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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.

2021 Infiniti QX50 adds new features and a blacked-out appearance package

The 2021 Infiniti QX50 is out, and Infiniti has made a couple changes of note. Most of them are equipment related, but the luxury crossover’s price is going up this year, too. A base QX50 Pure is $700 more expensive this for 2021, with the new total being $38,975. That gets you the front-wheel-drive model. If you want all-wheel drive, thatÂ’ll be another $2,000. For your extra coin, Infiniti has added a Wi-Fi hotspot, acoustic laminated front side glass, rear seat-mounted side-impact airbags and a new automatic emergency call system for when the vehicle is involved in a collision. All those features are standard across every QX50. More features are also added to the $42,525 Luxe trim as standard equipment. You now get heated front seats and ProPilot Assist. ThereÂ’s also a new $1,200 Appearance Package that is exclusively available on this trim. It adds 20-inch black-painted wheels, black mirror caps, black mesh grille, dark chrome exterior accents and a graphite headliner. Photos of this package can be seen in the monochromatic montage below. The price increases can be seen across the whole line. Even the Autograph (top trim) is up by $350 this year to $55,225. Tiny equipment bumps come along with these price increases. For example, the Essential trim adds the head-up display for no cost, and the Autograph trim adds InfinitiÂ’s Direct Adaptive Steering system. The 2021 QX50 is in dealers and on sale now. Related Video:

Infiniti's QX50 Concept debuts in oh-so-close-to-production form in Detroit

Infiniti debuted the new QX50 concept today at the Detroit Auto Show, a preview of the midsize crossover set to hit the market soon and an evolution of the 2016 QX Sport Inspiration. This previews the followup to the current QX50, which debuted way back in 2007 as the Infiniti EX. The QX draws on Infiniti's current design language and looks like a slightly shortened version of the larger QX60. While this is still a concept, don't expect the full production version to stray too far from what we see here. Infiniti's press release is full of phrases like "driver-centric, passenger-minded" design, but in reality it's just a handsome but mostly traditional shape. The big news is that the QX50 will be the first application of Infiniti's trick variable-compression 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four. The engine's design promises both high horsepower and high fuel economy. Infiniti is claiming 268 horsepower and 27-percent better fuel economy when compared to the outgoing model. View 17 Photos Also coming on the new QX50 are a suite of active safety and autonomous features. While the details on both are extremely vague, Infiniti claims that the autonomous tech will allow the driver to retain ultimate control over the vehicle. That seems a bit counter to how autonomous driving works, so it will be interesting to see how the system actually functions. The active safety systems are said to be proactive, with future versions using lasers, radar, and cameras. While the outgoing QX50 was a rear-wheel-drive swoopy crossover, this new model appears to send power to the front wheels. Infiniti's release doesn't expressly say, but it does hint towards it with notes about a shorter hood and a "front-biased intelligent all-wheel drive system." This makes sense, and we don't see many enthusiasts lamenting the loss of a dated, rear-drive crossover. No word on pricing or when we'll actually see a production version. The current model turns 10 this year, albeit with a mid-cycle refresh. Look for news of a final production version very soon. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Related Gallery Infiniti QX50 Concept View 24 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Design/Style Detroit Auto Show Infiniti Technology Emerging Technologies Crossover SUV Concept Cars Videos Original Video 2017 Detroit Auto Show infiniti qx50 variable compression ratio