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Honda is first Japanese carmaker to be a net-exporter from US

Over the last decade or so, many foreign automakers have challenged the idea of what defines an "American car," but Honda took things a step further last year by exporting more cars out of the US than it imported in. Reuters is reporting that in 2013, a total of 108,705 Honda and Acura models were exported from the US with only 88,357 being shipped in. This gives Honda a net exporter status here, and makes it the first of such among the major Japanese automakers.
Honda's US imports have been dropping over the last five years while its exports have been steadily increasing. In 2008, the report indicates that Honda shipped 187,000 vehicles to the US and exported only 20,000, and even by 2012 Honda still favored imports with 136,000 imports and 74,000 exports. The article says that US-made Honda and Acura vehicles were exported to 50 countries with most ending up in Mexico, but the big news is that the Honda's US production set a record in 2013 with 1.3 million units built.

Honda updates Takata airbag recall status for some models

The net enveloping vehicles in the Takata airbag inflator recall just seems to keep widening. Honda is now updating its previous campaign to revise the status for even more models that were ever registered in (or originally sold in) 13 high-humidity US states and territories.
All of these vehicles were included in the company's earlier repairs. However, at the time this fix was titled "a safety improvement campaign." This latest action upgrades that condition to "a formal recall," according to Honda's official statement. The models include: the 2003-2005 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic (pictured above), 2002-2005 CR-V, 2003-2004 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2005 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003-2005 Acura MDX and the 2005 Acura RL. All of these need to have their passenger-side, front airbag inflator replaced, and the recall affects Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Saipan, Guam and American Samoa.
As with the rest of these affected vehicles, it's possible in a collision for the inflator to rupture spraying metal shrapnel at occupants. There are at least 139 injuries attributed to this problem from a variety of automakers so far. Among this latest population of vehicles, Honda says there have been no confirmed injuries or fatalities related to these exploding inflators.

2015 Acura TLX confirmed for New York debut

Acura has announced that the 2014 New York Auto Show will see the arrival of the production TLX - the sedan that will replace both the TL and TSX in the company's lineup. The TLX was already previewed at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show as a near-production concept model, meaning we already have a very solid idea of what the 2015 model will look like.
What we didn't know, was that Acura has finally gotten on board with some advanced powertrains, rather than just plucking stuff from the Honda parts bin. Okay, that's kind of a lie. We've seen both of the TLX's engines in previous Honda products - a 2.4-liter, VTEC four-cylinder and a 3.5-liter VTEC V6 from the Civic Si and Accord, respectively - but the transmissions will be totally new.
First, an eight-speed, dual-clutch automatic will be paired with the base four-pot. The V6, meanwhile, will get a nine-speed automatic. Unfortunately, there's no mention of a manual gearbox. Acura's Precision All-Wheel Steer will be standard on the front-drive variants for both engines, while the 3.5-liter V6 will also be available with the brand's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive.