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Lexus gets top brand marks from Consumer Reports; Ford, Jeep hit hard

Consumer Reports has released its 2014 Car Brand Report Cards, with Lexus again reigning at the top and doing so with the same industry-topping score of 79 that it registered in last year's Report Cards. This year, the institute credited its lineup for being "usually quiet, comfortable, and fuel-efficient," noting it's the only brand on the list "to achieve an excellent average overall reliability score." The Car Brand Report Cars list is meant to rank the best all-around vehicles based on CR testing and reliability results tallied by subscribers it surveyed. Each brand included must have sufficient test and reliability data for at least three models, a standard which left out 11 marques including Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover and Porsche.
This 2014 Brand Report Cars edition is the first of a new format in which sub-brands have been broken out from their parent brands, with Acura using this year to move up the leaderboard into second place with a score of 75 for its "reliable, well-finished and somewhat sporty models." The top three was rounded out by Audi, climbing from eighth to third by scoring a 74 for "well-crafted interiors, nice handling and good gas mileage." Audi scored highest in the road-test portion, its improved reliability aiding its rise. The top nine was completed by Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz.
Ford and Jeep weighed in at the other end of the rankings, Jeep taking the lowest overall score in the road tests and hampered by "a mix of spotty reliability." Ford was sunk by reliability issues with its MyFord Touch infotainment system which consumers found troublesome enough to negate its cars earning "solid test scores" for being "very nice to drive." Perhaps the rumored switch from Microsoft to Blackberry's QNX for the next generation SYNC will help them out. Cadillac's score also took a hit for infotainment reasons after it was the leading US brand last year, the CUE system in the XTS dragging Cadillac to the bottom of all General Motors brands.

2019 Lexus ES revealed before Beijing debut

After revealing the grille of the 2019 Lexus ES last week, Lexus posted a single photo of the whole shebang this morning. Only two sentences accompanied the image: "The all-new ES springs from a reimagined luxury equation. Engaging design, athletic performance, and renowned refinement transform Lexus's most popular sedan." We could be forced to wait until the Beijing Motor Show reveal on April 25 for substantial info on that transformation, but based on what we already suspect, the coming ES has big britches to fill. This seventh-generation sedan will be the first to go global, opening up a sales beachhead in Europe for the first time. The ES will also replace the GS there, perhaps signaling a shift in European strategy for taking on the Germans — the rear-wheel-drive sports sedan couldn't compete, so perhaps the front-wheel-drive family sedan will do better by not making a frontal assault on the segment leaders. The GS' fate isn't clear in the U.S., either, with the model expected to either go away or take a hiatus while designers reboot it. Lexus promised "the unexpected" with the new ES, and rumors of AWD have accompanied the news of "a range of advanced gasoline and hybrid powertrains." Right now the ES offers two powertrains, one gas, one hybrid, a bit meager to call "a range." From what we can tell of of the image above and teaser video below, the ES gets a lot sharper in front and along its flanks, skinny headlights mixing it up with a severely creased shoulder line. Out back, the sloping rear end gets bolstered by new taillights and a prominent spoiler. Barring any more teases or leaks, we expect to know everything about the ES a week from now come Beijing. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Beijing Motor Show Lexus Luxury Sedan lexus es

2014 Lexus IS 350

Long regarded as one of the best driver's cars of all time, the BMW 3 Series has always been targeted by luxury automakers trying to create their own exciting, bang-for-the-buck sport sedan. For years, BMW has managed to ward off would-be rivals to its iconic 3 Series, but the combination of a softened F30 and solid, hard-hitting competitors could soon relieve the car of its crown. While the all-new Cadillac ATS has received the most publicity in this segment since its introduction, the 2014 Lexus IS has come on strong in its third generation to put plenty of heat on the 3 Series as the current-best luxury sport sedan.
The IS might be Lexus' most important launch in some time, as a new, strong attempt to draw younger buyers into showrooms. Rather than taking the same conservative path as the preceding IS, Lexus attacked the new car's design with enthusiasm. Exaggerated exterior styling, while certainly polarizing, definitely gets this car noticed.
We've certainly noticed the 2014 IS, with a couple of first drives (for the IS 250 prototype and the IS 350 F Sport) and a Quick Spin so far. This time around we had a chance to get a little more intimate with a staple of the new IS lineup: the non-F Sport, rear-wheel-drive IS 350.