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J.D. Power dependability survey is out, but you shouldn't depend on it

J.D. Power has just released its latest automotive dependability survey, which of course has usual suspects Buick and Lexus ranking high. Those are safe and solid findings, surely. But when you look a little closer, there are curiosities. Our Consumer Editor, Jeremy Korzeniewski, offered an explanation a couple of years back for why this survey should be viewed with a degree of skepticism, and his take is worth a re-read. What jumped out at Jeremy were the relatively low spots assigned to Mazda, Subaru and Scion among the ranking of makes. Back in 2016 when he wrote his piece, they were ranked 21st, 23rd and 24th respectively. In this year's survey, Mazda ranks 15th and Subaru 26th, both below the industry average of 142 reported problems per 100 vehicles. (And Scion, of course, is in car-brand heaven.) Now, part of what is going on here is surely the fact that all automotive brands are producing dependable vehicles compared with years gone by, so the degree of variance between the best and worst on the list is not as great as it once was. "For the most part, automotive manufacturers continue to meet consumers' vehicle dependability expectations," Dave Sargent, a J.D. Power vice president, said in a statement. "A 9 percent improvement is extremely impressive, and vehicle dependability is, without question, at its best level ever." That said, when a brand like Subaru, regarded by many as mechanically bulletproof, ranks 26th, it leaves people who know cars scratching their heads. Something there does not compute. The problem, as Jeremy pointed out, is one of methodology: When he wrote his piece, there was no weighting assigned to the problems reported in the survey. And that still appears to be the case. Therefore, a problem with an infotainment system or a loose piece of trim is deemed as serious as a blown engine or leaky transmission. (And yes, infotainment is still the biggest problem across the board.) Jeremy's point: If the categories of problems were weighted, you'd see a different picture. When you look at the Consumer Reports brand rankings (subscription required), you get a very different picture. in CR's rankings, Subaru is No. 6 among brands, which, well, sounds a lot more like it. CR singles out the redesigned 2017 Impreza as a car with some new-model problems. (The BRZ had the fewest.) The two surveys jibe a little more closely when it comes to Mazda, which CR ranks 12th, a drop of six places from previous-year rankings.

Mazda teases electric car again with peek at interior

Mazda is again touting the new electric vehicle it plans to reveal at the Tokyo Motor Show, this time teasing it from the inside. A 15-second video homes in on features found on the center console, namely, the blocky shifter for the automatic transmission, a large, knurled rotary dial for infotainment control, and a smaller dial we'll assume is for volume control. As for what else we can make out, if we were to guess, we'd say the slick surface to the right of the shifter is a screen. It'll be interesting to see how Mazda designers filled the space between the seats, but we're surprised Mazda went with such a substantial shifter; this being an EV on a new, dedicated platform, designers could have minimized the focus on shifting and opened up a host of other uses.  A brief press release informs us that Mazda's worked to liberate the cabin from structural clutter, though. The brand says the interior is "designed to give occupants a feeling of being 'enveloped in openness,'" and that the "goal [is] to make spending time in the car a comforting experience that allows customers to be themselves." Empty spaces throughout the center console "create a connection between the driver and passenger seat areas," so perhaps what looks like a free-floating console demo section in the video is what the unit will look like in the car. Elsewhere, the EV will feature eco-friendly materials. The EV isn't expected to make it to America, its powertrain designed to satisfy residents of particularly dense urban environments. The running gear should stick close to the drivetrain developed for the e-TPV prototype, meaning a 35.5-kWh battery powering a single electric motor at the front axle producing 138 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, and a single-speed transmission. Range is thought to be around 120 to 150 miles on a charge. The onboard charger can handle 6.6-kW home charging and 50-kW rapid charging. Eventually, a range-extender version with a rotary engine should join the lineup; Mazda said it chose a rotary because even though it's less efficient than competitors' ICE range extenders, it's so much quieter. The debut of what everyone expects to look like a crossover happens on Oct. 23.

Five vehicles named Top Safety Pick+ including new Civic, MKZ

In an attempt to help push vehicle safety to a higher level, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety created a stricter Top Safety Pick+ rating last year, which incorporates a brutal small overlap test and requires cars to get Good ratings in four out of the five categories (and no less than Acceptable in the fifth). Joining the list of the safest cars of 2013, the 2013 Volvo XC60, Lincoln MKZ, Honda Civic (sedan and coupe) and the 2014 Mazda6 have all received the coveted TSP+ rating.
The Mazda6 and Lincoln MKZ have both been completely redesigned, and both received Acceptable ratings in the small overlap test. The Honda Civic, coming off its emergency refresh for 2013, is the first small car to be subjected to the small overlap test, and IIHS says that one of the car's many upgrades includes a stiffer front structure allowing it to receive Good ratings in all categories. Similarly, the XC60 gets all Good ratings thanks to, according to IIHS, Volvo updating the airbag software allowing the side airbags to inflate during the small overlap test.
The 2014 Subaru Forester has not yet been subjected to the small overlap test, so it must make do with just a Top Safety Pick rating until the IIHS tests small utility vehicles, which is expected to happen later in the spring.