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Consumer Reports says infotainment systems 'growing first-year reliability plague'

The Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Survey (right) is out, and the top two spots look much the same as last year's list with Lexus and Toyota in first and second place, respectively. However, there are some major shakeups for 2014, with Acura plunging eight spots from third in 2013 to 11th this year, and Mazda replaces it on the lowest step of the podium. Honda and Audi round out the top five. This year's list includes six Japanese brands in the top 10, two Europeans, one America and one Korean.
Acura isn't the only one taking a tumble, though. Infiniti is the biggest loser this year by dropping 14 spots to 20th place. Other big losses come from Mercedes-Benz with an 11-place fall to 24th, and GMC, which declines 10 positions to 19th.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's not traditional mechanical bugs hauling down these automaker's reliability scores. Instead, pesky problems with infotainment systems are taking a series toll on the rankings. According to Consumer Reports, complaints about "in-car electronics" were the most grumbled about element in new cars. Problem areas included things like unresponsive touchscreens, issues pairing phones and multi-use controllers that refused to work right.

Honda gets weirdly R-Rated with new Civic Type-R launch video

Honda is still about a year away from bringing back the Civic Type R to challenge Europe's hot hatch ranks, but the wait isn't stopping the brand from starting its promotion in the UK with a truly strange ad campaign.
Titled R-Rated, the marketing plays with the idea of Honda's Type R badge not being something for every driver, and its 60-second short film Disruption definitely isn't for everyone. The teaser video is meant to personify the spirit of the hot Civic by combining aggressively weird imagery with a glimpse of the new model. It cycles through things like a pack of wolves, androgynous models, a lady with a samurai sword and a flaming speed camera before getting to what we all want to see - the car. It's a weird, by turns creepy, video that feels like it's trying to be outlandish without always showing there's much thought behind the madness.
Perhaps the most frightening thing about the Civic Type R is that there are still major doubts about whether its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with an estimated 280 horsepower will make it to North Ameircan showrooms. We understand the business case may be tough, especially when the CTR's hatchback bodystyle isn't sold in America at all, but we think Honda's North American showrooms could use a bit more performance edge, and an affordable halo car like the Type R could do just that.

Honda to field this awesome Civic Tourer wagon in BTCC next season

We all know that the letters BTCC stand for British Touring Car Championship. But one of those Cs might as well stand for Civic, so dominant has the Honda team been in one of the most competitive tin-top racing series in the world. Honda has taken the manufacturers' and teams' titles in the BTCC for the past four years running, and the championship-winning drivers for the past three years have claimed the prize behind the wheel of a Civic. While that might have proven enough for any other manufacturer, Honda is returning again next season to defend its dominant position, and has just revealed the new car with which it intends to do so.
Next year Honda will be back on the grid with another Civic, only this time it's based on the new Euro-spec Civic Tourer. That will make Honda the only team in the BTCC (and one of only a few worldwide) fielding a wagon-based racing car. In announcing the new BTCC-spec Civic Tourer, the Honda Yuasa Racing team only released this one photo and didn't reveal much in the way of details, but team manager Peter Crolla indicated that "the weight, wheelbase, layout and suspension remain the same" as the hatchback which it will replace, only with a longer roofline.
Testing of the new touring wagon will commence in January before returning champions Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal will pilot the new Civic Tourer in the season opener at Brands Hatch in the UK in late March. It remains to be seen what car Andrew Jordan (who took the title this year in another Civic with the Pirtek Racing team) will be driving next season, but in the meantime, you can check out the full press release below for more.