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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

Hyundai Motor heir Euisun Chung takes over from father after 20 years in waiting

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group appointed Euisun Chung as group chairman on Wednesday, cementing his succession from his octogenarian father in a move likely to give impetus to the world's fifth-largest automaker's push into electric vehicles and flying cars. In the first generational handover at the South Korean automobile giant in 20 years, Chung, 49, said he hoped to lead change at South Korea's second-biggest conglomerate as it battles to stay ahead of the pack in a time of rapid technological innovation in the global auto industry. "Carrying on their bold and innovative legacies, I feel privileged, yet also a sense of great responsibility for opening a new chapter of Hyundai Motor Group," Chung said in his inauguration speech to employees. Chung identified autonomous driving, electrification, hydrogen fuel cell, robotics and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) — industry jargon for flying cars — as his initiatives for the future. Hyundai Motor shares were trading up 0.3% after rising as much as 2.5% after the appointment, while the wider market was down 0.6%. Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis fell 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively.   Legacies Hyundai Motor Group earlier on Wednesday said Chung had been promoted to chairman from executive vice chairman, replacing his father, Mong-Koo Chung, who was made honorary chairman. Key affiliates of Hyundai Motor Group, including Hyundai Motor, endorsed his inauguration unanimously. The appointment makes Chung the latest third-generation leader to take over one of South Korea's family-led conglomerates, which have been credited with lifting the war-stricken country out of poverty since the 1950s. His father took the wheel of the group in 2000 and transformed the company, once mocked for poor vehicle quality, into the world's No.5 automaker. The 82-year-old has been stepping back from frontline operations in recent years, and gave up his board seat in Hyundai Motor earlier this year. Euisun Chung has played an increasingly visible leadership role since September 2018 when he was promoted to executive vice chairman. Hyundai Motor Group invested $1.6 billion in a self-driving technology joint venture with U.S. Aptiv, forged a partnership with Uber on electric air taxis and invested in ride-hailing firm Grab. In July, Chung set a goal to win more than 10% of the global market for battery EVs by 2025.

Google's new Android Autos OS unveiled, will be in cars this year [w/video]

Connected cars are coming en-masse. We know this much. How, though, remains something of an open question, especially as two of the world's largest tech companies are preparing to battle for control of your car's dashboard. On the one hand, we have Apple and its CarPlay system. And now, we know what Google has been working on with Auto Link.
Its new name is Android Auto, and yes, it's based off the Android architecture that is the primary challenger to Apple's iOS mobile operating system. Announced at Google's I/O conference today, Android Auto functions similarly to CarPlay - owners will need to plug their smartphones into their cars to access the full breadth of capability.
In Android Auto's case, that means a wealth of voice controls to limit distracted driving. Google's marquee apps will be available when the interface arrives in production models later this year, including Google Play Music, Google Maps and voice-activated texting and text playback. Meanwhile, developers will be able to begin designing custom apps for the new system via an upcoming software development kit.