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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.

GMC Terrain Nightfall Edition is murdered-out for the masses

We've lost track of how many special edition Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups there have been over the past few years. But while some special editions can be kitschy, there's nothing overtly bad about the GMC's Nightfall line. We've already seen the blacked-out look on Canyon Nightfall and Sierra All Terrain X pickups, and now, it's being applied to the Terrain. As with the trucks, the Terrain Nightfall's changes are simple: the chrome-heavy finish is replaced with gloss-black accents where applicable. That's what you'll find on the grille surround, the front and rear fascia accents, the license-plate surround, mirror caps, and roof rack. Like Jay Z said, all black everything. Except for the wheels, of course – those have machined faces with black spokes. The grille inserts aren't strictly black either (they're charcoal), and as counterintuitive as it may seem, owners can choose from three body paints in addition to Onyx Black (Summit White, Graphite Gray, and Crimson Red). The Terrain Nightfall Edition will be offered on the SLE-2 and SLT trims, with prices to be announced closer to its fall 2016 on-sale date. GMC Introduces 2017 Terrain Nightfall Edition The News Ahead of its debut at the New York International Auto Show, GMC today introduced the 2017 GMC Terrain Nightfall Edition – a stylized special edition combining blacked-out exterior details and wheels, with popular technologies such as IntelliLink with available 4G LTE connectivity and Wi-Fi hotspot. It joins the Canyon Nightfall Edition and the all-new Sierra All Terrain X as the latest GMC vehicle to offer an exclusive, personalized appearance with the Terrain's premium features and refinement. Product Details The Terrain Nightfall offers an edgy appearance with 18-inch machine-faced aluminum wheels and gloss black spokes, a charcoal grill with a gloss black surround and accents, gloss black front and rear fascia accents, gloss black rear license plate surround trim, gloss black outside mirrors and black luggage rails. Terrain Nightfall Edition will be offered on SLE-2 and SLT models with four exterior color options: Summit White, Onyx Black, Graphite Gray Metallic and Crimson Red Metallic. On Sale Fall 2016 Quotable "Building on its best year ever, Terrain continues to attract new and style-conscious customers to GMC," said Duncan Aldred, vice president of GMC Sales and Marketing.

GM announces net 220 job increase as Trump visits Michigan

GM announced today that about 900 jobs would be added (or, importantly, retained) ahead of President Trump's arrival in Michigan, where he is expected to discuss his plan to roll back fuel economy standards. The timing of the announcement is almost certainly not coincidental, as appending it to a Trump visit gives it a higher profile and dovetails with the President's jobs agenda. It's less likely the decision itself was made for those reasons, but the free PR boost is a nice bonus. As for those 900 jobs themselves, they aren't all new jobs. The only net gain is approximately 220 jobs at the Romulus Powertrain Plant, which produces the 10-speed automatic transmission that's proliferating through the company's lineup. The 180 jobs at Flint Assembly and 500 jobs at Lansing Delta Township are retained jobs – that is to say, spots the company found for workers who would otherwise have been laid off. By the way, the Flint jobs will help with production of heavy-duty pickups, and the Lansing jobs are to produce the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Finding jobs for manufacturing workers in the auto sector, whether new or retained, is admirable. No matter how GM couches it, the company has created or retained a total of 7,000 jobs this year, and its total reinvestment in US production is around $1 billion. But these decisions are business ones, not political ones – timing the announcements to make them seem inspired by economic policy, or the political situation, is simply smart PR. Related Video: Image Credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Celebrities Government/Legal Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GMC