2019 Buick Encore on 2040-cars

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Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

March Madness upsets good for auto advertisers

There are no Cinderella teams left in the NCAA men's basketball tournament - the fairytales ended with Georgia State's loss to Xavier over the weekend. And even though the Sweet 16 is composed of elite teams - at the time of writing the lowest-ranked squad is 11th-seeded UCLA, which has most championships of any school in the country - there are still underdogs and surprises, and they are good for NCAA business and advertisers. Last year the March Madness Live app, which allows users to watch games on the go, was downloaded 4.5 million times, a jump of more than 40 percent over 2013. Buick sponsors the iOS version of the app, but more than a million of those downloads were for the Android version, sponsored by Infiniti since 2011. Part of Buick's engagement is a "Boss Button" on the livestream sites that can quickly mask the page with something your boss won't question you over. It also sponsors a trick-shot competition for fans, has a display in Bracket Town during the Final Four, and its cars lead the team buses through the city. Infiniti said last year's tourney increased online searches for the brand by 25 percent in March, and things are going even better this year: it's round-by-round bracket game drew 477,859 total entries in 2014, this year's game has signed up 534,350 already and the tournament has another two weeks to go. The luxury brand is all over the event, promoting the QX60 through to the Final Four, then moving its efforts to the Q50. It sponsors the Coaches vs. Cancer charity and will have an Infiniti Lounge near the Final Four venue in downtown Indianapolis. So for the two automakers keeping their own scores... come on, Wichita State! Six brackets, six chances to win a trip to #FinalFour 2016. Official rules at http://t.co/4b9GyGJ4wP. #RoundByRound https://t.co/ZCsFatVlja - Infiniti USA (@InfinitiUSA) March 19, 2015 News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Marketing/Advertising Buick Infiniti app sports ncaa march madness

2019 Volvo V60 vs. wagon competitors: How they compare on paper

The next-gen Volvo V60 was finally revealed this week. The outgoing model has been on sale since 2011, getting a few minor updates along the way. The new model is based off Volvo's Scalable Platform Architecture that underpins other models like the XC90 and XC60 crossovers and V90 wagon. The V60 will launch with two engines, with a powerful hybrid coming sometime down the line. Since the last V60 hit the market, Audi, Buick and BMW have all released their own flavor of wagon. Like Volvo, BMW sells a traditional sedan-based model. Audi and Buick's wagons are both high-riding models with some very slight off-road pretense, much like Volvo's Cross Country models. We don't have details on the upcoming V60 Cross Country, but, even when accounting for ground clearance, the V60, BMW 3 Series Sport Wagon, A4 Allroad and Buick Regal TourX have a lot of overlap. Check out the specs breakdown below. Discover and compare other wagons and crossovers with our Car Finder and Compare tools. Engines, transmissions and drivetrains Out of the four wagons, the new V60 is the only one that offers two-wheel drive and a hybrid variant. The base V60 T5 uses a 250-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four and sends power to the front wheels. Stepping up to the V60 T6 nets buyers an additional 66 horsepower thanks to a twincharged — supercharged and turbocharged — 2.0-liter and all-wheel drive. A T8 model that uses a 390-horsepower plug-in hybrid powertrain will be available soon. All V60s use an eight-speed automatic. The Audi, BMW and Buick are all powered by 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-fours. Additionally, the 3 Series has a 2.0-liter turbo diesel. All three wagons have standard all-wheel drive. The BMW and Buick use an eight-speed automatic, while the Audi sends power through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. As base engines go, there's a four-horsepower difference between the most and least powerful models, though the Buick wins out on torque. The V60 T6 matches the Regal TourX's torque figure and trounces every competitor's horsepower rating. The V60 T8 packs more power and torque than any of the competition. Cargo and interior space The outgoing V60 was on the small side for a wagon. This new model rectifies that a bit, though its 48.2 cubic-feet of cargo space with the second-row folded is still substantially smaller than the competition.