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BMW tops Consumer Reports 2023 Brand Report Card

Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to "Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys." Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CRÂ’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." Last year's top 10 had six automakers from Japan, three from Germany (giving Mini credit for England), none from the U.S. or South Korea, and five luxury brands. This year's list counts five makes from Japan, two from Germany because Porsche fell out of the top ten, two from South Korea, still none from the U.S., and four luxury brands. Buick again ranked as the best domestic, dropping to 12th after being 11th last year. The big mover was Lincoln, its 10-place jump up to 16th attributed to better reliability from the Corsair and Nautilus. Tesla's improved overall reliability saw it climb six spots to 17th. Dodge climbed one spot to 15th. Jeep got out of the penalty box in last to come second-to-last. Land Rover fell three places into the penalty spot.  CR's top 10 vehicle models The 10 Top Picks list is practically a new list. Only two holdovers made it to 2023, those being the Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride.

NHTSA still mulling crash tests for recalled Jeeps

Well, no one should ever accuse the government of not giving things plenty of thought. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is still debating whether it will retest any of the 1.56 million 1992 to 1998 Grand Cherokees and 2002 to 2007 Libertys that were part of a recall regarding fires after rear-end collisions. And yes, this debate has been going on for over a month. In other news...
The recall dustup started in early June, when Chrysler took the unusual position of refusing a recall request from NHTSA regarding placement of the fuel tank on the effected vehicles. NHTSA said a collision could cause a fire, a position Chrysler took issue with. Extensive negotiations ensued, with Chrysler agreeing to fit certain Jeeps with trailer hitches, which it said would provide some protection to fuel tanks mounted behind the rear axle in the event of a collision.
Part of the issue rests with the amount of data that needs to be processed, according to The Detroit News. NHTSA administrator David Strickland said during a Washington Auto Press Association meeting, "There's a lot of data and Chrysler is being very cooperative in giving us more data." Until that information has been sorted, it looks like re-testing will still be up for debate.

Canadians build Jeep Wrangler out of cans for charity

The Jeep Wrangler can do a lot of things. It can traverse most any terrain, take you to work, the kids to school, get you and your friends to the surf on time, and so on. Turns out it can also feed the hungry – or at least this one can. And by can, we mean actual cans of food. To celebrate Canada Day (which was Wednesday), Jeep recreated a Wrangler out of more than 4,500 cans of food. The project was undertaken together with Canstruction Inc, a charity that works to fight hunger and poverty, serve the community, and promote science, technology, engineering, and math. The full-scale replica took a team of teenagers a good 12 hours to build. It's being displayed at Vancouver's waterfront Canada Place during the festivities, after which it will be dismantled to provide 3,120 meals for the hungry through the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. This is the second such project we've seen FCA Canada undertake together with Canstruction. Last time it was a Dodge Grand Caravan created to celebrate the minivan's 30th anniversary. It was built out of 30,000 cans and displayed in downtown Toronto before being distributed as 2,000 food baskets through the Daily Bread Food Bank. Next time maybe we'll see a Viper or Challenger made out of cans on display in Montreal during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend and donated to the Old Brewery Mission, which this writer knows first-hand does good work to feed Montrealers in need. Related Video: JEEP® AND THE FCA FOUNDATION CELEBRATE CANADA DAY WITH LIFE-SIZE 'CANSTRUCTION®' OF JEEP® WRANGLER FOR CHARITY - Full-scale Jeep® Wrangler built from over 4,500 cans of food will provide more than 3,120 meals to Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society - Vehicle built by local students 12-18 years of age - Jeep and the FCA Foundation again partnered with Canstruction® Inc. for the build, an international non-profit organization that aims to raise awareness for hunger and poverty, along with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) principals, plus community service - Public can stop by Canada Place on Canada Day to take a #JeepCANselfie in the vehicle - In 2014, FCA Canada was the top-selling automaker in B.C., a title it's retained thus far in 2015 - Jeep Wrangler is B.C.'s best-selling small SUV by more than double its closest competitor July 1, 2015 , Vancouver, B.C.