2008 Jaguar Xkr Convertible - Winter Gold With Caramel Leather Interior on 2040-cars

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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.

Jaguar opens new engine plant in the UK

The heads of Jaguar Land Rover are having a busy couple of weeks opening factories. Just days after inaugurating the company's first overseas plant in China, the automaker's new Engine Manufacturing Center in the UK is being inaugurated, as well. The plant near Wolverhampton, England, marks the first time in decades that JLR is building its own powerplants in-house. Further signaling the importance of this launch for the business, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were on hand and even tweeted about it.
The factory's first major project is to build JLR's latest Ingenium four-cylinders, starting with the 2.0-liter diesel version. "Our new Engine Manufacturing Centre is an important step in advancing the competitiveness and capability of the UK automotive sector. The production of in-house engines will support the expansion of the UK supply chain providing critical mass for inward investment," said Trevor Leeks, plant operations director in the automaker's announcement.
Opening the doors to the Engine Manufacturing Center has been years in the making for JLR. The plant was first announced in September 2011 and broke ground in June 2012. Building it cost the company 500 million pounds ($800 million) and created 1,400 new jobs. Of course, being a state-of-the-art factory, considerations were made to make the place as energy efficient as possible. That meant installing the UK's largest solar array with 21,000 panels to produce about 30 percent of the site's electricity needs.

2016 Jaguar XF Review

We last drove the new Jaguar XF in Spain last September, sampling it in 380-horsepower S spec and in 2.0-liter turbodiesel forms. We found both versions to provide a supple ride, despite some body roll, and loved the supercharged model's ample thrust from any engine speed. The ZF-provided eight-speed automatic was also applauded for its competence, making the sport paddles an unnecessary formality. If anything, our last drive only left us pining for a better infotainment system, as Jaguar Land Rover's painfully outdated one has been a target of our ire for a while. A limited amount of time behind the wheel, and a desire to see how much the slightly less powerful 2016 Jaguar XF 35t R-Sport gives away to its S-badged stablemate, leads us to our tester. In British Racing Green, the new XF is both more handsome than the slightly manic-looking old XF, yet also slightly more anonymous. This is a lithe shape, with crisp lines and few gimmicks, save the fender vents, which are about as tasteful as that element comes. The car's charms are especially evident from up front. Despite a distracting cut line, the hood is tastefully built up in two steps: a sharp rise from the headlight/fender area, and in the middle a tasteful power bulge. The overall effect is one of thoughtful, purposeful design – after all, this is Ian Callum's work – rather than taking a corporate-mandated design language and scaling it up or down to suit the hardpoints. Spend some time around FCA's UConnect system and you'll see where Jaguar needs to improve. Inside, this XF is a mixed bag. Let's start with the positives. Despite being shod in a rather boring black hide, the front seats are wonderfully comfortable and supportive without aggressive bolstering. The cabin would really wake up with a more interesting leather, like the brown that Jaguar calls "Brogue," covering the seats and door panels. Whatever you think of the rotary shift selector, the knurling on its diameter and the solidity of its action conveys the sense of craftsmanship you'd expect from a British luxury car. Some other controls, such as the cheap-looking and -feeling control stalks sprouting form the otherwise wonderful steering wheel, do not. And that takes us to the infotainment system. This XF does away with Jaguar's old, much-maligned user interface, which was blocky and balky in equal measures.