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MotorWeek remembers retro icons, Supra and NSX

It's easy to poke a joke here and there about John Davis, the long-time host of MotorWeek. His voice is so monotonous that, from time to time, if you closed your eyes, you may think it's generated via a computer. But you have to give him and the rest of the show a lot of credit. The program has been on the air for decades, giving people direct, straight-down-the middle automotive reviews.
MotorWeek's massive back catalog of reviews are slowly making their way onto YouTube, and they provide a fascinating chance to look back on how performance cars rank against their contemporaries from back in the day. Two recent additions include the show's old looks at the 1986 Toyota Supra, the dawn of the third-generation model, and the now-iconic 1991 Acura NSX.
Both reviews are interesting in their own way. These days you hear nary a negative word about the original NSX, but MotorWeek isn't afraid to point out a few flaws. And the Supra really shows the progress of suspension tuning in the intervening decades because it has some serious body roll in the corners. Scroll down to check out both videos and get a blast from the automotive past.

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.

Autoblog's June 2019 Editors' Picks

Each year we review, test and rate hundreds of brand-new cars, trucks and SUVs. We rate these vehicles using the Autoblog score, giving a select few our Editors’ Pick. Here are the best cars we drove in June 2019. 2019 BMW 8 Series Everyone on the Autoblog staff loves a good grand tourer, so we were excited to get behind the wheel of the revived BMW 8 Series, specifically an M850i Coupe. A good GT needs to be as fast as it is stylish and comfortable, and the new 8 Series delivers. We particularly like the 523-horsepower twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8Â’s copious power and smooth ride quality, even on MichiganÂ’s pockmarked post-winter roads. We dig the interior design, too, though not everyone was in love with the exterior. ItÂ’s not the best-handling car in its class, and doesnÂ’t hide its sizable proportions very well, but itÂ’s still worth a look if youÂ’re looking for a big, fast cruiser.  2019 Ford Expedition Crossovers may be the hottest vehicles on the market, but thereÂ’s still a sizable demand for traditional body-on-frame SUVs like the Ford Expedition. These behemoths offer plenty of space in addition to truck-like capability. We like the Expedition's smooth ride, powerful twin-turbo V6 and sharp exterior design, though the interior can feel a bit cheap, especially on some of the more expensive trims. Adding options quickly puts it into Lincoln Navigator territory, and itÂ’s hard to recommend the Ford over the Lincoln when the latter packs the same capability into a far nicer package. Still, the Expedition is as good or better than the competition in most respects, and thatÂ’s why itÂ’s one of our picks. 2019 Toyota 86 Few cars at any price point are as much fun as the Toyota 86 (and its twin, the Subaru BRZ). We like the 86Â’s balanced chassis and sharp steering, and while itÂ’s not as nimble as its close rival the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the ToyotaÂ’s back seat and trunk make it a more usable vehicle. But while we like the 86Â’s driving position, the rest of the interior feels cheap and dated, especially the infotainment system. We complained about the anemic powertrain back in 2012, and itÂ’s only gotten worse as the years have gone by.