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BMW tops Consumer Reports 2023 Brand Report Card

Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to "Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys." Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CRÂ’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." Last year's top 10 had six automakers from Japan, three from Germany (giving Mini credit for England), none from the U.S. or South Korea, and five luxury brands. This year's list counts five makes from Japan, two from Germany because Porsche fell out of the top ten, two from South Korea, still none from the U.S., and four luxury brands. Buick again ranked as the best domestic, dropping to 12th after being 11th last year. The big mover was Lincoln, its 10-place jump up to 16th attributed to better reliability from the Corsair and Nautilus. Tesla's improved overall reliability saw it climb six spots to 17th. Dodge climbed one spot to 15th. Jeep got out of the penalty box in last to come second-to-last. Land Rover fell three places into the penalty spot.  CR's top 10 vehicle models The 10 Top Picks list is practically a new list. Only two holdovers made it to 2023, those being the Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride.

Audi pits S3 against Ur-Quattro on gravel

If you had to pick a winner between the latest Audi S3 and the original Audi Sport Quattro, which would it be? Both hot hatches pack around 300 horsepower and all-wheel drive, but they're separated by a good thirty years of development.
To find out, Audi took both to the old rally circuit in San Remo. Behind the wheel of the Ur-Quattro they put none other than The Stig himself - no, not the Top Gear test bot, but Stig Blomqvist, the Swedish former rally driver who drove the Quattro to the World Rally Championship in the mid-80s. In the S3 they put someone named Hermann Müller, who as best we can tell was one of Auto Union's original Silver Arrow drivers - but he died in 1975, so it's probably the guy who writes for the Audi magazine. Regardless, the contest was pretty close, so it's worth checking out in the 2:26 video clip below.

Audi will show all-electric 'sporty SUV' in Frankfurt

Audi is launching a fully electric crossover in 2018, and the brand is finally giving the world a look at what to expect with the E-Tron Quattro concept at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Previewed ahead of the event in these five sketches, the vehicle packs a heap of cutting-edge tech, including beautiful matrix laser OLED headlights, to be as efficient as possible. Audi maintains that it offers a range of over 311 miles, too. For such a green model, the design is surprisingly aggressive with a upright grille in front and angular panels elsewhere. The rear sketch shows the design tapering at the back to improve aerodynamics, though. Active aero parts at the front, sides, and rear further let the E-Tron Quattro concept slice through the air. When combined with a flat underbody, the drag coefficient is claimed to be a segment-best 0.25 cd. Audi also asserts the length is between a Q5 and Q7, which lends credence to speculation that the production version might be called the Q6. Underneath the muscular design is Audi's MLB 2 platform from the latest Q7. Three electric motors provide the all-wheel drive propulsion: one at the front and two on the rear axle. Located underneath the passenger compartment is a lithium-ion battery that uses cells from LG Chem and Samsung SDI. The interior seats four, and the driver is nestled into a wrap-around cockpit with a high center console. The front displays use OLEDs with gesture controls, and the rear passengers also get their own infotainment systems. Related Video: Outlook on series production – the Audi e-tron quattro concept at the IAA 2015 • The latest battery technology and top aerodynamics ensure a range of more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) • Sporty SUV with all-electric drive in series production from 2018 Ingolstadt/Frankfurt am Main, August 19, 2015 – Electric driving at Audi is a pleasure, not a compromise. The brand is demonstrating this with the Audi e-tron quattro concept at the International Motor Show (IAA) 2015 in Frankfurt. The sporty SUV provides an outlook on the brand 's first large-series electric car. The Audi e-tron quattro concept is designed from the ground up as an electric car and proves to be pioneering in its segment at the very first glance. It follows the Audi "Aerosthetics" concept, combining technical measures for reducing aerodynamic drag with creative design solutions. Movable aerodynamic elements at the front, on the sides and at the rear improve the air flow around the car.