Honda's Hot Shoe: We Came for the Neoprene Vamp, But We Stayed for the Articulated Nodes

Where do I start?

So, Honda unveiled a shoe yesterday, and it’s the next best thing to owning and driving a 2016 Civic.

At least, that’s what we’re led to believe. The limited edition…shoe…is a collaboration between Honda (maker of 3,000 pound vehicles that can drive places and are way pricier than pants), lifestyle-oriented digital media company Thrillist and menswear company JackThreads.

Yes, it’s called the HT3 Driving Shoe, and it premiered alongside the car that inspired it at a Thrillist-hosted Los Angeles shindig. We can’t confirm rumors that rioting broke out due to shoe anticipation.

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Takata's $24 Billion Worst-Case Scenario

The cost of a comprehensive recall of all Takata Corporation airbag inflators could sink the company.

A source at airbag manufacturer Takata told Bloomberg that a worst-case scenario — a recall of 287.5 million airbag inflators — would cost the company $24 billion dollars, far more than analysts previously estimated.

The cost would be the equivalent of four times the projected revenue Takata expects for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, or six times the total value of the company’s assets.

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Your Car's Headlights Are Probably Terrible: IIHS

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has started rating headlights, and just released a report that takes a dim view on the performance of most midsize cars.

Only one vehicle out of 31 testers earned a rating of “good” from the road safety nonprofit, with the bulk of midsize vehicles earning a rating of “marginal” or “poor.”

The results are even less dazzling when you take into account optional lighting packages, which pushed the number tested to 82. Even then, it was only the LED-equipped advanced technology package on the Toyota Prius V that earned the IIHS’s acclaim.

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TTAC News Round-up: Mazda Doesn't Need No Stinkin' Hybrids, Volkswagen Rebuffs Deadline, and March Looks Like a Winner

“Hybrids? Those things that can’t make up their mind on what they want to be in life? Come on!” – Mazda.

That, Volkswagen floors the accelerator past a deadline, March looks like a boffo month for vehicle sales, Audi dials it back a bit, and getting a Tesla Model 3 depends on whether or not you’re in the club … after the break!

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TTAC News Round-up: Ford Soothes Investors, Dodge Gets Its DiCaprio Moment, and Kentucky Aims for Volkswagen's Center Mass

Ford is doing so well, you’d be a damn fool to ever think of not investing in Ford, says Ford.

That, hiring a crop of cranky old people paid off for Dodge, Kentucky joins the let’s-sue-Volkswagen party, Honda gets a Hoosier boost, and ethanol continues to suck … after the break!

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  • AZFelix I shall fully endorse the use of autonomous cars on public roads once they have successfully completed my proposed Turing test for self driving vehicles. This test requires the successful completion of an at fault incident and accident free 24/7 driving session in Buffalo and upstate New York from October 1st until March 31st, and throughout the city of Jakarta, Indonesia for one consecutive year. Only Level 1 and Level 5 vehicles are permissible.
  • Lou_BC I'd go Rav4. No Mazda dealer in my town and from what I've seen, Mazda's tend to rust.
  • Steve Jacobs I've got a bright Red Kia EV6. Easy to find in a parking lot.
  • MKizzy Gently used EV6's under $30K aren't hard to find and have the range and style to almost intrigue me into taking the EV plunge. However, I'll wait for a mid-sized non-luxury EV sedan or wagon which is not a tablet housing a car (Model 3) or sacrifices too much usable space for the sake of style (Ioniq 6) before I go electric. I'm not holding my breath.
  • Arthur Dailey Am currently comparing both vehicles. Some issues not addressed in the article 1) the wait times for most RAV4's are currently considerably longer, 2) RAV4's are among the most stolen vehicles in my area (the GTA), 3) Mazda has a superior warranty. Manufacturing locations are perhaps a toss up. For the majority of these vehicles sold in the Canadian market from what I can ascertain, CX-5's are manufactured in Japan, and RAV4's in Alliston Ontario. One area where I will disagree with Matt is in the upholstery. I far prefer cloth to leather. With grandchildren and a dog, there is far more chance that the leather will be cut or scratched. And leather, particularly in black is too hot in the summer and very cold when you first sit on it during a Canadian winter. Cloth is the winner in that competition, but still an inferior choice to rich 1970's style velour upholstery.