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Auto News Recap for 9.9.16 | Autoblog Minute

A recap of the week in automotive news, including Honda Civic Type R spy shots, Toyota Supra spy shots, and a teaser of the Lexus UX crossover concept. Honda Lexus Toyota Crossover Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video honda civic type r supra hot hatch lexus ux concept

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.

Lexus launches supercharged LX 570 in Middle East

The Lexus LX SUV is a very muscular, old-school vehicle. Based on the Toyota Land Cruiser, it's still a big, body-on-frame SUV, but inside it offers acres of leather and luxury tech. The brand's Kuwaiti distributor is taking it machismo even further for the local market with the new LX 570 Supercharger.
As the name suggests, the upgraded SUV grafts a supercharger onto the LX 570's 5.7-liter V8 to boost it to 450 horsepower, from 383 hp in the naturally aspirated version in the US (or 362 hp in the standard Kuwaiti version), and it uses the same six-speed automatic as the standard model. To signal the improved strength, much of exterior chrome is replaced with black trim. It also wears special 20-inch wheels and a rear spoiler. The interior is fitted with crimson leather seats and red-accented carpet. It also gets an aluminum sill plate that says "Supercharger." Like the standard Kuwait-spec LX 570, it has two fuel tanks with a total combined capacity of 36.46 gallons, which should help satiate the likely thirsty, forced-induction V8.
The LX 570 Supercharger won't be rumbling down streets outside of the Middle East, though. According to Lexus spokesperson Bill Kwong, this is a project by the distributor in the region. The supercharged engine also has "issues with emissions" in the US, especially in California, he told Autoblog. Too bad, it would be an interesting Range Rover alternative.