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Consumer Reports says infotainment systems 'growing first-year reliability plague'

The Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Survey (right) is out, and the top two spots look much the same as last year's list with Lexus and Toyota in first and second place, respectively. However, there are some major shakeups for 2014, with Acura plunging eight spots from third in 2013 to 11th this year, and Mazda replaces it on the lowest step of the podium. Honda and Audi round out the top five. This year's list includes six Japanese brands in the top 10, two Europeans, one America and one Korean.
Acura isn't the only one taking a tumble, though. Infiniti is the biggest loser this year by dropping 14 spots to 20th place. Other big losses come from Mercedes-Benz with an 11-place fall to 24th, and GMC, which declines 10 positions to 19th.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's not traditional mechanical bugs hauling down these automaker's reliability scores. Instead, pesky problems with infotainment systems are taking a series toll on the rankings. According to Consumer Reports, complaints about "in-car electronics" were the most grumbled about element in new cars. Problem areas included things like unresponsive touchscreens, issues pairing phones and multi-use controllers that refused to work right.

Lexus LF-LC approved for production

On the sidelines of a press drive for the 2014 Lexus IS, the company's vice president of marketing in the US told Ward's Auto that the honchos in Japan have approved the Lexus LF-LC concept for production. He wouldn't offer any other details on how the luxury coupe might be transformed into a vehicle for the buying masses, and that has led to a bag full of speculation.
The show car was hybrid-powered and rear-wheel drive, a beautifully executed stab by Toyota designers in Newport Beach at redefining Lexus, but even with the concept, the point was to keep it "within reach for premium buyers." The report says the odds are on limited production and higher pricing than Lexus' "mainstream products," and other sites have speculated on what kind of powertrain it might end up in showrooms with.
GT Channel posits that the LF-LC will be the inspiration for a coupe in the Lexus LS price bracket with a choice of either the 4.2-liter V8 or the hybrid powertrain from the LS 600h, further speculating it will be called LC 550 and cost more than $100,000. It then says that there would be another coupe created beneath that one to replace the SC 430. Lexus Enthusiast, however, calls those "warmed-over rumors" and says that the marque probably won't deviate from its engine-capacity-naming scheme - labeling a car with a 4.2-liter V8 an LC 550. Nor does it think Lexus will use the letters LC after the company has trademarked "RC" in the US and Australia.

Lexus previews production NX crossover ahead of Beijing debut

Every luxury automaker and its sister company is getting into the compact crossover game these days. Mercedes has the GLK and even smaller GLA, Audi has the Q3, BMW the X1... even Porsche is getting in on the action with the new Macan. Lincoln has the new MKC, and it won't be long before Infiniti and Acura launch challengers of their own. But before they do, Lexus will roll out its new NX crossover.
Previewed by the LF-NX concepts first in Frankfurt and then in Tokyo, leaked in a corporate presentation and spied testing out on the open road, Lexus is slated to present the production NX at the Beijing Motor Show later this month. But to keep us on our toes, the Japanese luxury automaker has released this teaser image and brief statement.
From the looks of it, it appears that Lexus has hardly toned down for production the anime-worthy sharp creases that made the LF-NX stand out on the show floor, with the brand's signature spindle grille featuring prominently once again. Though we'd guess the finished product will be toned down somewhat. Toyota's luxury division also says "the NX will set new standards for future models in the line-up," meaning that we can expect the design theme to carry through to more models to follow.