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Kia leads J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for 2022

For the first year ever, Kia leads J.D. Power's annual Vehicle Dependability Study with a score of 145 problems per 100 vehicles. Buick (147) and Hyundai (148) round out the top three. The highest premium brand on the list is Genesis, with a score of 148. It's common for so-called "mass market" brands to lead this particular study, according to J.D. Power, as "premium" brands "typically incorporate more technology in their vehicles, which increases the likelihood for problems to occur" and aren't necessarily built to a higher standard that less-expensive brands. The highest-rated single nameplate is the Porsche 911. It's the third time out of the past four years and the second year in a row that Porsche's quintessential sports car has taken top honors. Porsche as a brand sits in seventh place (162) just behind Lexus (159) and ahead of Dodge (166). At the very bottom of the list is Land Rover with a dismal score of 284; the SUV specialist held the same unfortunate distinction on last year's list. Ram (266), Volvo (256), Alfa Romeo (245) and Acura (244) also performed poorly. The overall industry average score sits at 192 — mass market brands average a score of 190 while premium brands sit 14 points lower at 204. While Tesla is unofficially included in some of J.D. Power's results, the agency says the sample size it has access to for this study is too small to include. As has been the case for the past several years, infotainment systems dominate the list of problems reported by owners. Popular (or unpopular, depending on your point of view) complaints include built-in voice recognition (8.3 PP100), Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity (5.4 PP100), built-in Bluetooth system (4.5 PP100), not enough power plugs/USB ports (4.2 PP100), navigation systems difficult to understand/use (3.7 PP100), touchscreen/display screen (3.6 PP100), and navigation system inaccurate/outdated map (3.6 PP100). While problems with the car's infotainment and technology packages are indeed bothersome, it's important to remember that such issues aren't usually leaving owners stranded with an immovable vehicle like a broken transmission or blown engine would. Culling infotainment complaints from the results would reduce the average problem-per-100-vehicle score by a staggering 51.9 points. The vehicles included in this study are from the 2019 model year. That means owners have had three years to get to know their cars and trucks. It's the 33rd year that J.D.

Dodge restores Brass Monkey wheels to Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat

For the first part of 2020, Dodge removed the option of its Devils Rim aluminum wheel design in Brass Monkey finish for the Hellcat-powered Challenger and Charger models. Mopar Insiders reports the wheels will return to the menu once Dodge starts production of its two muscle cars again, tidings to please forum members asking why they couldn't order the rims. The standard fit on the regular cars is a 20-inch Low Gloss Black Performance wheel, the options either a 20-inch Machined w/Granite Pocket wheel or a 20-inch Matte Vapor SRT aluminum wheel. On the widebody cars, standard fit is a 20-inch Carbon Black Aluminum wheel, one option being a 20-inch Warp Speed Granite wheel that's the same design as the Matte Vapor but with a different finish. The 20-inch Brass Monkeys are the second option on widebody versions of the Charger Hellcat and Hellcat Redeye, replacing the 20-inch Matte Vapor SRT Aluminum rim available on the non-widebody.   Those choices are on the Dodge configurator. At the time of writing, what's missing from the online tool are the Brass Monkey options for the standard Challengers and the Charger Hellcat Widedody models that MI says are coming. The wider versions of the Challenger Hellcat bolt on a set of 20-inchers that are 11 inches wide; we're told the standard cars will offer Brass Monkey rims in 20 x 9.5 inches. The Charger Hellcat only comes in two widebody versions, so it should get the 20x11-inch Brass Monkey wheels, but the options haven't showed up on the configurator. The sole choices at the moment are the Carbon Black Aluminum and Warp Speed Granite wheels. The other difference to note is that wheres the optional wheels on the Challenger all cost $1,095, the Charger's upgrades cost $1,295. Whenever production begins in Brampton, Ontario, again, the coveted wheels will bring another extra with them: Exterior badges done in a Black and Dark Bronze finish. Related Video:    

General Patton's Dodge WC57 Command Car headed to auction

Indiana will see some excellent vintage metal on several auction blocks this summer. Mecum Auctions has the 1965 Pontiac GeeTO Tiger and 1963 Shelby Cobra that was a Ford demonstrator planned for in Indiana in late June. Two weeks before that, and as noted by Carscoops, Worldwide Auctioneers will offer what could have been Gen. George S. Patton’s Dodge WC57 Command Car. We say "could have been" because although the WC57 came out of the National Military History Center in Auburn, Indiana, a few years ago and is fitted with the modifications Patton made to his personal WC57, the auction house doesn't have paperwork explicitly linking Patton to this car, and there are other replicas of Patton Command Cars out there. That could help explain why when RM Auctions put this WC57 up for sale in 2017 with a pre-sale estimate of $100,000 to $150,000, the vehicle failed to make the $60,000 reserve. Dodge had been making vehicles for the U.S. military since before World War I, most of them based on civilian models. Before the U.S. entered World War II, Dodge turned its civilian TC pickup into the 1940 VC-1 military truck. The VC-1 quickly evolved into the WC range, the WC57 Command and Reconnaissance Weapons Carrier riding on a three-quarter-ton, 4x4 chassis and weighing almost 5,400 pounds. Built from 1942 to 1945, they were powered by Dodge's T214 side-valve, 230-cubic-inch inline-six with 92 horsepower.   This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. General PattonÂ’s Dodge WC-57 Command Car - Offered Without Reserve The WC57 was simple, reliable, capable, and at the end of the war, was part of the inspiration for the Dodge Power Wagon. The story is that soldiers returning from active duty badgered Dodge for a civilian version of the indefatigable WC warhorse, so Dodge responded with the postwar's most hardcore pickup in 1946. The open-topped WC57 rig was also popular with U.S. Army officers, and because of that, it was popular target practice for German infantry and Luftwaffe pilots. So Patton, before heading to France in 1944 with the Third Army, had the motor pool in Cheltenham, England, modify his WC57. Mechanics added an armor flap to shield the radiator, half-inch armor plate under the floor, and a Browning M2 .50-caliber machine gun for fending off aerial attacks. A second, drop-down tailgate provided extra space and covered tool storage.