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How Seinfeld hopes he'll help industry make better car commercials [w/video]

Bloomberg has a fascinating look into a web series that continues to be a favorite around the Autoblog offices - Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. The series, which is in its second season, sees the affable comedian picking up fellow comedians in a range of interesting cars, and having conversations with them over the drive and a cup of joe.
The piece by Bloomberg dives into the development of the series, as well as Seinfeld's tie-up with Acura, which saw the Honda-owned brand begin sponsorship this season. That relationship started not with his web series, though, but with a Super Bowl ad, alongside fellow funnyman and car enthusiast Jay Leno, that saw them competing over a new Acura NSX. Have a click over to Bloomberg for an entertaining piece that looks beyond the YouTube series. We've also wrangled Seinfeld's original Super Bowl ad for the Acura NSX, which you can see below.

Jay Leno finally gets his hands on the 2017 Acura NSX

It has been five years since Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld starred in a commercial about which one of them would get the first example of the new Acura NSX. After a long wait, they finally get a chance, but Leno is the first to check out the coupe in the latest video from Jay Leno's Garage. The denim-clad host spends over 30 minutes with lead designer Michelle Christensen and Ted Klaus, global development chief engineer, to get the full scoop on the hybrid supercar. Leno and Christensen get into the nitty-gritty about the design process for the latest NSX, and she points out her favorite parts of the finished product. She had quite a challenge creating the new supercar. Over the model's long gestation, every adjustment to the shape forced changes elsewhere to direct the airflow correctly, and then the decision to switch to a different engine configuration added even more time. Klaus focuses on the engineering side, like using the Ferrari 458 and original NSX as the major benchmarks for the new one. He also takes a ride with Leno, and the comedian even cracks a grin driving it. Leno doesn't usually show much emotion behind the wheel, so the little smirk is high praise from him. Carve out some time for a detailed walk-through about the 2017 NSX in the latest clip from Jay Leno's Garage. Related Video:

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.