United States.

BMW launched a new website Thursday that presents range, cost savings and environmental impact data taken from 700 ActiveE drivers (dubbed and#8220;Electronautsand#8221; by BMW and#8230; really guys?) to inform consumers about the potential savings of...

Steel's versatility will ensure that it remains the go-to product for automakers despite the emergence of alternative materials such as aluminum, says United States Steel CEO John Surma.

Domestic brands have the most American-made content in the United States according to a new index released by American University's Kogod School of Business.

The first built-from scratch Ford Explorer rolled off the assembly line today in Russia -- the first time an Explorer produced outside the United States didn't come from a knock-down kit.

The first built-from scratch Ford Explorer rolled off the assembly line today in Russia -- the first time an Explorer produced outside the United States didn't come from a knock-down kit.

TRANSCRIPT

Ask a Frank Lloyd Wright buff to name a New York City structure designed by the architect, and he'll probably spit out the Guggenheim Museum in response.

As much as car enthusiasts gush over new automotive sheet metal and technology, nearly 80 percent of car shoppers would prefer to get a good deal on a car than wait for a newer design, a recent online survey shows. The survey by AutoTrader.

Lithium ion battery sales and performance have fallen far short of forecasts, and better technology is needed to improve their safety, battery experts told federal regulators today.

2013 Infiniti JX35 - Guys’ Weekend

Wherein the JX35 proves more adept at carrying a breakfast casserole than hauling skis and hockey sticks.

Last month it was copy editor Rusty Blackwell who spent the most time behind the wheel of our Infiniti JX35, so we’ll step aside and grant him the floor:

Photo Gallery: 2013 Infiniti JX35 - Four Seasons Update - March 2013 - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Infiniti JX35 - Four Seasons Update - March 2013 - Automobile Magazine

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2014 Kia Cadenza First Drive

A bigger car for a growing brand.

Kia is riding a wave of success that includes 18 straight years of market share increase and a record 557,599 units sold in 2012. With hundreds of thousands of new owners, rising transaction prices, and some changes in consumer behavior since the recession, Kia is testing its upper limit with the 2014 Cadenza.

Photo Gallery: 2014 Kia Cadenza First Drive - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Kia Cadenza First Drive - Automobile Magazine

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BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer said the automaker's success amid Europe's auto-market contraction shows the importance of setting up production and sales that can weather an economic crisis.

TRW Automotive Holdings is launching production of automotive camera systems in the United States at a plant in Illinois. Its third generation S-Cam will be available on models from five automakers by the end of the year, the company said.

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the automaker's Opel unit as the two sides worked to move past a dispute over a failed effort to sell the division.

GM CEO Dan Akerson met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the automaker's Opel unit as the two sides worked to move past a dispute over a failed effort to sell the division.