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Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.

2021 Acura TLX A-Spec vs. Type S, Polestar 2 and Genesis G70 | Autoblog Podcast #700

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd for the 700th installment. It's a premium-focused rundown as the two start off discussing Autoblog's long-term Acura TLX A-Spec and the Type S that is currently standing in for it, followed by some impressions of the Polestar 2 (and how it feels relative to its Volvo cousins) and a look at the 2022 Genesis G70 Launch Edition. Then, in "Spend My Money," they try to address a rather broad request for a pre-owned vehicle with only a handful of requirements.   Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #700 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving:2021 Acura TLX A-Spec/Type S 2021 Polestar 2 2022 Genesis G70 Launch Edition Spend My money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related Video:

2021 Acura TLX A-Spec Long-Term Update | Infotainment system hits a pothole

The first few thousand miles of motoring in our 2021 Acura TLX A-Spec long-term test car were problem-free, but that changed after we took it on a spirited drive through the winding hills of southern Indiana. You can read about how it handled a full day of thrashing here, but this story will focus on the dead infotainment system previewed in the headline. About halfway through the twisty route, every sizable pothole or big bump in the road would cause the infotainment system to black out. A message would appear declaring “MOST NET LOSS,” and it would quickly dip to black after that. The next big pothole would cause it to flicker back on, but it never remained on for any long periods of time after this. In addition to the screen loss, the speakers would make some rather disturbing crackling noises. This continued throughout the day and for several days beyond that. If the roads I was driving on were flat or devoid of major problems, the infotainment system would generally be fine. It took a major jostling of the carÂ’s bones to cause it to act up, but Michigan provided enough of those to make the problem exceedingly annoying in a hurry. So, to the dealership it went. 2021 Acura TLX A-Spec View 51 Photos After the local dealer looked it over, they said there was a TSB out for this issue, and that theyÂ’ve seen it pop up on other RDXs and TLXs already. Turns out, there are a number of wire connectors between the infotainment system and wiring harness that are causing the problems and coming loose. The fix? Newly designed connectors from Acura, plus the wiring harness is ever so slightly freed up to allow for a bit of movement from violent impacts. Doing this (plus using the stronger new connectors) should ensure that the stress on these connectors is never so great as to cause issues again.  The job was completed under warranty and took a full day from diagnosis to the return of the car. WeÂ’ve put several hundred miles on the car since the fix, and theyÂ’ve been completely trouble-free — it sure was nice to listen to AcuraÂ’s excellent ELS audio system again. That said, this issue is one weÂ’ll follow closely to see if AcuraÂ’s fix truly is a long-term solution. WeÂ’ll have a deeper dive on how AcuraÂ’s TouchPad infotainment system works (now that itÂ’s actually working again) soon, so watch out for that update in the near future. You will be able to find all other posts on our Long-Term 2021 Acura TLX page.  Related: