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Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.

BMW i3 gets tuner treatment from Eve.Ryn

The BMW i3, especially when wearing its Capparis White paint job, already looks a bit like some sort of futuristic escape pod launched to Earth from a spaceship. It was only a matter of time until the electric car got touched by the eager hands of a tuner to make it even more eye-popping. It is, after all, a BMW. Japanese tuner Garage Eve.Ryn appears to be the first to give the i3 the inevitable once over. The result is a much more aggressive-looking EV, called the i3 EVO. We say aggressive-looking, because we have no information to suggest that the makeover was anything but cosmetic. The i3 EVO has slightly exaggerated fender flares, which stand out with their strips of carbon fiber along the edge. The redesigned front bumper looks like it could have been fashioned out of Star Wars stormtrooper armor, complete with fake air intakes and, of course, a helping of carbon. The rear end gets a diffuser, too. The large wheels feature blue accents, which help to highlight the Ice Blue bits already on the vehicle. For a closer look, check out the i3 EVO photos in the gallery and there are more like it on Eve.Ryn's Facebook page, in galleries here, here and here, as well as a more recent set of images showing the car emblazoned with Energy Motor Sport (a company that appears closely related to Eve.Ryn, on the distribution end) decals on the sides. There's no telling what the body kit does for the aerodynamics of the car, but it would be interesting to find out what effect Eve.Ryn's handiwork has on the i3's range. Either way, this surely won't be the last time a tuner finds a way to reimagine the BMW i3, so, love it or hate it, you might as well get used to it.

BMW M3 gets the video retrospective treatment

With BMW on the cusp of pulling back the sheets on its next-generation M3 (or should we say, M4?), the crew from Electric Federal has taken it upon themselves to give us a generation-by-generation look at the evolution of the most renowned of BMW's sports coupes. The video below features plenty of beautiful shots of each generation of M3, starting with the ever lust-worthy E30 before finishing up with the current iteration. BWS Motorsport's Mark Norris provides the narration, complete with a brief synopsis of what makes each generation so special.
As usual, the clip is fit for big-screen viewing. You can watch the action below for yourself. Meanwhile, we'll be busy figuring out which vital organs we can sell to get our hands on our own E30 M3.