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Thanks to smaller engines, vehicle dependability falls for first time in 16 years

As automakers have made engines smaller and smaller to improve fuel economy, problems in those vehicles have gotten bigger and bigger. That's the synopsis of a J.D. Power vehicle-dependability study, which found that dependability dropped for the first time in 16 years, largely because the proliferation of four-cylinder engines is causing the vehicles to be less reliable. Specifically, the number of problems per 100 vehicles (or what J.D. Power calls PP100) during the past 12 months for 2011 model-year vehicles rose six percent from the year-earlier figures for 2010 model-year cars. Singling out four-cylinder vehicles revealed about a 10-percent increase in problems during the past year. This issues largely related to engine hesitation, rough transmission shifting and lack of power, signaling the inability of vehicle makers to iron out some of the problems in their smaller engines as they strove for better fuel economy. Six- and five-cylinder engines proved far more reliable. Among car brands, BMW's Mini sub-brand came out as least reliable, with 185 problems per 100 vehicles during the past year. Toyota's Lexus badge was easily the most reliable, with just 68 problems per 100 vehicles. Coming in second place was Mercedes-Benz. The overall average was 133. Check out J.D. Power's press release below. J.D. Power Reports: Increased Engine and Transmission Problems Contribute to Decline in Vehicle Dependability for The First Time in More Than 15 Years General Motors Company Receives Eight Segment Awards, While Toyota Motor Corporation Garners Seven and Honda Motor Company Earns Six WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: o Owners of 3-year-old vehicles (2011 model year) report more problems than did owners of 3-year-old vehicles last year, according to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Vehicle Dependability StudySM (VDS) released today. The study, now in its 25th year, examines problems experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of 2011 model-year vehicles. Overall dependability is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The study finds that overall vehicle dependability averages 133 PP100, a 6 percent increase in problems from 126 PP100 in 2013. This marks the first time since the 1998 study that the average number of problems has increased. "Until this year, we have seen a continual improvement in vehicle dependability," said David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D.

Recharge Wrap-up: Nikola One to debut in December, UK charging to outnumber gas stations by 2020

Nikola Motor Company plans to unveil its Nikola One electric truck prototype on December 2, 2016. The company, based in Salt Lake City, says it has "engineered the holy grail of the trucking industry," according to founder and CEO Trevor Milton. "We are not aware of any zero emission truck in the world that can haul 80,000 pounds more than 1,000 miles and do it without stopping. The Nikola One requires only 15 minutes of downtime before heading out for the next 1,000 miles." Nikola also has plans to build emissions-free power plants. Read more in the press release from Nikola, or at the company website. Nissan says EV charging stations will outnumber gas stations in the UK by 2020. The UK had just 8,472 gas stations at the end of 2015, down from 37,539 in 1970. Extrapolating that to 2020, the UK is expected to be home to fewer than 7,870 fuel stations. By then, and possibly much sooner, charging stations are expected to surpass 7,900, up from 4,100 in 2016. Growing interest in EVs, infrastructure expansion, and better batteries mean that "the tipping point for mass EV uptake is upon us," according to Nissan EV Manager Edward Jones. Read more from Nissan, or at Green Car Congress. BMW is expanding its ChargeNow service to 25 markets. In a partnership with EVgo, BMW i3 and i8 customers will have the option of an annual or pay-as-you-go ChargeNow membership with service in cities around the country, with "introductory pricing" available until July 31, 2017. For those i3 owners in California already enrolled in the DC fast charging program, their free access is expiring. See more details about the program and its locations in the BMW i forum, and read more at Green Car Reports. Featured Gallery Nikola One Electric Semi Truck Related Gallery BMW i3 Gesture Parking News Source: Nikola, Nikola, Nissan, Green Car Congress, Green Car Reports, The Circuit Green BMW Automakers Nissan Green Automakers Truck Commercial Vehicles Electric Future Vehicles recharge wrapup

Watch Emily Blunt and John Krasinski prank Jimmy Kimmel's SUV

Jimmy Kimmel has a bit of a rivalry going with Emily Blunt and John Krasinski. Not like the "I'm on television, you're on the radio" one he has with his former Man Show co-host Adam Carolla (who of course has more to do with cars than the last name he almost shares with a Toyota economy sedan). With Blunt and Krasinski, it's more of a prank rivalry. The Hollywood couple, you see, live across the street from Kimmel, and they're all good friends. But come the holiday season, things get a little competitive. One year they broke into Jimmy's house and left an illuminated snowman and some sort of santa bear in his foyer. Jimmy retaliated, the Krasinskis escalated, and up and up things went until Jimmy had their entire house wrapped like a gift. John and Emily weren't going to leave it at that, though, and took things in a decidedly more automotive direction. They gift-wrapped the host's BMW X5 and filled it with balls. But they didn't stop there. You'll want to watch the footage above to see how things ended, just take note of the roll cage visible as Krasinski-Clause stumbles out of the car in that last scene and remember that, while we couldn't say no vehicles were actually harmed in the making of this segment, at least it doesn't appear to have actually been Kimmel's.