2014 Kia Cadenza Premium 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.

Dancer who portrays Kia hamster accused of disability fraud

Tsk, tsk, dancing hamster. Kia's trio of anthropomorphic rodents may be down a member, as the actor that portrays one of the dancing hamsters has been arrested on charges of disability fraud. According to The Huffington Post, 27-year-old LeRoy Barnes accepted over $51,000 in disability payments following a workplace injury in 2010. While accepting the money, he's accused of performing under aliases, in addition to his costumed work for Kia. "Fraudulently collecting disability benefits is not only illegal, it disrespects legitimately injured Californians who are unable to work," Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a release obtained by HuffPo. Barnes was arrested back in March and posted $50,000 in bail the following day.

Is Kia working on a sporty convertible?

It's been a number of years since we last heard rumors about a drop-top Kia, but as the South Korean automaker continues to grow into new segments, why not stir things up again? Fan site Kia-world.net got its hands on what is claimed to be an exclusive drawing (click to enlarge) of the Kia Pro_cee'd GT Cabrio.
This rendering looks exactly like what we'd picture a topless version of the three-door hatchback to look like, but until there's any official information, we'll keep this filed under "we'll believe it when we see it." The idea of a Kia convertible sounds good to us, especially if it looks like this, but we're still waiting for the sporty model that lead designer Peter Schreyer said could happen "sooner or later" back in 2010.