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Porsche tops JD Power APEAL study for 12th time

JD Power's 2016 Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) study hasn't changed much this time around with Porsche coming in at No.1 for the 12th consecutive year, while BMW was close behind in second. Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz tied for third with Land Rover, Lexus, and Lincoln tied for No.5. The APEAL Study, according to JD Power, measures owners' level of excitement and emotional attachment across 77 parameters. Brands and cars are rated on a 1,000-point scale. The study found that new cars with modern safety features including low speed collision avoidance and blind spot monitoring have higher APEAL scores than vehicles without the features. The overall industry score increased from 798 to 801, which JD Power claims was helped by the launch of a variety of new vehicles. This year, 22 out of 30 new or redesigned cars received a higher score than the vehicle's respective segment average. Porsche is once again at the top of the list as the automaker's score increased by three points to 877. BMW outscored Jaguar to take second place with a score of 859, while the British automaker dropped three points from last year with 852 points. Volkswagen overtook Mini to become the top-ranked non-premium brand with 809 points, while the latter automaker trailed behind by one point. At the end of the scale, Smart came in at the very bottom for the second year in a row with a score of 745 points, which represents an increase of 62 points over last year. Fiat's score increased by six points to 755, but still confined the automaker to second-to-worst place for a consecutive year. Mitsubishi's score increased to 770, up from 755, to become the fourth-worst brand, while Jeep fell to third-worst with a decrease in seven points to 756. General Motors received six segment-level awards, followed by Hyundai with five, and BMW and VW earning four apiece. Surprise segment victories include the Chevrolet Camaro, which outscored the Dodge Challenger, and the Lexus RC which ranked above the BMW 4 and 3 Series. For more information on how the automakers ranked, check out the official release on the 2016 APEAL Study below or visit JD Power's website to analyze the graphs. Related Video: Porsche Ranks Highest in APEAL for 12th Consecutive Year; General Motors Receives Six Segment-Level Awards, Hyundai Motor Company Receives Five DETROIT: 27 July 2016 — Popular driver-assist technologies help make vehicles considerably more appealing to their owners, according to the J.D.

Mercedes-Benz may create electric-only brand

Daimler's Mercedes-Benz division may follow in fellow German automaker BMW's footsteps by launching its own separate brand for electric vehicles, Hybrid Cars says, citing German publication Handelsblatt, which quoted people familiar with the process. Daimler's board may make the decision to go ahead with the plan as early next month. And the brand may officially be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September. Unlike BMW and the i brand, Mercedes would use its existing factories to produce the newly-branded vehicles instead of operating out of a separate one as the i brand does. The first vehicle under the brand is likely to be an SUV model based on the Mercedes-Benz GLC crossover vehicle and would start sales next year. The product line would be broadened further in 2020. Daimler declined to comment, according to Handelsblatt. Mercedes-Benz and BMW wouldn't be the only two German automakers with plans for more electric vehicle sales. Volkswagen has a plan to unleash as many as 20 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to the public by 2020, including the Phaeton and the Audi A8. On that note, reports surfaced last month that VW may build its own "Gigafacory" as it prepares to widen its plug-in vehicle push and bring down their costs. As for US sales, Smart sold 313 ForTwo Electric vehicles, down 43 percent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, BMW's i sales in the US fell 40 percent from a year earlier to 2,723. Currently, Mercedes-Benz's only two electric vehicles are the Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive and the Smart ForTwo Electric two-seat vehicle. In the meantime, take a look at Autoblog's First Drive of the B-Class Electric. Related Video: News Source: Handelsblatt, Hybrid Cars Green Mercedes-Benz smart Electric

Nissan GT-R, Armada and the new Kia Sorento | Autoblog Podcast #658

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer for the final episode of 2020. They've been driving some interesting cars, including the Nissan GT-R, the new Nissan Armada, a Mercedes-Benz GLA and a pair of new-gen Kia Sorentos. They talk a bit about an interesting new EV called the Ace from Alpha Motor Corporation. Finally, the trio takes turns talking about their favorite cars they drove this year. Enjoy, and we'll be back with more episodes in 2021. Autoblog Podcast #658 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving:2021 Nissan GT-R 2021 Nissan Armada 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 2021 Kia Sorento Alpha Motor Corporation unveils Ace electric coupe Our favorite cars of the year: Zac: Lotus Evora GT John: Polestar 2 Greg: McLaren GT Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Kia Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Nissan Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Performance Sedan Polestar