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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.

Honda Civic Coupe to join 2016 Red Bull Global Rallycross season

Red Bull Global Rallycross is about to get another competitor. Honda has announced that it will campaign the 2016 GRC season with its new Civic Coupe, and rather than just put out a press release, it's gone ahead and given us a look at the two-door's racing livery. Ford, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, and Subaru – be prepared. Based loosely on the production Civic Coupe, Olsbergs MSE and Honda Performance Division put in the wrench time to turn the ho-hum standard road car into a 600-horsepower, all-wheel-drive monster that can hit 60 in a hypercar-humiliating 1.9 seconds. And like all GRC cars, it will have no trouble managing some serious jumps. Piloting this hilariously potent coupe will be Sebastian Eriksson and 2014 series champion Joni Wiman. Wiman is Finnish, so his GRX championship should come as no shock. We have to say, compared to the GRX cars found in Europe, this Civic looks remarkably tame. We'd have no issue visualizing the body tweaks on this racer on a production Civic Type R. Then again, we're comparing it with the last big-time GRX entry we heard about – Ken Block's Ford Focus RS, which is running in FIA rallycross. According to Honda, OMSE and HPD will have the Civic Coupe GRX car ready for the season opener on May 21 and 22 at Phoenix's Wild Horse Pace Motorsports Park. View 4 Photos Related Video: Honda Debuts 2016 Civic Coupe Racing Livery to Compete in 2016 Red Bull Global Rallycross Series Will campaign the all-new Civic Coupe in partnership with Red Bull and Olsbergs MSE Mar 22, 2016 - NEW YORK Today Honda unveiled the new racing livery for its Civic Red Bull Global Rallycross racecar, announcing plans to campaign the all-new turbocharged 2016 Civic Coupe in the 2016 series in partnership with Red Bull and championship-winning race team Olsbergs MSE. The Honda Civic Red Bull GRC team will begin racing on May 21 in Phoenix at the first event of the season. Developed from a production-model 2016 Civic Coupe chassis by renowned builders and racers Olsbergs MSE (OMSE) with technical assistance from Honda Performance Development (HPD), the all-new Civic Red Bull GRC car is built to withstand the rigorous demands of racing in a series that emphasizes repeated aggressive acceleration and varied terrain. The car will boast more than 600 horsepower, turn in a 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds and is designed to handle the 70 foot table-top jumps featured on each racetrack.

2015 Honda HR-V looks fit for the urban jungle

Honda has been teasing us with the looks of its Fit-based compact crossover for months. Now the production version, dubbed the HR-V in the US, has finally been unveiled - in photographic form, at any rate - at the 2014 New York Auto Show. The CUV will slot into the brand's range this winter, and at the moment the company is keeping mum on many details about the new model.
The HR-V looks almost identical to the Urban SUV Concept unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show. The concept wore some nifty LED headlights and bigger wheels, but the rest of the styling has carried over to production. The handsome CUV sports diamond-shaped headlights, and a center bar splits the grille into two tiers. It has the same swoosh down the side running to the C-pillar, but it appears slightly less pronounced than in Detroit. The rear door handles are also hidden in the back pillar.
The compact crossover rides on the same platform as the new Fit. That allows it to take full advantage of the compact's highly versatile interior. The HR-V comes with Honda's Magic Seat that allows the back row to fold flat into the floor when needed.