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Buick takes top spot in 2022 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study

People, economies, and supply chains weren't the only things continuing to get sick over the past year. The 2022 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) is out, showing the average rate of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the first 90 days of ownership increased overall. The average figure for the 32 ranked manufacturers in 2020 was about 166 problems per 100 vehicles. In the 2021 IQS, that dropped to an average of 162. This year, the average jumps to 180 problems. J.D. Power says that figure is a record high over the 36-year history of the study. Buick leapt to the top of the rankings this year with the fewest issues, at 139 problems per 100 vehicles in the first 100 days of ownership. After Dodge became the first American automaker to lead the IQS in 2020, followed by Ram in 2021, this year marks a three-peat for U.S. carmakers. Dodge took second this year at 143 PP100, Chevrolet third with 147 PP100, Genesis the first luxury maker on the chart in fourth with 156 PP100. Between February and May, this year's study gathered responses to 223 questions from more than 84,000 new 2022-model-year car owners and lessees. The questions are designed to zero in on real-world problems new owners encounter with nine categories of vehicle features: Infotainment; features, controls and displays; exterior; driving assistance; interior; powertrain; seats; driving experience; and climate. As has been the case in the past few year, infotainment has proved to be the most problematic bugbear making scores worse. Considering features individually, six of 10 of the worst problem areas dealt with infotainment, causing infotainment's score of 45 PP100 to be 19.5 PP100 worse than the second-placed feature. Consumers ranked getting Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to connect reliably as the most troublesome.  GM didn't just score with Buick, which was one of only nine of the 33 ranked brands to show improvement this year. The conglomerate earned first place with the fewest PP100 among all the automaker groups, and scored the most model-level awards with nine, ahead of BMW with eight and Hyundai Group with three.  This year's study again showed a gap between luxury and mass-market makers, thought to be down to the amount of tech in luxury vehicles that consumers aren't properly informed about or that doesn't act as expected — that latter issue exacerbated by the chip shortage.

2015 Chevy Spark will have lighter, smaller battery

As General Motors gets ready to release the 2015 Chevy Spark EV, it is retooling the Brownstown Battery Assembly to build a new battery system for the chirpy little electric car. The new Spark will lose a few pounds and kWh from its lithium-ion pack, but it will keep all of it's performance specs. The current Spark EV uses a 21-kWh lithium-ion battery pack with bits made by A123 Systems (known as B456 Systems during bankruptcy). For the 2015 model, GM is going to build a 19-kWh battery system in-house that will use 192 LG Chem cells. Losing a bit of energy capacity means that the battery system for the 2015 Spark EV will be 86 pounds lighter but it will keep the EPA-rated 82-mile range and 119 MPGe. The 2015 Spark EV also keeps its $26,685 (plus destination) starting price from the 2014 model. The car will once again qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500. LG Chem also supplies the cells for GM's other plug-in vehicles from its facility in Western Michigan. The Brownstown production line currently builds the battery packs for the Chevy Volt, the Opel Ampera and the Cadillac ELR. You can read our first drive of the 2014 Chevy Spark here. Brownstown Battery Assembly Expands Capabilities Will build battery system for 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV 2014-05-14 DETROIT – General Motors will bring all its electric vehicle battery building capabilities in-house with production of battery systems for the 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV at its battery assembly plant in Brownstown, Mich. "Using our in-house engineering and manufacturing expertise enabled us to deliver a battery system that is more efficient and lighter than the 2014 Spark EV without sacrificing range," said Larry Nitz, executive director of GM global transmission and electrification engineering. "Our successful working relationship with LG Chem has allowed us to deliver a new battery system for the Spark EV that helps us to better leverage our economies of scale." A newly designed battery system features an overall storage capacity of 19 kWh and uses 192 lithium ion cells. The cells are produced at LG Chem's plant in Holland, Mich. The battery system weight of 474 lbs. is 86 pounds lighter than the system in the 2014 Spark EV. The Spark EV battery is built on a dedicated production line at Brownstown, which also manufactures complete battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt, Opel Ampera and Cadillac ELR.

12 new cars that will never go out of style

Some cars never go out of style. It’s rare, but it happens. They get old. They get depreciated. But they never stop looking cool.  Some might call them modern or instant classics. Within a few years theyÂ’re no longer the latest and greatest, no longer the flavor of the month, but they remain special. Eternally special. Timeless.  These cars arenÂ’t necessarily going to be worth a fortune someday. However, some may not depreciate as rapidly or as far as other models. But thatÂ’s not what weÂ’re talking about here. These are the cars that enthusiasts will always find desirable from the curbside. TheyÂ’re the cars you end up shopping on eBay late at night 10 years later because you canÂ’t get them out of your head. TheyÂ’re the cars that will forever excite you when you spot a clean one in traffic or in a parking lot.  There are plenty of recent examples over the past couple of decades that could count as instant design classics. But then we got to thinking, what 2021 models will be forever cool to stare at? Which new cars and trucks on sale today will we be shopping on eBay late at night in the 2030s? We kept supercars and other ultra-expensive cars off the list to keep things within the realm of attainability, and ended up with 12 total cars. Lexus LC WeÂ’re not applying a numerical ranking to any of the cars on this list, but if we were, the Lexus LC would be No. 1. There isnÂ’t another car design out there that can stir our emotions the way an LC can when itÂ’s just standing still. This car is a concept design come true in the most beautiful of ways, and itÂ’s a shoo-in winner for Concours events decades into the future. All of this heaping praise, and we havenÂ’t even gotten to the LC 500Â’s intoxicating 5.0-liter V8. It doesnÂ’t win drag races. It wonÂ’t be the fastest around the track against any similarly-priced competition. But none of that matters. ItÂ’s quite possibly the best car you can buy new, and that says it all when it comes to the LC. Chevrolet Corvette It might not be the stunner that the Lexus LC is, but the new C8 Corvette is and will always be a special vehicle. ItÂ’s the first mid-engine Corvette, which instantly cements it into an automotive hall of fame section of sorts. All of the performance stats and specs are there to back up its supercar-like looks, and it remains the best performance bargain on sale today.