2005 Porsche 911 Carrera Convertible 2-door 3.6l on 2040-cars

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What do J.D. Power's quality ratings really measure?

Check these recently released J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) results. Do they raise any questions in your mind? Premium sports-car maker Porsche sits in first place for the third straight year, so are Porsches really the best-built cars in the U.S. market? Korean brands Kia and Hyundai are second and fourth, so are Korean vehicles suddenly better than their US, European, and Japanese competitors? Are workaday Chevrolets (seventh place) better than premium Buicks (11th), and Buicks better than luxury Cadillacs (21st), even though all are assembled in General Motors plants with the same processes and many shared parts? Are Japanese Acuras (26th) worse than German Volkswagens (24th)? And is "quality" really what it used to be (and what most perceive it to be), a measure of build excellence? Or has it evolved into much more a measure of likeability and ease of use? To properly analyze these widely watched results, we must first understand what IQS actually studies, and what the numerical scores really mean. First, as its name indicates, it's all about "initial" quality, measured by problems reported by new-vehicle owners in their first 90 days of ownership. If something breaks or falls off four months in, it doesn't count here. Second, the scores are problems per 100 vehicles, or PP100. So Power's 2015 IQS industry average of 112 PP100 translates to just 1.12 reported problems per vehicle. Third, no attempt is made to differentiate BIG problems from minor ones. Thus a transmission or engine failure counts the same as a squeaky glove box door, tricky phone pairing, inconsistent voice recognition, or anything else that annoys the owner. Traditionally, a high-quality vehicle is one that is well-bolted together. It doesn't leak, squeak, rattle, shed parts, show gaps between panels, or break down and leave you stranded. By this standard, there are very few poor-quality new vehicles in today's U.S. market. But what "quality" should not mean, is subjective likeability: ease of operation of the radio, climate controls, or seat adjusters, phone pairing, music downloading, sizes of touch pads on an infotainment screen, quickness of system response, or accuracy of voice-recognition. These are ergonomic "human factors" issues, not "quality" problems. Yet these kinds of pleasability issues are now dominating today's JDP "quality" ratings.

Magnus Walker shows us how driving in LA is done

Southern Calfiornia has some great driving roads if you can get out of the city, from the Angeles Crest Highway to Mulholland Drive. Driving in LA itself, on the other hand, is usually more of an ordeal than a pleasure. But Magnus Walker is here to show us we're wrong. In this latest, artfully produced video for eGarage, everyone's favorite outlaw Zuffenhausen enthusiast takes to the streets of Los Angeles in his highly modified 1971 Porsche 911T street racer, carving his favorite route through the city. The drive takes him through plenty of tunnels (so you'll want to turn up your speakers to hear the exhaust note reverberate), around corners aplenty, past the Petersen and even down some freeways – it is LA, after all. But the key here is that he's driving late at night, when the streets are empty and Magnus can do his best homage to C'etait un rendez-vous. News Source: eGarage via YouTube Porsche Videos egarage magnus walker porsche 911t 1971 porsche 911t

Here are all the EVs with 800V charging available in 2024

As technology advances, electric cars are improving their fast-charging times. That means less time spent waiting at a DC public charger when you’re out on the road. While Level 3 chargers used to provide a maximum of 150 kilowatts of power, 350-kW chargers are become more common, making for super-fast charging Â… if your car is capable of taking advantage of it. So how do automakers improve the charging speed of their EV batteries? Some are turning to higher voltage, specifically 800V charging. What's the difference between 800-volt charging and 400-volt charging? So how does 800V charging improve upon the more common 400V EVs? Put simply, the higher the voltage, the less amperage (current) it requires to charge. In other words, with more voltage, you get more wattage (power, aka charge rate) from the same amperage (current). 800V architecture is also more efficient, with less electrical resistance, so it can use thinner cables and smaller, lighter components while needing less cooling. The tradeoff is that it is more costly, and guess who that cost gets passed on to. While automakers don't break down their pricing to show how much more you're paying for that 800V system, you'll just have to evaluate any potential purchases as a whole, and make your decision based on overall pricing of the vehicle. Thankfully, the 800V EVs on sale now are generally ones we like. Now, 800V charging capability doesn't necessarily mean an EV has 800V vehicle architecture. For instance, the GMC Hummer EV and Chevy Silverado EV operate at 400V, but with their dual battery packs, can switch to 800V when charging by temporarily connecting those packs in series. Currently, there are only a handful of EVs available with 800V charging. But if you are going to find yourself taking longer trips in your EV and using DC fast chargers more often, you might want to consider choosing one with this faster charging capability. With that in mind, these are the EVs available with 800V charging, either on sale now or coming in 2024. 800-volt EVs available in 2024 Audi E-Tron GT Chevrolet Silverado EV Genesis GV60 Genesis Electrified G80 Genesis Electrified GV70 GMC Hummer EV Pickup GMC Hummer EV SUV GMC Sierra EV* Hyundai Ioniq 5 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Kia EV6 Kia EV9 Lotus Eletre* Lotus Emeya* Lucid Air Lucid Gravity* Porsche Macan Electric* Porsche Taycan Ram 1500 REV* Tesla Cybertruck *Coming later in 2024 Green Audi Chevrolet Genesis GMC Hyundai Kia Lotus Porsche Tesla Electric Lucid EV charging