2012 Buick Regal Automatic 4-door Sedan on 2040-cars

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Honda and Chrysler EV news, and talking with GM's charging ecosystem boss | Autoblog Podcast #781

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. They're excited about the news of the possibility of an electric sports car being revealed for Honda's 75th anniversary, as well as the completely revamped — redesigned and renamed — Chrysler Airflow. They've been driving the Bentley Bentayga EWB, Range Rover, Toyota GR Corolla and the refreshed Buick Encore GX. We listen to a interview Greg conducted with GM's EV charging boss, Hoss Hassani. Finally, a reader is looking to help his in-laws choose an SUV, possibly a hybrid or EV, to replace a BMX X3. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast # 781 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News Honda electric sports car could be unveiled this year Chrysler Airflow being redesigned and renamed for production Cars we're driving 2023 Bentley Bentayga EWB Azure First Edition 2023 Land Rover Range Rover SE LWB 2023 Toyota GR Corolla Morizo 2024 Buick Encore GX Avenir Interview with Hoss Hassani, General Motors Vice President and EV Charging Ecosystem Spend my Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Green Podcasts Bentley Buick Chrysler GM Honda Land Rover Toyota Green Automakers Crossover Hatchback SUV Electric Future Vehicles Luxury Performance Sedan

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

2024 Buick Envista revealed as a good-looking, quite-affordable crossover 'coupe'

Buick has a new entry-point for the brand, the 2024 Envista. The new model shares much with its mechanical twin, the Chevy Trax, including a very low base price of less than $24,000. But as you can see, it skips the traditional crossover shape for a more coupe-like roofline. Unsurprisingly, the Envista gets the Wildcat EV design language with a big, frowning grille and scowling LED lights. In profile, it looks longer and lower than the Encore GX, but not just because of the roofline. It's less bulky around the wheel arches, and the ends aren't so blunt and bulbous. Three trims are available for the Envista, and they have some design distinctions. The base trim is the Preferred, and then there are the ST and Avenir trims. The ST is pictured at top with its dark grille and black-painted fender flares, mirror caps and 18-inch wheels. The Avenir (pictured below) gets body-color trim and a bright metal grille and matching 19-inch wheels. 2024 Buick Envista Avenir View 9 Photos Inside, the Envista looks very much like the Encore GX. The dash design is nearly the same, save for slightly different upholstered panels and screen surrounds. It has the same 8-inch instrument display and 11-inch infotainment touchscreen. Trims get different topstitching, with the ST getting swoopy blue stitches, and the Avenir getting more toned-down, more geometric gray stitching. Cargo space comes in at 20.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats, and 42 cubes with them folded. The Envista uses the Trax platform, and that means it comes with only one powertrain: a turbocharged 1.2-liter three-cylinder. It makes 136 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. The only transmission is a six-speed automatic, and it only sends power to the front wheels. Two suspension setups are available, one of which is a simple torsion beam, and the second adds a Watts linkage. The latter comes on all Avenirs with 19-inch wheels. As with Trax, pricing is very affordable, with the base Preferred starting at $23,495, including destination fee. The ST rises to $25,195, and the Avenir tops the range at $29,695. That puts about $3,000 of space between the Envista and the Encore GX at every trim level. Orders open for the Envista this summer. Related video: