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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.

Vintage 911 sacrificed in the name of fashion

People routinely suffer in the name of looking good, whether through a pair of uncomfortable, stylish shoes or a nice shirt that doesn't breathe in the summer heat. Rarely is a vintage sports car the recipient of this sartorial pain, though. In a bizarre, short video from the fashion label Rag & Bone, an old Porsche 911 is the one taking all of the damage in the name of being chic. And it's really painful to watch. Give this video a few seconds to get going because it starts very weird (fashion!). Black smoke billows up through a hole in a harshly lit white room, and a woman keeps switching outfits. If the attempt at being artsy isn't painful enough, things get really traumatic for Porsche fans once the 911 appears on screen. Seeing a classic car get destroyed hasn't been this harrowing since the government publicly destroyed an illegally imported, classic Mini last winter. Thankfully, this 911 was reportedly just a shell, according to Jalopnik. Although even if that's the case, the body looks to be in great shape, and from the tiny glimpse through the windows, the interior even looks largely intact. This coupe might have been a pretty good restoration candidate if not for the massive hunk of concrete crashing through the roof to make a fashion video.

Porsche Cayman GT4 speeds back into view

We're all familiar with the succession of numbers that follow the letters GT on a hard-core Porsche 911: the GT1 that was Stuttgart's Le Mans contender in the late 90s, the GT2 that packs turbochargers but without the Turbo's all-wheel drive and excess weight, and the naturally aspirated GT3 that's the enthusiast's choice. But a GT4? That's something new, and exactly what Porsche has in store.
Spied testing in Germany once again is the upcoming GT4 version of the Porsche Cayman, set to supersede the existing GTS and take the place of the previous Cayman R at the top of Porsche's junior sports car range. This latest batch of spy shots doesn't show us much more than the last crop, but gives us a much clearer view at what promises to be the most hardcore Cayman to date.
As you can see, the Cayman GT4 packs a much more aggressive aero kit and rolling stock than any version we've seen to date. It's got a lip spoiler, big air dam and GT3-style vent in front of the hood, deep air scoops along the flanks, a set of spindly alloys packing oversized brakes, a diffuser with twin central exhaust tips around back and a rear wing that's likely to be replaced with a sleeker unit before the GT4 reaches production.