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Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.

Mini may not build electric cars in England due to Brexit

BMW will decide whether to build its new electric Mini in Britain or elsewhere by the end of September, its board member for sales told Reuters, in a test of the country's ability to continue to attract investment as it leaves the EU. Mini makes around 70 percent of its approximately 360,000 compact cars at its Oxford plant in southern England but the car industry is concerned about the effect any loss of unfettered access to the EU, its largest export market, could have on plants after Brexit. BMW is deciding between its English site, a plant in the Netherlands where it has built more of its conventional line-up in recent years, and its Germany plants at Leipzig and Regensburg for the new low-emissions variant. The firm's board member for sales told Reuters that the electric Mini investment, likely to be worth tens of millions of pounds, would come in the next three months and the board was currently considering a number of factors including Brexit. "One of the elements is what is the likelihood of a tax regime and if there's a tax regime, how would it apply," Ian Robertson said during an interview at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in southern England. "If you made the motor in a German plant and you then assembled the car in a British plant, and you took the cars back to the German market, then the duty that you would pay would be reclaimed," he said, in an example of the options companies are examining to plan for any duties or tariffs. The automaker is also looking into where the uptake of greener models is strongest and where the best supply chains are, he said. Britain could approve its first major electric battery hub in the next few weeks after officials in central England submitted proposals to ministers in May. But last month, the car industry issued its strongest warning yet on the need for politicians to strike a transitional Brexit deal after two-year talks to ensure unfettered trade is maintained. Uncertainty has also been heightened after a snap June 8 election which left Prime Minister Theresa May without a majority and has led to ministers in her administration hinting at different versions of Britain's likely post-Brexit future. Last year, May's administration helped secure two new models at Japanese carmaker Nissan's plant in the north of England after what a source said was a government promise of extra support to counter any loss of competitiveness caused by Brexit.

Mini Vision concept presages next-gen Cooper Hardtop

Mini is preparing to launch the third-generation of its trademark three-door hatch, and while we've already shown you that car mostly devoid of camouflage in spy shots, the BMW-owned brand has still seen fit to release a concept that previews the new design. Called the Mini Vision, it looks broadly similar to the cars we showed you at the beginning of the month, aside from a few concepty styling pieces.
The Vision is a well-balanced blend of the stylish hatch that rebooted the Mini brand in 2002 and the more bloated model that arrived in 2007. It's more rounded than the 2002, but seems decidedly more muscular than the 2007, and features modern accents like full LED headlights inspired by the sadly not-for-production Rocketman concept. Mini's traditional floating roof soldiers on, while the concept wears side grilles that seem borrowed from the Countryman and Paceman. Based on what we've seen in the spy shots, however, that treatment isn't going to make production, at least not on the models we've seen.
It's safe to say that the interior on this concept bears only a slight resemblance to what we'll see on the production car. The integrated Union Jack straps in the door panels are a cool touch, but the Vision's cabin looks like something out of a flying saucer. We'd expect only inspirational traces to arrive on the production model.