1975 Volkswagen Rabbit - Swallowtail on 2040-cars

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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.

Taxpayers wasted $51 million on VW diesel credits

The scope of Volkswagen's diesel emission rules evasion continues to widen with 11 million vehicles now potentially affected around the world, and the company is setting aside over $7 billion to start paying for it all. However, the costs could go even deeper. In a piece that's well worth a read, an analysis by The LA Times finds that the government distributed as much as $51 million in green car subsidies to buyers of these models in 2009 – the first year of the dishonest engine management software. The short-term effects of this scandal on VW are already quite dire. On September 21, the company's stock fell over 20 percent at one point on the German exchange, ended down 17.8 percent that day, and have continued to tank. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency has forced a stop-sale on 2015 and 2016 diesel models with the 2.0 TDI, and the agency has begun analyzing the 3.0-liter V6 TDI in the Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5, Q7, and Porsche Cayenne to look for similar issues. The Justice Department has also started a criminal investigation, and the automaker has instituted its own external probe, as well. The emissions irregularities were first discovered by researchers at West Virginia University and the International Council on Clean Transportation. The EPA and California Air Resources Board were eventually made aware and launched their own investigations.

Volkswagen Group launches Truck and Bus GmbH

Volkswagen is not only one of the largest automakers in the world – it's also one of the biggest producers of commercial vehicles. Not just vans like the Caddy and Crafter, but proper trucks and buses. And now it's reorganizing them all under the newly incorporated Truck & Bus GmbH. The new division brings VW's two truck manufacturers MAN and Scania under one roof. MAN is, after all, wholly owned by Volkswagen, and in turn holds over 75 percent of the shares in Scania (as well as MAN Latin America). Along with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, they make the Volkswagen Group one of the largest truck manufacturers in the world, behind Daimler and Volvo (the truck manufacturer is separate from the automaker). Although VW Commercial Vehicles will apparently not form part of Truck & Bus GmbH (since it makes smaller vans more than trucks and buses), it will also report to Andreas Renschler, the Volkswagen board member in charge of the company's work vehicle operations. Renschler previously served in a similar role at Daimler. In a bit of a reversal – or a sign of things to come – Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn (who just survived a failed overthrow attempt by ousted chairman Ferdinand Piech) will sit as chair of the supervisory board of Truck & Bus GmbH. Wolfsburg, 05 May 2015 Volkswagen creates integrated commercial vehicles group • Truck & Bus GmbH to become holding for commercial vehicle brands • Prof. Martin Winterkorn: "MAN and Scania will together become global champion" • Board Member for Commercial Vehicles Andreas Renschler: "MAN and Scania brands retain their independence" • Works Council Chairman Bernd Osterloh: "The holding strengthens employees' participation rights" Volkswagen is creating the integrated commercial vehicles group and thus putting in place a structured framework for business with mid-sized and heavy trucks and buses. Truck & Bus GmbH is to become the new Volkswagen Group holding for the MAN und Scania commercial vehicle brands. This was decided yesterday (Monday) by the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG. To this end, the shares in Scania AB held by Volkswagen AG will be transferred to Truck & Bus GmbH. The wholly-owned Volkswagen subsidiary already holds 75.28 percent of the voting rights in MAN SE. Truck & Bus GmbH will establish processes specific to the commercial vehicles business, thus leveraging the full synergy potential between the brands.