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Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

Lexus really put the spindle grille on its imaginary 'Men in Black' jet

There is a large constituency of people who do not like — hate, even — Lexus' signature spindle grille. But Lexus likes it, A LOT. So much so, that the company included the spindle design into its newest conceptual design study, the Lexus QZ 618 Galactic Enforcer Jet that will appear in "Men in Black: International." The two official trailers for the upcoming MIB reboot revealed that Lexus had a hand in the films. In the second, we even see a Lexus RC F transforming into an aircraft, a call back to Will Smith's and Tommy Lee Jones' flying car in the original. But this is the first full look at the fictional vehicle, which will be used by Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth. Lexus had some fun with this and put out a press release detailing all of the Galactic Enforcer Jet's features. Lexus says it wears Umbra Black, the darkest black in the entire universe, and uses Hybrid Transformer Technology. Its Quasar Power Source2 Technology was secured through a secret alien knowledge swap and uses power from the closest Active Galactic Nucleus3 for universal travel. The propulsion system is named after Black Hole TON 618. The stats on this machine are pretty impressive. It gets 122 millennia per gallon, does zero to 60 in 0.0000000000001 nanoseconds, and has light-speed-matching capabilities. Drivers sit in intergalactically sourced and ethically spawned Adorian leather and have the choice of three drive modes: EcoDrive, SportDrive, and QuantumDrive. Further convenience and safety features include Amazon Alexa (which understands seven trillion alien languages), infinite scaling technology, gamma ray headlamps, an Inter-Galactic Positioning System, transforming seats with a 31-point safety harness, and the Lexus Safety System + with force field technology. In regards to styling, the jet has the Enforcer Package and can be ordered in six other colors. Check out the jet in action in "Men in Black: International" on June 14. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2014 Lexus GS gets eight-speed auto, other enhancements

The Lexus GS was totally redesigned for the 2013 model year, but Lexus is already tweaking its midsize luxury sedan. While a handful of small changes are being made, the big news for the 2014 model year is that rear-wheel-drive GS350 models will be getting a new eight-speed automatic transmission for improved fuel economy and performance.
Official EPA estimates have yet to be released, but Lexus expects this new transmission to return 19 miles per gallon in the city and 29 mpg on the highway - an improvement of 1 mpg highway. The GS450h still uses a continuously variable transmission, but Lexus says that it has been optimized to mimic the shift points of an eight-speed automatic. The final powertrain change made to the 2014 Lexus GS include tweaks to the GS350's engine intake and exhaust systems, which should help give the sedan a sportier feel.
Inside, Lexus has added Siri Eyes Free inside both the GS350 and GS450h, which allows drivers to use their iPhone's Siri voice assistant simply by pushing a button on the steering wheel. Other changes include a new full-color head-up display, and an available power trunk opener. A new Luxury Package adds LED fog lights, 18-inch "superchrome" wheels on the GS350 and 18-inch graphite-finish wheels on the GS450h. Interesting, the optional Lexus Night View system has been dropped.