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Honda, Hyundai and Kia get best word-of-mouth recommendations in US

Forget advertising, incentives and, yes, even our excellently crafted vehicle reviews, sometimes the best way for automakers to sell cars is still good ol' fashioned word of mouth. In an attempt to measure this "word of mouth" power, The Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting firm, has created a new study called the Brand Advocacy Index (BAI). The index takes a look at how various industries perform from person to person. Those industries include automotive, smartphones, grocery, mobile telecommunications and banking.
The study polled more than 32,000 individuals across Europe and in the US to come up with the top 55 brands in these various industries. On the automotive side of things, the top brands in the US were Honda, Hyundai and Kia, all tied at 63 percent. On a global scale, Volkswagen and Toyota scored the highest with a 65-percent BAI rating (both in France). The average BAI for auto industry players tallied 50 percent.
As for companies in other industries, Apple's iPhone was the index's top-rated smartphone, Trader Joe's was the highest recommended grocery store, Virgin was sat atop the mobile telecom industry and USAA was the top retail bank. Scroll down for the full press release on the new study.

Did Lexus make a BMW? Or did BMW make a Lexus? This and other 2017 surprises

It's that time of year again. The calendar is about to reach its end, Star Trek Cats 2018 is about to take its place, and I'm reflecting about all the cars that graced my driveway this year or summoned me to exotic places. You know, like Stuttgart or Phoenix. In 2017, I drove at least 57, and as I perused the list of them, I started to notice a common refrain: "This car surprised me." Most were pleasant surprises, but there were a few head scratchers and facepalms for good measure. In both cases, it was generally the result of car companies seemingly trying to break out of an existing mold. Nowhere was that more apparent than the pair of Lexuses slathered in Infrared paint: The LS 500 that left me this week and the LC 500 that was my favorite car of 2017. Though Lexus has been trying to shake its crusty, gold-packaged reputation for some time now, its efforts always seemed like an old man choosing Hollister to redo his wardrobe after realizing it hasn't been updated since 1987. I fell in love with the LC, genuinely floored by its near-perfect take on the GT. It's characterful in sound, appearance and tactility. It was at home in the city, in the mountain and on the open road. It was both comfortable and thrilling, and after driving the mechanically related LS 500, I can report that the LC's talents aren't an outlier. The LS 500's turbo V6 may make different noises than the LC's naturally aspirated V8, but it nevertheless invigorates the cabin when the car is placed in Sport+ mode. The steering is truly communicative, body motions are kept in miraculous check, and I absolutely forgot I was in an enormous luxury limo ... and a Lexus one at that. It was everything that the BMW 530e was not. I drove that on the exact same roads and was utterly bored the entire time. Generally doughy, lifeless steering, more distant than Planet 9. And no, the plug-in hybrid powertrain had nothing to do with that. At least it shouldn't. The Porsche Panamera S e-Hybrid I also drove this year proves that, as do the Hyundai Ioniqs, which are surprisingly adept and fun little cars regardless of what powers their wheels (Hyundai + hybrid = fun really blew me away). I would drive that Lexus LS F Sport over the BMW 5 Series any day of the week, which seems like a shocking thing to say in relation to either car. While Lexus is seemingly breaking out of its old crusty mold, BMW seems to be climbing into one.

Next-gen Kia Sportage teased in sketches

Kia is providing an early peek at the fourth-gen Sportage ahead of the crossover's debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show on September 15. The latest design comes from Kia's European design center, which is also located in Frankfurt. While sketches like this can often embellish the details, everything here appears largely in line with previous spy shots. Up front, the latest Sportage wears a low-slung grille with the complicated shape of its brand sibling, but the new swept-back LED headlights along the hood are the major change. At least in these sketches, they give the CUV a very stylish shape. The roof arches back to give a coupe-like silhouette, and glass appears to hide the B-pillar for an airy look. At the rear, LED taillights stretch all the way across the hatch. The automaker promises the "most refined high-quality cabin yet" in the release of these sketches, and it looks like an uncluttered place to be. We look forward to seeing how Kia's designers translate these details from ink to metal in Germany. Related Video: DYNAMIC ENERGY: THE NEXT-GENERATION KIA SPORTAGE Frankfurt unveil of all-new Sportage Dynamic new styling Most refined high-quality cabin yet Kia Motors will reveal its all-new Kia Sportage for the first time globally on 15 September, at the 2015 Frankfurt International Motor Show. Entering its fourth-generation, the all-new Sportage features a bold, progressive design, which exudes power and agility from every angle. The dynamic compact SUV styling creates visual harmony out of the tension between bold, precise feature lines and dramatically-sculptured bodywork. Inside, the all-new Sportage marries simple, modern style with rich material quality for Kia's most refined, highest-quality cabin to date. With the design of the new model led by the brand's European design centre – located in Frankfurt – the all-new Sportage represents the future face of Kia.