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Buick tops in Consumer Reports' annual brand rankings

Buick is the first US-based automotive brand to crack the top 10 in Consumer Reports magazine's annual brand report cards. US automakers also placed three vehicles on the magazine's list of "top picks" for vehicles, the first time that's happened in 17 years. The rankings were unveiled Tuesday in the magazine's annual auto issue. Buick placed seventh in the brand rankings. But the brand rankings and top picks still were dominated by Japanese and German manufacturers, with Lexus, Mazda, Toyota, Audi and Subaru taking the top five brand spots. The magazine calculates each brand's overall score with a composite of its vehicles' road-test scores and reliability scores for each model in its annual survey of subscribers. It's the third year for the brand rankings. Porsche placed just ahead of Buick at number six, while Honda, Kia and BMW rounded out the top 10 brands. Mercedes-Benz, Acura and Infiniti all suffered precipitous declines in their rankings due to unreliable new models or poor road test scores. Mercedes fell out of the top 10 to 21st, while Acura dropped from number two to 11 with an unimpressive test of the new RLX sedan, the magazine said. In the model rankings, the top overall finisher was California-based Tesla's Model S electric car, for the second year in a row. The Model S, which cost the magazine $89,650, finished first due to its performance and technical innovations, the magazine said. Buick's Regal midsize car beat the BMW 328i as the top sports sedan, and the Chevrolet Impala was named the top large car. The model rankings show Consumer Reports' favorite among the 270 vehicles its team has recently tested. The rankings are closely watched in the auto industry, since shoppers consistently cite Consumer Reports as a main source of car-buying advice. Other top picks included the Subaru Impreza in the compact car category, Subaru Legacy in midsize cars, Toyota Prius as the best green car, Audi A6 luxury car, Subaru Forester small SUV, Toyota Highlander midsize SUV and the Honda Odyssey minivan. Japanese vehicles won six of 10 top pick categories, but that was the smallest number in the 19-year history of Consumer Reports top picks. "For years domestic automakers built lower-priced and lower-quality alternatives to imports, but those days are behind us," said Jake Fisher, the magazine's director of automotive testing. But other U.S.-based automakers still had problems.

60 Minutes can't even get Tesla Model S EV sound right

60 Minutes has come under fire for screwing up important bits of news recently, but an error in Sunday's profile of Tesla Motors and CEO Elon Musk is completely perplexing. 60 Minutes has said it was an "audio editing error," but we're wondering how you manage to edit in internal combustion engine and transmission sounds into a video specifically on electric vehicles. The stock footage that 60 Minutes used is official Tesla material, but the videos on the company's YouTube page are devoid of engine sounds. 60 Minutes editors added the noises, which were noticed by eagle-eared (is that a thing?) viewers who know that one of the appeals of an EV is the silent ride. In other parts of the interview, Musk says that a 400-mile battery is possible today but it would be too expensive, talks about how the DOE loan was helpful but was not necessary to keep Tesla alive and his attitude that, "If something's important enough, you should try, even if the probable outcome is failure." This isn't the first time television producers have made a Tesla EV look bad. This isn't the first time television producers have made a Tesla EV look bad. The most famous case was when the BBC show Top Gear pretended to run out of juice in a Roadster. Tesla sued for libel in 2011, but the case was dismissed in 2013. Tesla declined to comment to AutoblogGreen on the situation and 60 Minutes told Fox News it will update the videos online. Even when the sound is gone, the profile of the man and the company remains interesting. You can watch it below. As of this writing, the engine sounds still can be heard at around the 40-second mark in the shorter video we've embedded below (the top one) and you can see the whole profile in the second video. The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

This is what it takes to make the world's most expensive Tesla Model S

New Tesla or condo? That's one question you may come up with when you see this video from T Sportline that shows a Model S with enough extras to jack its price up to $205,820. Al & Ed's Autosound of West Hollywood, CA, which has a history of such things, did the honors. So here's the recipe. You start witt the $85,900 base price for the 85 kilowatt-hour Model S. That pricetag jumps to $123,770 with goodies such as the "performance plus" set-up (including fiber spoiler and red brake calipers) for a tidy $6,500, "smart air" suspension ($2,250), "tech package" ($3,750), ultra high-fidelity sound system ($2,500), panoramic sunroof ($2,500) and 21-inch grey turbine wheels ($4,500). And then the fun really starts. For instance, those wheels get upgraded to "GhostGold" forged wheels for $7,500, "exterior 3M change wrap" runs $6,000, carbon-fiber body kit goes for $5,250 and the "audiophile upgrade" costs $9,500. Finally, get a load of the "bespoke" made-to-order interior upholstery. That'll run $25,000. And before you know it, you have a mean green machine that's almost twice as expensive as Justin Bieber's chrome Fisker Karma. And from a solvent company, no less. Al & Ed's is no stranger to pushing Tesla EVs way out into the proverbial high-rent district. The team used the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show to show off a Tesla Roadster with about $50,000 worth of goodies were added. Earlier that year, they customized another Roadster to include, among other things, Mercedes-Benz leather. We've got archive coverage of those cars but we expect you'll be more interested in the new video from T Sportline of the swanky Model S below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.