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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

Top Gear season 25 opens with a V8 roadtrip through America

Great news for fans of BBC Top Gear: the first episode of season 25 is here. Viewers of BBC America will catch the season opener on March 3, and for the American audience this episode is definitely suitable watching. The episode has been dedicated to V8 sportscars almost in its entirety, as it's been wrapped around a Western roadtrip with a motorsport bias. The three hosts get to choose three V8 sports cars, with the basic idea of finding the best all-rounder. Matt LeBlanc goes for a Hennessey-tuned GT350R, Rory Reid chooses a Jaguar F-Type SVR, and Chris Harris shakes up the pack by selecting a McLaren 570GT. It's a nicely varied trio, with V8 power still showing what it's good for. There are various challenges along the way, just like there should be on a Top Gear roadtrip episode – even if the road surface itself isn't always ideal. But things smoothen out, all the way to a NASCAR oval and an airport runway; the flooded Bonneville salt flats aren't suitable for shenanigans, so substitutes have to be found. The trio also hit dirt roads, and have to evade a buggy-driving Ken Block during a "moonshine run to the border." Fans of Sabine Schmitz will be pleased to find her piloting a chain car racer, which consists of two American junk cars with a Honda CRX chained in the middle. It must make sense to someone. The Star In A Reasonably Priced Car segment has been retained for this season. This time it's the British actor Rob Brydon driving the Toyota GT86, on a very wet lap around the show's Dunsfold Aerodrome track that must be a cult classic by now. All in all, the season 25 opener is exactly what it says on the tin. There's nothing out of the ordinary, but it still has excellent cinematography, V8 roar and some nice landscapes. Classic Top Gear. Cowboy duels, Sabine Schmitz chain car racing, @RobBrydon, a @kblock43 car chase and #TheStig The latest episode of #TopGear is available on @BBCiPlayer now. Outside the UK? See local listings here: https://t.co/HPPhbUErDu pic.twitter.com/87F53C8oYb — Top Gear (@BBC_TopGear) February 26, 2018 Related Video:

Man chases down truck thief and steams it all on Facebook

A Washington man chased down a truck stolen from his family's dealership last Saturday and livestreamed the event on Facebook. According to KOMO, a 2005 Ford F-250 was stolen from Sunrise Auto Sales in Eatonville, Washington on the morning of October 8. Aaron Babcock, who co-owns the small dealership with his father David, told reporters that after reviewing surveillance footage, he later spotted the truck while riding his motorcycle on Webster Road East. "I watched my cameras and found the video of a man lurking around and ending up taking off with my truck," Babcock told KOMO. "Cops came and made a case. Three hours later I was on my motorcycle in Graham, and they drove by me oncoming. It still had dealer stickers on it. It said diesel on the window and it had our dealer plate on it. It stuck out like a sore thumb. It was really easy to see." Once he spotted the stolen Super Duty, he wheeled his bike around and gave chase. He attempted to call 911, but was unsure if the dispatcher heard him due to noise from the wind and the bike's engine. So he fired up Facebook live and started streaming his chase, giving running commentary and updating his location as he chased the slow-moving truck. "I wasn't going to let him get away. I was going to try follow him down. I had no idea what to do," Babcock said. "Nobody could hear me on the phone so I just figured the first thing to do is pull up Facebook live." Babcock's Facebook friends pitched in by calling 911 to report the chase and even jumping in their own cars to follow the truck. At one point, he pulled alongside the truck and recognized both men in the cab. The driver was the man seen lurking around the dealer lot in the surveillance video, and the passenger was an old friend of Babcock's. "I know who you are!" he shouted at them, but the hunkered down and kept driving. Eventually, Babcock lost cell phone signal and the livestream ended. Eatonville police, who by this point were well aware of the incident, caught up with the truck in the 8400 block of 356th Street South in Eatonville. The driver was arrested and the passenger was questioned and released. Both denied stealing the vehicle or knowing it was stolen. Two sets of keys from Sunrise Auto Sales and a stolen credit card were also recovered from the truck. Related Video