2001 Porsche Boxster on 2040-cars

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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.

Porsche exec confirms Macan Diesel for US

The idea of a diesel-powered Porsche is the sort of thing that sounds really, really weird... until you actually drive it. The result of sticking glow plugs under the hood of Stuttgart's finest, though, is a vehicle that's nearly as entertaining as a gas-powered model but with much more torque and better fuel economy. Considering that, we think it's absolutely splendid news that following previous reports, Porsche has now confirmed a diesel-powered Macan for the US market.
"We are now busy with the development and the engineering," Andre Oosthuizen, Porsche's North American marketing VP, told Automotive News. "I can confirm that V6 diesel offering with about 245 horsepower."
Yep, that's the same 3.0-liter V6 found, most notably, in the CUV's Audi Q5 platform-mate as well as a plethora of other Volkswagen Group vehicles, both in the US and abroad. Stuttgart already offers the 3.0-liter oil-burner in the Euro-spec crossover, where it churns out 258 hp and 427 pound-feet of torque.

Porsche 911 RSR stops just long enough to have its photo taken

When it comes to Porsche and its rapidly escalating endurance racing program, all eyes may be on the new 919 Hybrid - and with good reason: that's the vehicle with which Porsche will be challenging the likes of Audi and Toyota for wins in the top-tier LMP1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship and at Le Mans. But it's the 911 RSR that does and will continue to form the backbone of the factory's effort.
The 470-horsepower racing version of the road-going 911 took a one-two finish in its class at Le Mans last year, and also won its class at the Daytona 24 this past January as well. This year Porsche will field two of them in the WEC, another two in the United SportsCar Championship here in the US and will sell countless more to customer racing teams that will undoubtedly continue to rack up trophies in racing series around the world. This, then, might be a unique chance to see one standing still. Check it out in our gallery of live images above from the Geneva Motor Show.