2008 Mercedes Clk550 Convertible Special Edition Absolutely Perfect on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Consumer Reports declares most and least loved cars [w/video]

Consumer Reports is crunching the numbers from its annual owner-satisfaction survey, and part of that process is finding out how attached drivers are to their cars. CR simply asks readers of models up to three years old if they would buy the same vehicle again in light of their entire ownership experience, and tallies the results. After looking at the responses for about 350,000 vehicles, it turns out that people really love a certain California-built, electrically powered luxury sedan. That's right, this year's the overall winner was the Tesla Model S with a whopping 98 percent of owners saying they would purchase another one (the Model S also won this award last year, with 99 percent satisfaction). The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray came in a close second with 95 percent of drivers hoping to park another one in their garage. A few models weren't quite so favored, though. The Nissan Versa Sedan was the least loved model among its owners; a mere 42 percent said that they would purchase another. The aging Jeep Compass didn't do much better, with just 43 percent of drivers willing to buy the softroader again. On average, about 70 percent of owners say they would buy their car again, and only four cars ranked below 50 percent in CR's findings. Check out the video above to see some of the winners and losers in a few of CR's categories. If you're a subscriber, you can check out the full list on its website. Related Gallery Consumer Reports Most Loved Cars 2014 Related Gallery Consumer Reports Least Loved Cars 2014 News Source: Consumer Reports - sub. req., Consumer Reports via YouTube Chevrolet Ford Mazda Mercedes-Benz Porsche Subaru Tesla Ownership Videos car ownership

Mercedes F1 to use Qualcomm 5 GHz WiFi for its tire data

In Formula 1 you need more of everything. More speed, more grip, more hospitality, more money. And you need data, reams and reams of data. The Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 team – the guys with the silver cars driven by 2015 F1 champion Lewis Hamilton and his teammate Nico Rosberg – need so much information that they've teamed with Qualcomm to wirelessly upload thermal imaging data of its tires. During a typical race weekend Mercedes's two racecars will generate approximately half a terabyte of data. Live telemetry has been a feature of Formula 1 for 20 years, though there are more restrictions on it than in the past. (In the days leading up to last weekend's United States Grand Prix in Texas, Formula 1 major domo Bernie Ecclestone said that F1 needs to cease being an engineering war and return more responsibility to the drivers.) Nevertheless, F1 teams gather vast amounts of data during a race weekend, particularly in practice sessions during which restrictions on what they can upload from cars – from engine/power unit parameters to aerodynamic loads – are less prohibitive. For example, during a typical race weekend Mercedes's two racecars will generate approximately half a terabyte of data. Mercedes F1 technical director Paddy Lowe points out that the standard telemetry system simply doesn't have the bandwidth to handle the thermal tire imaging data that the onboard thermal cameras generate. Why do you want a thermal video of the tires? Because it tells the engineers and drivers precisely how much temperature there is across the surface of a tire during a lap, in corners and on the straights. It also indicates how quickly the tires come up to temperature and when they potentially overheat. Understanding the temperature variations allows the team to set the cars up optimally for grip and tire life during a stint. Qualcomm's system works with the race cars like this: Each car has forward- and rear-facing cameras in a winglet mounted on the left side of the engine intake behind the driver's head, which continuously record thermal images of the tires. As a Mercedes enters the pit lane, it passes a Qualcomm 802.11ac WiFi receiver to which it uploads the thermal data. As the car nears the garage, another receiver takes over the upload. Several Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processors crunch the raw data as it uploads. The data is encrypted – there are always prying eyes in Formula 1.

Sunday Drive: A new Rambo Lambo takes center stage

Surprise! Autoblog readers love fast cars. Doesn't matter what shape; doesn't matter what size. As long as it's got big power, wicked acceleration, and ludicrous speed, you're interested. Take, for instance, the brand-new Lamborghini Urus. It's got a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 sending 641 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque through an 8-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels. It hits 62 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds, and has a top speed of 189.5 mph. Ludicrous speed? Check. And although you'd be hard pressed to draw a line straight back from the upcoming Urus to the old, off-road-ready LM002, at least you can say that Lamborghini does have a history of producing overpowered SUVs. A 5.2-liter V12 engine producing 444 horsepower and borrowed from the Countach certainly qualifies as big power, especially considering this was in the 1980s and '90s. A prime example just sold for nearly half a million bucks. Moving along to more traditional sportscars, we got a sneak peek at the next Porsche 911's interior, thanks to some intrepid spy photographers. And we spy with our little eyes some major changes to the quintessential German sportscar. Finally, we round out this Sunday Drive with two First Drive reports. Both are German, but past that, they couldn't be more different. Either way, ludicrous speed is all but guaranteed by either one. As always, stay tuned to Autoblog for all the latest automotive news that's fit to print. The 2019 Lamborghini Urus, fastest SUV in the world, has landed Rare U.S.-spec 1990 Lamborghini LM002 fetches $467,000 at auction Next Porsche 911 will get a major interior overhaul 2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe/Cabriolet Review | Creamy goodness 2018 BMW M5 First Drive Review | Power meets traction