2006 Lincoln Town Car on 2040-cars

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BMW, Hyundai score big in JD Power's first Tech Experience Index

While automakers are quick to brag about winning a JD Power Initial Quality Study award, the reality, as we've pointed out before, is that these ratings are somewhat misleading, since IQS doesn't necessarily distinguish genuine quality issues. JD Power's new Tech Experience Index aims to solve that problem. The new metric takes the same 90-day approach as IQS but focuses exclusively on technology – collision protection, comfort and convenience, driving assistance, entertainment and connectivity, navigation, and smartphone mirroring. It splits the industry up into just seven segments, based loosely on size, which is why the Chevrolet Camaro is in the same division (mid-size) as Kia Sorento and the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class is in the same segment as the Hyundai Genesis (mid-size premium). It makes for some screwy bedfellows, to be sure. Still, splitting tech experience away from initial quality should allow customers to make more informed and intelligent decisions when buying new vehicles. In the inaugural study, respondents listed BMW and Hyundai as the big winners, with two segment awards – the 2 Series for small premium and the 4 Series for compact premium, and the Genesis for mid-size premium and Tucson for small segment. The Chevrolet Camaro (midsize), Kia Forte (compact), and Nissan Maxima (large) scored individual wins. Ford also had a surprising hit with the Lincoln MKC, which ranked third in the compact premium segment behind the 4 Series and Lexus IS. This is a coup for the Blue Oval, whose woeful MyFord Touch systems made the brand a victim of the IQS' flaws in the early 2010s. But Ford and other automakers might not want to celebrate just yet. According to JD Power, there's still a lot of room for improvement – navigation systems were the lowest-rated piece of tech in the study. Instead, customers repeatedly saluted collision-avoidance and safety systems, giving the category the best marks of the study and listing blind-spot monitoring and backup cameras as two must-have features – 96 percent of respondents said they wanted those two systems in their next vehicle. But this isn't really a surprise. Implementation of safety systems from brand to brand is similar, and they don't require any input from users, unlike navigation and infotainment systems which are frustratingly deep.

Dan Neil pokes fun at the celeb cars of 2014

Look, we try really hard not to pay any attention to the Kardashians and their vapid reality TV empire. But, as troubling as that brood may be, occasionally we're impressed and/or horrified by their four-wheeled conveyances. In fact, that curiosity extends beyond talentless reality stars with rotund glutes to celebs in general. That's why we're enjoying Dan Neil's sometimes biting take on the celebrity cars of 2014. Besides paying tribute to Kim K, husband Kanye West and the adorable Lamborghini that their spawn rides about in, Neil also takes a look at LeBron James' turn as a Kia spokesman and boxer Floyd Mayweather's trio of Bugatti Veyrons. Matthew McConaughey is a focus of Neil's as well, thanks to his oft-panned advertisements for Lincoln (and the raucous parodies they inspired), before finishing on the high, with Jerry Seinfeld and his new Porsche 918 Spyder. Take a look at Neil's recap of the celebrity cars of 2014. News Source: The Wall Street Journal Celebrities Humor Bugatti Kia Lamborghini Lincoln Porsche Videos porsche 918 spyder celebrity dan neil

World's dumbest carjackers livestream themselves committing crime

Warrants were issued Monday for a trio of Cleveland carjackers who, after beating up a limo driver and stealing his car, livestreamed themselves joyriding around the city in the stolen limo. According to Cleveland.com, Brandon Lynch, a limo driver and National Guardsman, drove a couple in a hired limo from New Philadelphia, Ohio to Cleveland for game one of the Indians/Red Sox AL Divisional Series last Thursday. After dropping off his passengers at Progressive Field, he drove the stretched 2001 Lincoln to a McDonalds at Carnegie Avenue and East 30th to grab a bite and wait for the game to end. After finishing his dinner in the car, Lynch stepped out for a breath of fresh air in the parking lot when he was approached by three young men on bicycles. One of them asked Lynch if he could take them through the drive-through in the limo. "I laughed at first because I thought they were kidding," Lynch told the website. "I can't just drive someone in the limo." Lynch said no, and that's when the trio jumped him. During the scuffle the three youths choked Lynch out, punched and kicked him in the head. They then rifled through his pockets and made off in the limo. The next day, a young Cleveland resident named Jessee Varner fired up Facebook live and filmed himself and his two accomplices–Ty'Juan Philpot and Norman Henry–reenacting every 90's hip-hop video ever made from inside the stolen Lincoln. During the video they drove around town, smoke some weed, drank some 40 ounce beers, stuck their heads out of the sunroof, and generally made a nuisance of themselves while posting the evidence online. Eventually they crashed the car and fled the scene. Using evidence from the video and from DNA samples collected from a bicycle at the scene of the crime, Cleveland Police issued warrants for their arrest. The three criminal masterminds, who are well known to Cleveland's law enforcement community, remain at large. Despite a bad concussion and the loss of his car, Lynch is looking on the bright side of things. "The Indians won, so it wasn't all bad!" he said. Recent Video: News Source: Cleveland.com Auto News Humor Weird Car News Lincoln Commercial Vehicles limo carjacking cleveland