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Weekly Recap: Revisting the BBC report that ended Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear run

Jeremy Clarkson's long run as a Top Gear host has come to an end, and the reason is clear: His physical assault on one of the show's producers crossed a line, and the government-owned BBC couldn't tolerate it. The incident between Clarkson and Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon was initially described as a "fracas," and Clarkson was suspended. But his popularity and widespread support – even British Prime Minister David Cameron weighed in – suggested that the controversial Clarkson might be given yet another chance. The BBC put this to rest Wednesday when it sacked Clarkson and revealed the findings of its investigation. The report spelled out how Clarkson struck Tymon on the patio of a North Yorkshire (UK) hotel, leaving him with a bloodied, swollen lip. It was severe enough that the producer sought medical treatment. During and after the attack, Clarkson shouted expletives at Tymon and threatened to fire him. The noise carried into the hotel's dining room and even to a bedroom. Local police investigated the incident, but Tymon isn't pressing charges. The huge audience numbers, Clarkson's popularity and the high-octane excitement of Top Gear all melted away in the eyes of BBC director-general Tony Hall, who saw an attacker and a victim. "For me a line has been crossed," he said in a statement. "There cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another dictated by either rank, or public relations and commercial considerations." In that moment, Clarkson was the bad guy, though he was actually the one who reported it to the network and made repeated attempts to apologize to Tymon. He's also urged the media to leave the producer alone. Hall voiced regret in the statement that announced Clarkson's contract would not be renewed, but the BBC decided to move on. Rumors are swirling about possible replacements for Clarkson. The network says it wants to continue Top Gear in 2016 and is looking to air the rest of this season's episodes. Despite the controversy, the show has a global audience of 350 million viewers and is one of the BBC's most valuable properties. It's unclear what Clarkson's co-hosts, James May and Richard Hammond, will do, as their contracts were also reportedly up to be renewed. Other News & Notes 2016 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid charges up with Volt technology Chevrolet is taking some of the learnings and technologies from the 2016 Volt and dropping them into the reborn Malibu hybrid.

2020 Lincoln Navigator cut to three trims, starts at $77,120

Lincoln has reworked the Navigator lineup for 2020, a brand spokesperson telling Cars Direct it wants to make ordering the luxury SUV "even more effortless for clients." That means shedding one of the four current trims, the Select, and rearranging pricing for the three remaining variants. The entry-level Navigator Standard starts at $75,825 before the $1,295 destination charge, the total coming to $77,120. The figure represents a $2,620 increase over the 2019 model year, but as we reported earlier, Lincoln added a number of new features for 2020. Convenience items such as power running boards, heated and cooled front seats, wireless phone charging, and Lincoln's Phone as Key system are standard throughout the range. Every 2020 Navigator will also get the driver safety suite CoPilot360. That technology isn't available on the 2019 Navigator Standard, and requires the $2,640 Technology Package on the Select trim, which is already $4,000 more expensive than the base trim. With the Select gone, the next trim up is Reserve. Lincoln says 90 percent of customers choose the Reserve or Black Label trims, and any buyers planning on the former will think 2020 a good year. The Reserve could only be had as a 4x4 in 2019, but adds a 4x2 powertrain for 2020 and lowers its price. It will start at $82,660 in two-wheel-drive guise, making it $3,830 less than the 2019 model with all-wheel drive. The Reserve 4x4 will cost $85,330, for a discount of $1,170 compared to 2019. The 2020 Navigator Reserve will also add the option of a Monochrome Package, which eliminates chrome on trim like the grille and side vents, making them body color instead. It also paints the mirror caps in the body color and swaps out for 22-inch, 12-spoke black painted wheels. We don't know pricing on that yet, but the package will only be available in Pristine White, Ceramic Pearl (gray), or Infinite Black.   The extended Reserve L in 4x2 form starts at $85,860. Cars Direct didn't break out a price for the Reserve L 4x4, but assuming the $3,200 price difference between the 4x2 models holds, the price would be $88,530. That's the same $1,170 discount as on the non-L Reserve trims.    The top-shelf Black Label sticks to a 4x4-only formula, and goes up by just $375 for both regular and L versions. The regular 2020 Black Label trim will cost $98,065, the Black Label L will cost $101,265.

Dodge Dart falls short of Consumer Reports Recommended, Caddy XTS and Lincoln MKS, too

The Dodge Dart, Cadillac XTS and Lincoln MKS all failed to earn a "Recommended" rating from Consumer Reports. When it came to the compact Dart, the organization's testers thought the vehicle offered a quiet cabin, solid-feeling chassis and nimble suspension, but the new model ultimately fell short of the coveted rating due to powertrain issues. The institute's reviewers found the base 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine to be underpowered and noted "drivability issues" when the available turbocharged 1.4-liter four was paired with the optional dual-clutch transmission (some of our editors disliked it paired with the six-speed manual). CR also dinged the latter powerplant for sounding "raspy." For what it's worth, we think the forced-induction engine offers an excellent and playful exhaust note, but that's just us.
As for the XTS, CR lauded the car for its luxurious cabin, but the vehicle's experience was dulled by its finicky CUE infotainment interface. Overall, the big Cadillac scored much higher than its cross-town rival from Lincoln. While testers found the American luxury sedan to offer a quiet ride and quality fit and finish, they felt the MKS delivered a "cramped driving position, ungainly handling, uncomposed ride, and limited visibility." Ouch. At the end of the day, both cars fell short of rivals from Japan, Germany and Korea. Check out the full press release below with more details, along with CR's musings on the Chevrolet Spark and Lexus ES.