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Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes also under diesel emissions scrutiny

The controversy over Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal isn't limited to the US. In Europe, where diesel engines are far more popular, the issue is shining a harsh light on the NEDC emissions test. As already known, the evaluation does a poor job of reflecting real-world production of NOx, and it appears a significant number of automakers are affected. The Guardian in the UK has been reporting on real-world test results from a company called Emissions Analytics. After the latest round of checks, vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi were found to generate far more NOx than they should. The newspaper also published similar results for Renault, Nissan, Hyundai, Fiat, Volvo, Jeep, Citroen, VW, and Audi. On average, the figures are about four times over the limit of producing the pollutant. Unlike VW and its defeat device, these automakers aren't actually breaking the rules. The vehicles perform up to the NEDC lab test for emissions, but those results simply aren't translated to the street. "The VW issue in the US was purely the trigger which threw light on a slightly different problem in the EU - widespread legal over-emissions," Nick Molden from Emissions Analytics said to The Guardian. A big fight to decide the future of this issue appears to be on the horizon. Automakers claim that they can't meet the next round of tightening emissions regulations and are asking for compromises. Although, spokespeople for Mercedes and Honda told The Guardian that the brands would be in favor of the stricter rules. Meanwhile, some European governments began backtracking their support of diesels well before this scandal came to light. The added scrutiny certain hasn't helped the future of the oil-burner. Related Video:

BMW tops Consumer Reports 2023 Brand Report Card

Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to "Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys." Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CRÂ’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." Last year's top 10 had six automakers from Japan, three from Germany (giving Mini credit for England), none from the U.S. or South Korea, and five luxury brands. This year's list counts five makes from Japan, two from Germany because Porsche fell out of the top ten, two from South Korea, still none from the U.S., and four luxury brands. Buick again ranked as the best domestic, dropping to 12th after being 11th last year. The big mover was Lincoln, its 10-place jump up to 16th attributed to better reliability from the Corsair and Nautilus. Tesla's improved overall reliability saw it climb six spots to 17th. Dodge climbed one spot to 15th. Jeep got out of the penalty box in last to come second-to-last. Land Rover fell three places into the penalty spot.  CR's top 10 vehicle models The 10 Top Picks list is practically a new list. Only two holdovers made it to 2023, those being the Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride.

2021 Mazda CX-30 to add turbocharged power, just like the Mazda3 Turbo

Mazda is giving us all of the turbos, and we’re not going to complain. CarsDirect reports that the 2021 Mazda CX-30 will feature a turbocharged variant called the CX-30 2.5 Turbo. We have great confidence that this intel obtained via “an early order guide” is legit. The CX-30 is essentially a lifted and crossover-ized Mazda3, and Mazda announced the Turbo variant of that car a short time ago. Just like the Mazda3, CarsDirect reports this one will be equipped with MazdaÂ’s 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. ItÂ’ll make 250 horsepower and 320 pound-feet of torque when run on 93 octane. Use regular gas, and those numbers tick down to 227 horsepower and 310 pound-feet. The CX-30 is currently only available with the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder that makes 186 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque. The similarities between the CX-30 and Mazda3 continue. YouÂ’ll only be able to get the CX-30 Turbo with all-wheel drive. ItÂ’ll come with larger tailpipes, turbo badging and be available in a top-of-the-line Premium Plus trim, too. That trim adds a number of features that are exclusive in the Mazda3 Turbo, so we expect the same for the CX-30. ItÂ’ll also cost a good chunk of change more than the base CX-30. Prices will reportedly start at $31,000 for the CX-30 Turbo, and go all the way up to $35,000 in the highest trim level. These prices are obviously encroaching on CX-5 territory, but the cheapest CX-5 with the same turbo engine is $36,235. Just like the Mazda3 Turbo, we can guarantee the CX-30 Turbo wonÂ’t be available with a manual transmission. That means MazdaÂ’s six-speed automatic will be doing the shifting. CarsDirect claims that Mazda intends to start producing the CX-30 Turbo in November this year, so the wait to buy wonÂ’t be terribly long. Related Video: