Honda Inspire Japan

Along with the usual Accord MMC, comes the refresh of the Honda Inspire in Japan. Now the Accord here in the States/Canada has gained a couple of additions that used to be available with the Inspire such as the rear taillights, but the Inspire has also gained blind spot monitoring and more advanced technology like Live Traffic Updating as part of its NAVI system and CMBS (Collision Mitigation Braking System).

Recall - Faulty Airbags

Honda Motor Co. is recalling 1,532 of its Inspire and Saber passenger cars in Japan following a fatal accident in the United States involving a ruptured air bag. The airbags in the Inspire and Saber vehicles are similar to the type recalled in the U.S./Canada concerning 300000 2001 Honda Civic and Honda Accord vehicles. There are at least 7 accidents in the U.S. between Feb. 2007-May 2009 where metal fragments flew from ruptured driver-side air bags in Honda vehicles.

In May, a driver died in an accident where metal fragments flew from the driver-side air bags, it is unknown if the air bag was responsible for the death of the driver. It was apparent that the metal fragments from the ruptured air bag had pierced the driver's neck. Honda said it was investigating whether the driver died due to the air bag accident or some other causes.

2008 Honda Inspire (Japan)

The 2008 Honda Inspire, based on the NA Honda Accord.

Tokyo Auto Show Day 1

There you have it. Day one of the Tokyo Auto Show.

Quite an interesting day for Honda!

Tokyo Auto Show- 2008 Japanese Honda Inspire

As usual, once the new Accord comes out, the new Inspire comes out.

The Japanese-only Inspire is basically a regular USDM-spec Honda Accord but with the steering wheel on the right side and more luxurious features including more wood, rear trunk-lid lights, higher quality leather trim, etc.