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Consumer Reports says Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chevy are big winners in brand perception survey

According to Consumer Reports, the automotive brands that stand out in the minds of car buyers are, in order: Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chevrolet. This news comes after the magazine polled its readers, asking them to take into account vehicle quality, safety, performance, value, fuel economy, design/style, and technology/innovation - which are the factors that car shoppers are most influenced by.
It's important to note that this award is only about perception. In other words, it's perceived quality, not actual quality. "Often, perception can be a trailing indicator, reflecting years of good or bad performance in a category, and it can also be influenced by headlines in the media," said Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports deputy automotive editor.
The brand that made the biggest jump in perception amongst Consumer Reports readers is Tesla, which posted an impressive 47-point gain to finish in fifth place. Subaru is also notable for finishing in the top 10, despite being one of the smaller manufacturers doing business in the US. Scroll down below for all the details from Consumer Reports, if you're so inclined.

Automotive April Fools' joke roundup [w/videos]

Happy April, everyone. And we all know what this first day of the month means: April Fools' Day. Today is a national holiday for pranksters with the Internet acting as a serious enabler, and it's always fun to see what kind of vivid imaginations exist out there in the automotive world. The abundance of fake news gets a little old as the day rolls on, but we did manage to get in a few chuckles thanks to a handful of major automakers and automotive news outlets that got into the pranking spirit this year
Some of our favorites this year includes Subaru showing what happens when you combine a bunch of rumors, a Corvette some may have already thought was a joke or Honda providing some in-car innovation circa the late 1980s. Honestly, we're still waiting for official confirmation from Mitsubishi that the recently introduced 2014 Mirage is an elaborate April Fools' joke using a failed design intended for the 1995 Geo Metro. We dug up as much "official" OEM foolishness we could find, as well as some of our other favorites, and posted them all below.

Honda unveils new 3.5-liter racing engine

Honda is following Ford's lead and debuting the second twin-turbocharged V6 to be used by Daytona Prototypes in the United Sports Car Championship. The wait won't be long to see it on track because the new engine will debut with the Starworks Motorsport team in a Riley Gen3 prototype chassis at the 12 Hours of Sebring from March 12-15.
The new HR35TT engine is based on Honda's J35 production V6 found in a variety of its models, including the current Accord. The racing version benefits from dry sump lubrication, but is still similar to the production version with an aluminum block, direct injection and single overhead camshafts. It is fueled by 100-octane E10 fuel, but like many racing engines, exact power figures have not been released.
Starworks has had a close relationship with Honda since it won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012 with a Honda Performance Development ARX-03b chassis and Honda engine. We can't wait to see this new mill hit the track, and see how it fairs against Chip Ganassi Racing's EcoBoost-powered Riley. Scroll down to read the press release for the full details.