2003 Audi A4 3.0 Quattro on 2040-cars

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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.

2017 Audi R8 starts at $164,150 [w/video]

The new 2017 Audi R8, which offers 540-horsepower and 398-pound-foot of torque from its V10 engine alongside Quattro all-wheel drive and a seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission, will start at $164,150 (including destination). That's about $47,000 more than the previous entry-level R8, but since that car was down two cylinders, 110 horsepower, and 82 pound-feet of torque, it's kind of an apples-and-oranges comparison. There's a much fairer comparison if we look at Audi's newest supercar in relation to the 2015 R8 V10. On the one hand, the loss of the $155,150 manual transmission model kicks the starting price up noticeably, but perhaps in recognition of that, Audi hasn't adjusted the two-pedal R8 V10 at all. It's the same price as the 2015 model while adding 15 more horsepower, seven more pound-feet of torque, and a tenth of a second to the 0-60 time, which is now estimated at 3.5 seconds. Don't worry – the 2017 R8 adds four miles an hour to its predecessor's 195-mph top speed. While under-the-skin changes for the standard R8 V10 may look modest at first glance, the updates Audi added to the V10 Plus are significant, and the automaker has raised the price to reflect that fact. On the one hand, the new range-topper was kicked up by $7,400, to $191,150. On the other hand, power is up by 60 ponies to 610 hp, and torque has jumped from 398 lb-ft to 413. The 0-60 time has been trimmed by a tenth of a second, and owners will also be able to hit 205 mph, up from the old V10 Plus' 198-mph max. To reflect the new pricing announcement, Audi prepped an entertaining video featuring Radio Le Mans announcer John Hindhaugh to "hand the baton" from the original R8 to its second-gen successor. Check out the video below, alongside the official press blast. Audi of America announces pricing for the all-new 2017 R8, the fastest and most powerful Audi production model ever January 20, 2016 | HERNDON, Virginia More powerful and more dynamic than its predecessor, the R8 V10 plus generates 610 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque reaching a top track speed of 205 mph The all-new Audi R8 and R8 LMS racecar were co-developed and share approximately 50 percent of the same parts, including the V10 engine Track-tested around the world, the R8 LMS will make its US racing debut at the ROLEX 24 at Daytona on January 30, 2016 Faster, more efficient, and more capable both on and off the racetrack, the all-new 2017 R8 is the most powerful Audi production model ever.

Audi reportedly shoots down $9.2 billion investor bid for Lamborghini

Volkswagen is open to divesting some of the brands in its portfolio, but it hasn't put a "for sale" sign on in front of Lamborghini's lawn yet. The firm allegedly shot down a big offer for the brand from a group of investors. Quantum Group SA, a newly-established holding company based in Zurich, Switzerland, made the non-binding offer in May 2021, according to anonymous sources who spoke to WardsAuto. The publication adds the group is ready to spend 7.5 billion euros (around $9.2 billion at the current conversion rate) to buy the entire Lamborghini division from Audi. The sale would include the brand, its intellectual property (like its trademarks and patents), its historic factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, and its racing division. Full details about the proposed acquisition were closely examined by top Volkswagen executives, including company CEO Herbert Diess and Audi boss Markus Duesmann. While the offer sounds like it's neatly packaged, Volkswagen replied that it's not having a garage sale. "Lamborghini is not for sale. This is not the subject of any discussion within the group," a company spokesperson told industry trade journal Automotive News. These comments are in line with the ones made in December 2020. Quantum's aim wasn't to sever all ties with Volkswagen. It planned to turn Lamborghini into "a spearhead for innovation by consistently implementing new clean drivetrain technologies" across the range, a strategy that's already in the pipeline; Lamborghini announced it will electrify in the 2020s and launch its first series-produced EV. Investors also hoped to sign a five-year supply agreement with Audi, and to create what they called an Advanced Automotive Innovation Center headquartered somewhere in Lower Saxony, the German state Wolfsburg is in. In late 2020, when rumors about an imminent Lamborghini spin-off were rampant, Volkswagen stressed it had no plans to sell the Italian supercar manufacturer or to find a new home for Ducati, which Lamborghini owns. Unverified reports claim a chunk of the company could be listed on the stock market in a bid to raise revenue, however. Bugatti is another part of the Volkswagen empire that Diess and his team allegedly wanted to trade in to fund the group's pivot towards electric powertrains. In September 2020, reports claimed top executives had approved swapping the storied French carmaker and its assets for a significant stake in Croatia-based Rimac that would be transferred directly to Porsche.