2012 Volvo S60 T5 W Premium Package 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.

Verizon buys Telogis in connected vehicle market push

(Note/disclaimer: We are owned by Verizon, by way of AOL. This gives us no inside track whatsoever when it comes to news.) With a lot of tech companies and automakers staking their claims in the connected car space, now there are signs that others are looking to move in, too. Today, telecoms giant Verizon announced that it is acquiring Telogis, a California-based company that develops cloud-based solutions for mobile workforces, and specifically telematics, compliance and navigation software used by Ford, Volvo, GM and other car companies, as well as Apple and AT&T. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, although we'll try to find out. Considering that Verizon in 2015 reported full-year revenues of $131.6 billion, the price would have to be very high to be considered "material" and may not be made public for some time, if ever. Telogis in its time as a startup raised a substantial amount of money, just over $126 million in all, including $93 million in 2013, supposedly ahead of an IPO, all from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Back in 2013 when KPCB made its investment (which was the first from a VC firm in the company), Telogis told TechCrunch it was profitable and forecasting revenues of $100 million annually for the year. It's not clear what size those revenues are now, but if it was on the same growth trajectory as before the funding, sales would be around $150 million annually, with profitability, at the moment. Other investors include some very notable strategics: the investment arm of General Motors, and Fontinalis Partners, which also invests in Lyft and was co-founded by Bill Ford, the executive chairman of the Ford Motor Company. Before the acquisition, Verizon actually had a business in fleet management and telematics; in fact, the two companies competed against each other for business from the trucking and other industries. Verizon Telematics, as the business is called, is active in 40 countries. But in a way, Verizon buying Telogis is a sign that the latter may have proved to be the more superior, and the one with the key customer deals.

Jaguar XF S Sportbrake vs. Volvo V90 R-Design: A sporty wagon comparison

We had both a XF Sportbrake S and a V90 T6 AWD R-Design come through the office recently, and since they're really close competitors – both fairly large wagons, both luxury vehicles, both have sporting pretenses, and both feature all-wheel-drive. And in the case of our test cars, they're equipped very similarly, but at divergent price points. Is the Jaguar worth the premium? Let's take a closer look. The Jaguar is only available in the top-level S trim, which brings many features, as well as all-wheel-drive and a 380-horsepower supercharged 3.0-liter V6. The final price listed for our Jaguar was a heady $84,815, up from a base price of $71,445. That's thanks to a bunch of options: the $360 black trim package, the $565 metallic paint, the $1,020 20-inch wheels, the $3,495 driver assistance package, $3,265 technology package, $1,805 comfort and convenience package, and $2,860 premium interior package. View 22 Photos The Volvo is available in a variety of configurations. In fact, you can have a V90 R-Design for as little as $50,945, but you'll be making do with the front-wheel-drive T5 model that has just a 250-horsepower turbocharged four-cyinder. To match the Jaguar's feature set and to nearly match its performance, you need to go with the T6 with all-wheel-drive. In addition to powering all four wheels, it also adds the 316-horsepower twin-charged four-cylinder. The engine and drivetrain add about $6,000 to the T5's price tag. The rest of our V90's price increase was made up by a lot of options, including a Convenience Package for $1,900 that came with heated washer nozzles, a surround view camera, grocery bag holder, HomeLink, a compass, and automatic parallel parking. Other options included the upholstered instrument panel and sun shade for $1,150, metallic paint for $595, heads-up display for $900, built-in child seat for $500, carbon fiber trim for $800, Bowers and Wilkens sound system for $3,200, heated steering wheel for $300, rear air suspension for $1,200, 20-inch wheels with summer tires for $300, and the destination charge. All told, it cost $68,290, which is close to the base price of the Jaguar, but a whole lot less than the Jag's as-tested price, making the Volvo a great value. Interior and Technology But value isn't the only reason to buy a car, especially a luxury car. You want it to feel luxurious.