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Mystery shoppers love Infiniti, hate Tesla

Infiniti, followed by Lexus tied with Mercedes-Benz took the top two spots for best sales experience according to mystery shoppers from the latest Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, while EV manufacturer Tesla recorded the lowest overall score. Not surprisingly, premium brands dominated the top ranks. Including the three already mentioned, luxury brands occupied seven of the top ten spots and included Audi, BMW, Porsche, and the only American brand to crack the upper echelon, Cadillac. Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan rounded out the first ten positions. The news for domestic automakers isn't good. Aside from Caddy, the only other star-spangled automaker to score above the industry average is Chrysler. The rest of FCA, most of GM, and all of Ford fell below the line. But Pied Piper's mystery shoppers handed Tesla the biggest walloping – the company is ten full points below the next lowest brand, Volvo, and its score of 86 is 17 below the average of 103. It's baffling, considering the company's touted direct-sales model. "Tesla leaves me scratching my head," Fred O'Hagan, Pied Piper's president and CEO, told Wards Auto. "They own all of their stores, so you would think each one would be doing the same thing. But they're not. Tesla is consistent in its inconsistencies." O'Hagan added that there's a "huge variation" in Tesla's store-to-store effectiveness, and that in some cases, shoppers found showroom workers that acted more like "museum curators," Wards Auto reports. It might be popular to call Tesla the Apple of the car world, but based on Pied Piper's work, the brand has a long way to go to emulate the uniform shopping experience of an Apple Store. The news might be bad for Tesla, but even for the brands that scored below average, there's cause for celebration. Only Tesla and Mini lost points in this year's rankings, and only Mercedes and Lincoln held steady. Every other brand, including Infiniti, which topped the index for the first time, gained at least one point. The biggest improvements belong to Porsche, Land Rover, and Mitsubishi, which all jumped five points. Pied Piper's annual Prospect Satisfaction Index uses mystery shoppers – over 6,100 this year – from across the country to assess dealers and generate rankings from over 50 individual factors. News Source: Pied Piper via WardsAuto Green Audi BMW Cadillac Chrysler Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Nissan Tesla Toyota Car Buying Car Dealers study

The 300-series Lexus LX will have V8, greater differentiation from Land Cruiser

For the first time in 64 years, there will not be a Toyota Land Cruiser sold in the U.S. The venerable off-roader is not in Toyota's 2021 American lineup, but the rest of the world will still get the next-generation Cruiser, called the 300 series internally, later this year. However, we may still receive a version of it badged as the Lexus LX. Here's what a new report suggests we might see. According to the Japan's Best Car magazine, the next LX will be more differentiated from its Land Cruiser cousin. The exterior is reportedly more distinctive, and the interior designed to be more suitable for a flagship luxury SUV. It'll still wear a version of the Lexus spindle grille, with different hood, fenders and quarter panels than the Cruiser. Naturally, the head- and taillights will differ as well. Most importantly, the LX will continue to use a ladder frame. Best Car says that the LX will continue to offer a 5.7-liter V8 good for 372 horsepower (which in the U.S. gives 383 horsepower). However, the Land Cruiser will ditch the V8 for a 3.5-liter turbo V6, offered with and without a hybrid system. Notably, the hybrid will not be the same as the one found in other Toyota cars, but a combination 10-speed automatic and motor that's more suitable for a heavy vehicle.  Last but not least, the report states that Toyota will also create a GR Sport version of Land Cruiser. Presumably, that means some dressier aero bits, larger wheels, and a suspension more tuned for highway, um, cruising.  The Land Cruiser is scheduled to debut in September 2021, while the Lexus may follow a couple of years later, despite being developed in parallel. The LX is considered to be more of a Lexus flagship than the LS sedan in many parts of the world, so it makes sense that Toyota will continue offering it. Related Video:

Porsche takes 2016 Le Mans win on last lap, Ford grabs class victory

So far, only one Japanese manufacturer has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. That carmaker was Mazda exactly 25 years ago with the legendary, rotary-engined 787B. This year, Toyota was amazingly close to winning with their TS 050 car, piloted by Kazuki Nakajima, and it all ended in tears on the last lap. The Toyota ran smoothly for almost 24 hours, but to lose power and stall on the pit straight with five minutes to go is nothing short of catastrophic. Still, the #5 car was able to be restarted and limped across the finish line for 45th place. Toyota's #6 car had its own set of issues, as the car gained bodywork damage and also veered off track in the hands of Kamui Kobayashi. Driven to second place, the Toyota #6 passed the finish line driven by Stephane Sarrazin. For Porsche, the win with the #2 919 Hybrid was the 18th constructor title at Le Mans 24 Hours. The car was driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, and it proved to be more reliable than the #1 919 with Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley behind the wheel. The #2 Porsche and the #5 Toyota battled for the lead throughout the day. Had the Toyota not broken down, Audi would have missed a podium finish for the first time in 18 years - a great run was ruined this year by turbo trouble in the #7 R18 e-tron Quattro driven by Lotterer-Treluyer-Fassler, and the third place was taken by the #8 Audi with Lucas Di Grassi driving. Winners #LeMans24 #919Hybrid @Porsche_Team @neeljani @LiebMarc @RomainDumas but kudos to @Toyota_Hybrid team pic.twitter.com/TLRuwuSTzx — Porsche GB (@PorscheGB) June 19, 2016 ??? #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/zUkBbA65RK — Peter Leung (@BaronVonClutch) June 19, 2016 In the GTE Pro Class, Ford had reason to celebrate: the #68 Ford GT campaigned by Chip Ganassi Racing took a class win 50 years after Ford's 1-2-3 GT40 Le Mans win in 1966. 50 years to the day following the '66 Le Mans 1-2-3, the No. 68 #FordGT has won the GTE Pro Class at #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/jkMLuWlEYm — Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) June 19, 2016 For the full list of official results, click here.