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Ford tumbles to second worst in Consumer Reports reliability survey, list dominated by Japanese [w/video]

It's no secret that MyFord Touch has had its share of problems since being introduced, but the most recent reliability survey from Consumer Reports shows just how much this infotainment system has affected Ford. Just two years ago, the automaker was in the top 10 for the institute's reliability rankings, but since then, it has tumbled to the second-lowest rung just above dead-last Jaguar. In addition to MyFord Touch, CR also attributes a handful of new products that have had issues right out of the gate.
Compiled from 1.2 million subscriber surveys, this year's auto reliability survey heavily favors Japanese automakers, with eight of the 10 spots hailing from Japan. Toyota brands grabbed the top three spots (Scion, Toyota and Lexus - in that order) with Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura filling the next four spots. The only non-Asian automaker cracking the top 10 was Audi at number eight.
Audi climbed a total of 18 spots from last year, and Cadillac and GMC round out this year's top gainers breaking into the top 15. Helping Cadillac's upward movement, the CTS Coupe was named the most reliable domestic car. Lincoln, Volvo and Chrysler join Ford on this year's biggest loser list.

2014 Toyota Tundra to debut at Chicago Auto Show

The fullsize pickup market is dominated by trucks from Ford, General Motors and Ram, but this segment could get some hefty competition in coming years. We've already reported that Nissan is planning a redesign of its Titan truck for 2015, and now Toyota has announced that it will be revealing the 2014 Tundra next month at the Chicago Auto Show.
In the brief press release posted below, Toyota says that the 2014 Tundra will be "redesigned," but it's unclear as to whether this means we'll be seeing an all-new truck or just an extensive refresh. The current Tundra design has been around since 2007 and sales are hardly worrisome to the Big Three, so a new design would be a logical guess.
In any case, we only have to wait a couple more weeks for the new Tundra to debut on February 7, and we'll be on hand to bring you plenty of live coverage from the show.

NHTSA investigating 561k Toyota Prius hybrids for possible steering shaft defect

The Detroit News is reporting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will investigate some 561,000 Toyota Prius models for potentially defective steering shafts. The affected hybrid models are from the 2004-2009 model years. The story indicates that NHTSA is weighing whether or not to grant a defect petition, which claims that Toyota incorrectly assembled the hatchback's steering linkage.
As of this writing, there is no recall. However, a recall based on the Prius steering shaft would be the third related to steering issues for the model since 2006. Seven years ago, Toyota recalled 170K Prius models for potential cracking of the intermediate shafts, and in November of 2012, the automaker recalled 670K units to replace the steering shaft extension assembly.
We'll be monitoring NHTSA's signals to see if this investigation turns into a full-fledged recall. For now, stay tuned.