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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.

2015 Audi A8 rises to meet the challenge [w/video]

It's turnover time in the extra large premium sedan segment. With Mercedes having stuffed HAL 9000 in its new S-Class, other luxury marques are quickly updating their own super sleds to keep up with this persistent march of technology. While far from a full redesign, the Audi A8 has changed enough for 2015 in terms of styling, powertrains and new technology to keep it in the conversation.
For starters, the A8's exterior design has been redone, with the most noticeable changes happening up front. The trademark 'gaping maw' grille is a little less gaping, while the headlights now feature a straight lower edge of LEDs, excising the old model's droopy-eyed look. Speaking of headlights, Audi now offers optional Matrix LEDs, the latest in headlight tech, with 25 individual elements per side that can be turned on or off and dimmed as the situation demands. The rear of the A8 has also been resculpted and looks very much inspired by the derrière of the A7, with a single chrome strip connecting the new LED taillights.
The A8's full suite of powertrains has also been upgraded, with the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 now producing 310 horsepower (up 20 according to Audi, though down 23 compared to the US-spec 2013 model). The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 is now rated at 435 hp, a solid 20-horse increase that lowers the car's 0-62 time to just 4.5 seconds. That's within spitting distance of the 520-hp S8's time of 4.1 seconds. That aforementioned super sport sedan's engine remains unchanged, as does the 6.3-liter 12-cylinder powerplant in the A8 L W12, but Audi's two diesel engines have both improved, with the 3.0-liter V6 producing an extra eight horsepower (256 total) and the 4.2-liter V8 gaining an extra 34 hp (385 hp) to go along with its more-than-adequate, though unchanged, 626.93 foot-pounds of torque.

1956 DKW Audi electric van beautifully restored

These days, electric vehicles that make commercial deliveries aren't entirely rare. UPS has a small fleet in California, and at least 5,000 Renault Kangoo Z.E. models are in use by France's national postal service. But the history of this concept is much older. In fact, one of the companies represented by Audi's four rings had an example about 60 years ago. Audi Tradition just completed a full restoration of this blue 1956 DKW Elektro-Wagen to add to the company's collection of historic vehicles. It's quite a rare find because only two are still known to exist. Audi estimates that DKW built about 100 of these electric vans between 1955 and 1962, and they were primarily sold to energy companies, public utilities and battery makers. To create the EV model, DKW took its normal Schnellaster delivery van and replaced the model's two-stroke engine with an electric drivetrain. The vans weren't exactly speedy, though. The motor produced about 6.7 horsepower and lead-acid batteries offered 200 amp hours of power running at 80 volts. It gave the Elektro-Wagen a claimed range of about 50 miles and a 25 mile-per-hour top speed. Following the restoration, Audi took van to the island of Wangerooge in the North Sea to show it off. The location is perfect, too, because vehicles with internal combustion engines are banned on the island. If you can read German, feel free to find out more in the press release below. „DKW Elektro-Wagen" zu Audi heimgekehrt Einen von zwei verbliebenen DKW Elektro Schnellaster restauriert Klein-Bus einst auf der Nordseeinsel Wangerooge im Einsatz Audi Tradition prasentiert einen aussergewohnlichen Neuzugang in seiner historischen Sammlung: einen „DKW Elektro-Wagen" von 1956. Zwischen 1955 und 1962 produzierte die Auto Union GmbH in Ingolstadt DKW Schnellaster – etwa 100 davon als Elektro-Automobile, die das Unternehmen vor allem an Energieunternehmen, Stadtwerke oder Batteriehersteller verkaufte. Bei dem nun nach aufwandiger Restauration „heimgekehrten" Elektro-Schnellaster handelt es sich um ein besonderes Exponat: Der DKW fuhr auf der Nordseeinsel Wangerooge, wo Automobile mit Verbrennungsmotoren verboten sind. Normalerweise war der DKW Schnellaster mit einem Zweitaktmotor ausgestattet - der „Elektro-Wagen" hingegen mit einem funf Kilowatt (kw) leistenden Reihenschluss-Motor. Die seitlich in zwei Kasten gelagerten Bleibatterien hatten eine Nennspannung von 80 Volt und eine Kapazitat von 200 Amperestunden (AH).