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Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.

Acura files for Integra Type S trademark

It's only been a couple of weeks since Acura dropped the news bomb that it was bringing back the Integra. In that time, though, the company has quickly applied to trademark the name "Integra Type S" with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The filing, discovered by CarBuzz, was submitted on Aug. 20, a little less than a week after the Integra revival was announced. Curiously, it's under the category of "Apparel and headwear, namely, caps, hats, T-shirts, shirts, sweatshirts, knit shirts, polo shirts, jackets and vests," rather than automobiles.   It seems unlikely, though, that Acura would trademark Integra Type S for shirts and hats if it didn't plan on building a car to go along with it. So the Integra may come in standard and hotted up versions. The last time Acura offered an Type S in North America, it wasn't officially called that. During Acura's switch to an alphanumeric naming convention, the Integra name was dropped in favor of RSX, built from 2002-06. There, the Type S moniker, while not as hard-core as the previous-generation Integra Type R, still meant a considerable bump in performance. Regular RSX models had 160 horsepower, but the RSX Type S cranked out 200 to 210, depending on the year. The Type S was also available exclusively with a manual transmission, and had improved suspension and brakes. While a similar improvement in hardware would be more than welcome on an Integra Type S, we don't want to get too excited over what could just be a logo on a T-shirt. The wouldn't be the first time in recent memory a carmaker trademarked a familiar name for swag. Earlier this year Nissan trademarked Fairlady Z — the original name for the Nissan Z-car — for usage on anything from cuff links to wall clocks. Meanwhile, Ford stepped in and trademarked the name Skyline for the category of cars and trucks. So Acura should probably just go ahead and get the trademark for cars, even if it doesn't plan on offering it at all.  

2014 Acura RLX replaces SH-AWD with P-AWS

After teasing us with the thinly veiled concept earlier this year, Acura has officially taken the wraps off its all-new flagship sedan, the 2014 Acura RLX. Aside from its huge step forward in terms of styling and luxury, the new RLX could very well be the most advanced Acura model ever.
While the previous RL could have been one of the blandest luxury sedans of its time, the RLX builds on stylish cues introduced this year on the ILX and RDX. One of the car's signature elements is its jewel-eyed LED headlights that could end up rivaling Audi for the most distinctive in the business. The rear view of the car isn't as unique as the front, but no less attractive with LED taillights that have a slight BMW vibe and odd, chrome-ringed reflectors at the bottom of the fascia. The interior is exactly what we've come to expect from Acura with its dual-brow instrument panel and a sporty three-spoke steering wheel.
On the technology front, the RLX debuts driving features such as Precision All-Wheel Steer (P-AWS), Adaptive Cruise Control with a low-speed follow feature and Agile Handling Assist while the interior gets a high-end Krell audio system, cloud-based AcuraLink and a multi-angle back camera. P-AWS allows the RLX actively and independently adjust the angle of the rear wheels for better agility and braking. Acura ended up cutting almost 275 pounds from the RLX's curb weight (compared to the RL) thanks to the use of high-strength steel and aluminum.