1961 Cadillac Deville Convertible Coupe on 2040-cars

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The 2016 Pebble Beach Concept Lawn was nuts as always

The Concept Lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is like the smallest, most expensive car show you can imagine. A bunch of unobtanium concepts and almost-production models line an irregularly shaped putting green for people to stare at while on their way to see other, older insane cars. This year's crop was a particularly good one. We'll walk through the gallery above in order: That's a new Ford GT. Not quite a concept, but it's not in production yet, so we'll let it slide. Then there's the one-of-a-kind Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo that was recently bought by a Saudi Prince along with a matching Chiron. Next up is the Lamborghini Centenario Roadster, which was unveiled last week and is already sold out. This orange automobile is BMW's 2002 Hommage with its latest livery, a Jagermeister-themed affair called Turbomeister. This silver Infiniti, the Q80 Inspiration Concept, is an oldie but a goodie. It first appeared in Paris in 2014. The extremely long automobile after that is the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, which was unveiled in Monterey this year. The 6 in the name is because it's 6 meters, or about 18 feet, long. Most of that's the hood. Next we have the one-of-99 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato coupe, which continues to be beautiful. After that is a Fisker Karma with a V8, the VLF Destino. Thank you, Bob Lutz. The black sedan you see after that is the Cadillac Escala Concept, which also made its debut in Monterey this year. Then we have a Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge. Not a concept, but exclusive enough to join the others. Next is the McLaren 570GT customized by MSO that arrived for Pebble 2016. It has special design touches plus an electrochromic panel to replace the normal glass roof. The light blue car is the Genesis New York concept. The name didn't change even though it was in Monterey. Then we have the large and in charge Lincoln Navigator concept, taking up two regulation concept spots. The red car with suicide doors is Acura's Precision Concept, which we first saw at the Detroit show this year. Another non-concept, the Lexus LC 500h at least looks futuristic enough to be a show-specific car. And here's a 2017 Maserati Quattroporte, which is definitely not a concept. A Bentley Mulsanne EWB, because why not? It's not available in the US, so that almost qualifies for concept status. Then there's a reproduction Lister Knobbly, which we could stare at all day.

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.

GM veteran Bryan Nesbitt tapped to head Buick design

General Motors styling veteran Bryan Nesbitt (pictured above) took over a new role on Monday as executive director of global Buick design and global architectures. Andrew Smith, who previously did that job and also coordinated the look for Cadillac, has remained in charge of the pen at Caddy with this shift. Nesbitt rose to prominence when he designed the Chrysler PT Cruiser, according to Automotive News. He joined GM in 2001 and has been there ever since in multiple high-level roles. In 2007, he was appointed vice president of design for North America and was later briefly general manager of Cadillac in 2009-2010. Nesbitt took over as the vice president of GM's international operations design in China in 2011. This shuffle also moves Ken Parkinson, currently styling boss for Chevrolet trucks, to China as design vice president there. In addition, John Cafaro becomes the person in charge of the look for Chevy globally, rather than previously splitting that role between cars and trucks with Parkinson. GM Global Design Leadership Changes – effective June 1, 2015. Bryan Nesbitt, Design Vice President, GM China will repatriate to North America and assume the position of Executive Director, Global Buick and Global Architectures. He will be located in Warren, MI. Bryan will be the design Champion for Buick in the US and China. Ken Parkinson, Executive Director, Global Chevrolet Trucks and Global Architecture will assume the position of Design Vice President, GM China. He will be based in Shanghai, China. Andrew Smith, Executive Director, Global Cadillac and Buick Design will assume the position of Executive Director, Global Cadillac. He will continue to be the design Champion for the Cadillac brand. In addition, he will continue to lead the Global Color & Trim team. He will be based in Warren, Michigan. John Cafaro, Executive Director, Global Chevrolet Cars will assume the position of Executive Director, Global Chevrolet. He will be the design Champion for Chevrolet. In addition, John will lead the exterior components and accessories team. He will continue to be based in Warren, MI. The roles and responsibilities of Helen Emsley, Mark Adams, Carlos Barba, Clay Dean, Michael Simcoe, and Teckla Rhoades remain the same. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.