1997 Ford Club Wagon 8 Passenger Van on 2040-cars

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Lexus gets top brand marks from Consumer Reports; Ford, Jeep hit hard

Consumer Reports has released its 2014 Car Brand Report Cards, with Lexus again reigning at the top and doing so with the same industry-topping score of 79 that it registered in last year's Report Cards. This year, the institute credited its lineup for being "usually quiet, comfortable, and fuel-efficient," noting it's the only brand on the list "to achieve an excellent average overall reliability score." The Car Brand Report Cars list is meant to rank the best all-around vehicles based on CR testing and reliability results tallied by subscribers it surveyed. Each brand included must have sufficient test and reliability data for at least three models, a standard which left out 11 marques including Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover and Porsche.
This 2014 Brand Report Cars edition is the first of a new format in which sub-brands have been broken out from their parent brands, with Acura using this year to move up the leaderboard into second place with a score of 75 for its "reliable, well-finished and somewhat sporty models." The top three was rounded out by Audi, climbing from eighth to third by scoring a 74 for "well-crafted interiors, nice handling and good gas mileage." Audi scored highest in the road-test portion, its improved reliability aiding its rise. The top nine was completed by Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz.
Ford and Jeep weighed in at the other end of the rankings, Jeep taking the lowest overall score in the road tests and hampered by "a mix of spotty reliability." Ford was sunk by reliability issues with its MyFord Touch infotainment system which consumers found troublesome enough to negate its cars earning "solid test scores" for being "very nice to drive." Perhaps the rumored switch from Microsoft to Blackberry's QNX for the next generation SYNC will help them out. Cadillac's score also took a hit for infotainment reasons after it was the leading US brand last year, the CUE system in the XTS dragging Cadillac to the bottom of all General Motors brands.

1964 Ford GT40 prototype to be auctioned in April

The Ford GT40 owns a firm spot on the list of the greatest American racecars ever made, being the first car from the United States to take an overall win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And now Mecum will auction what it claims is second-oldest GT40 still in existence at its Houston sale on April 12.
The story of the GT40 is fascinating. Henry Ford II attempted to buy Ferrari in the early '60s, but Enzo refused. Ford decided if he couldn't have them, then he would beat the Prancing Horse on the track. Ford went to Carroll Shelby and asked him to spearhead the program. The early cars combined a steel monocoque chassis with Ford's 4.2-liter V8 engine pumping out around 350 horsepower. The first prototype made its public debuted on April 1, 1964, at the New York Auto Show.
Shelby kept building prototypes, including GT/104, which is for sale here. This version featured a lighter steel chassis and was raced at Le Mans in 1964. However, a fire forced it to retire. It was then repainted and had a 4.7-liter (289-cubic-inch) engine fitted. The chassis had its best finish at the 1965 Daytona Continental 2,000 Kilometers where it finished third with Bob Bondurant and Ritchie Ginther behind the wheel. Later that season, it was shipped back to Ford where it was restored and displayed at auto shows until 1971 when the automaker sold it. Since then, it has had many private owners.

2023 Chicago Auto Show Mega Photo Gallery: See all the new cars from the show

The 2023 Chicago Auto Show played host to a number of reveals this year, and we were there to capture all of them. In traditional auto show fashion, that means you’re getting a mega gallery of galleries to flip through and see all the vehicles on the show floor. Our EditorsÂ’ Picks from the show are already out — spoiler alert, the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander took home the prize. That said, there were other important reveals like the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport and the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. We also learned some interesting tidbits, such as the fact that VW is considering a pickup, and Jeep owners really are plugging in. To see the photos, scroll on down and start flipping through those galleries.   2024 Toyota Grand Highlander 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander View 7 Photos 2024 Volkswagen Atlas 2024 Volkswagen Atlas View 14 Photos 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport View 7 Photos 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with its carbon fiber wheels 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with carbon fiber wheels View 7 Photos 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray View 10 Photos Jeep Wrangler Anniversary Editions Jeep Wrangler Anniversary Editions View 3 Photos 2023 BMW XM 2023 BMW XM View 6 Photos Ram Revolution Concept Ram Revolution Concept View 6 Photos NASCAR Chicago Street Race Pace Car — Toyota Camry NASCAR Chicago Street Race Pace Car ? Toyota Camry View 4 Photos Everything else at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 View 12 Photos Related video: Chicago Auto Show BMW Buick Chevrolet Ford GM GMC Hummer Jeep Lamborghini RAM Toyota Volkswagen Truck Coupe Crossover SUV Concept Cars Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Supercars Sedan