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Ford tumbles to second worst in Consumer Reports reliability survey, list dominated by Japanese [w/video]

It's no secret that MyFord Touch has had its share of problems since being introduced, but the most recent reliability survey from Consumer Reports shows just how much this infotainment system has affected Ford. Just two years ago, the automaker was in the top 10 for the institute's reliability rankings, but since then, it has tumbled to the second-lowest rung just above dead-last Jaguar. In addition to MyFord Touch, CR also attributes a handful of new products that have had issues right out of the gate.
Compiled from 1.2 million subscriber surveys, this year's auto reliability survey heavily favors Japanese automakers, with eight of the 10 spots hailing from Japan. Toyota brands grabbed the top three spots (Scion, Toyota and Lexus - in that order) with Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura filling the next four spots. The only non-Asian automaker cracking the top 10 was Audi at number eight.
Audi climbed a total of 18 spots from last year, and Cadillac and GMC round out this year's top gainers breaking into the top 15. Helping Cadillac's upward movement, the CTS Coupe was named the most reliable domestic car. Lincoln, Volvo and Chrysler join Ford on this year's biggest loser list.

Daily Driver: 2015 Audi S7

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, featuring impressions from the staffers that drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2015 Audi S7, reviewed by Seyth Miersma. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT [00:00:00] Hi, all. This is Seyth with Autoblog. I'm here driving the 2015 Audi S7. I'm caught in a kind of annoying, normal, end-of-the-work-day suburban traffic right now, but even that helps to illustrate the point that I'm trying to make about the S7, is that it really is one of the best all-around grand touring cars that you can buy. A really, really good grand tourer has to do three things. [00:00:30] One, it has to look amazing. It has to feel really special inside and out. The second part is that it's got to be a great long-range cruiser. It needs to be powerful on the highway, be able to be very comfortable and quiet if you're taking it long distances, kind of like your typically Autobahn car. Three, and I think this is really difficult with the second one that I mentioned, I think that grand tourers have to be really great at driving like sports cars. [00:01:00] You're going along and you're touring on the highway and you know that a really great road is coming up. The car should be able to get off on that road and handle like something much lighter and still have that great cruising character. That's one of the reasons why I've always liked the entire Audi A7 line, but especially this S7 because the A7 itself in all of its guises is really a pretty great cruiser and a really practical all-around car with the space in the hatch [00:01:30] and reasonable room in the back seats. The S7 with the turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 making 420 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque really amps up the sportiness. Now don't get me wrong, the S7 is far from a sports car. It's not very light. It's got a long wheelbase. It is nimble, especially with Quattro, but it doesn't feel especially nimble. It doesn't want to change directions super quickly. It splits the difference between the two. That being said, [00:02:00] when you get up to some of your favorite roads, it doesn't disappointment you either because of all the power and grip and some pretty decent sporting character available. Of course one thing that you do lack in a big GT like this S7 vs.

Volkswagen Group sales down 15% in pandemic year, but EV sales up 214%

FRANKFURT, Germany — German automaker Volkswagen said its global sales fell 15.2% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but showed significant recovery toward the end of the year. The company more than tripled its sales of battery-only vehicles. Global sales for all of Volkswagen's brands amounted to 9.3 million vehicles. The fourth quarter showed a smaller decline of 5.7% and within that quarter the month of December was still further improved, showing a shortfall of only 3.2% from the same period the year before. Volkswagen said Wednesday that sales fell the most in Western Europe, by 21.6%, while China, the company's largest single market, was down 9.1% Sales of battery-only cars jumped 214% to 231,600 from 73,700 across all the company's brands. The company's electric sales leaders included the Volkswagen ID.3 compact, with 56,500, the Audi E-Tron SUV with 47,300, and the high-end Porsche Taycan with 20,000. Volkswagen said that its sales fell by less than the overall market, meaning it had slightly expanded its market share. “The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an extremely challenging year,” said group sales chief Christian Dahlheim. “The Volkswagen Group performed well in this environment and strengthened its market position." Volkswagen Group's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, and Skoda as sell as truck makers MAN and Scania.