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Volvo leads and Mini fails in JD Power's Tech Experience Index

New cars are basically rolling computers. Everything from the engine to the infotainment runs on a series of ones and zeros, and a lot of that technology requires input from the driver. So it's no surprise that JD Power has a study designed specifically to discern which bits of tech drivers love and which bits they loathe. "New technology continues to be a primary factor in the vehicle purchase decision," says JD Power's Kristin Kolodge, executive director of driver interaction & human machine interface research. "However, it’s critical for automakers to offer features that owners find intuitive and reliable. The user experience plays a major role in whether an owner will use the technology on a regular basis or abandon it and feel like they wasted their money." The J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study found that Volvo owners are happiest with the technology packed inside their vehicles, followed by BMW and Cadillac, all brands that JD Power classifies as premium. The highest-rated mainstream brand is Hyundai, followed by Subaru and Kia. As was the case with the organization's Initial Quality and APEAL studies, Tesla's numbers aren't officially included because they are the only automaker that has not granted JD Power approval to contact its owners in states that require it. Tesla's projected score of 593 would have put it in second place, right behind Volvo's score of 617. The lowest-ranked brand in the TXI Study is Mini, with Porsche right behind. Diving a little bit deeper, JD Power's findings suggest that the technologies new car buyers care most about are related to helping them see their surroundings better. Camera systems, including rear-view mirror cameras and ground-view cameras, scored highest in five of the six satisfaction attributes measured in the study. The technology that owners could really do without? Gesture controls. Owners who answered JD Power's survey say they don't use gesture controls much at all after initially trying them, and they don't really care if their next vehicle has them. We have to wonder if those responses might be what kept BMW out of the top spot. The TXI Study also found that owners are split on automated driving helpers, like lane-keeping assist and automatic emergency braking. JD Power suggests that owners may need more training on those systems before they learn to trust them. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences.

The UK votes for Brexit and it will impact automakers

It's the first morning after the United Kingdom voted for what's become known as Brexit – that is, to leave the European Union and its tariff-free internal market. Now begins a two-year process in which the UK will have to negotiate with the rest of the EU trading bloc, which is its largest export market, about many things. One of them may be tariffs, and that could severely impact any automaker that builds cars in the UK. This doesn't just mean companies that you think of as British, like Mini and Jaguar. Both of those automakers are owned by foreign companies, incidentally. Mini and Rolls-Royce are owned by BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata Motors of India, and Bentley by the VW Group. Many other automakers produce cars in the UK for sale within that country and also export to the EU. Tariffs could damage the profits of each of these companies, and perhaps cause them to shift manufacturing out of the UK, significantly damaging the country's resurgent manufacturing industry. Autonews Europe dug up some interesting numbers on that last point. Nissan, the country's second-largest auto producer, builds 475k or so cars in the UK but the vast majority are sent abroad. Toyota built 190k cars last year in Britain, of which 75 percent went to the EU and just 10 percent were sold in the country. Investors are skittish at the news. The value of the pound sterling has plummeted by 8 percent as of this writing, at one point yesterday reaching levels not seen since 1985. Shares at Tata Motors, which counts Jaguar and Land Rover as bright jewels in its portfolio, were off by nearly 12 percent according to Autonews Europe. So what happens next? No one's terribly sure, although the feeling seems to be that the jilted EU will impost tariffs of up to 10 percent on UK exports. It's likely that the UK will reciprocate, and thus it'll be more expensive to buy a European-made car in the UK. Both situations will likely negatively affect the country, as both production of new cars and sales to UK consumers will both fall. Evercore Automotive Research figures the combined damage will be roughly $9b in lost profits to automakers, and an as-of-yet unquantified impact on auto production jobs. Perhaps the EU's leaders in Brussels will be in a better mood in two years, and the process won't devolve into a trade war. In the immediate wake of the Brexit vote, though, the mood is grim, the EU leadership is angry, and investors are spooked.

2016 Mini Clubman opens its many doors to the world

We've seen the spy shots. We've seen the teasers. We've seen the concepts and the video-game racers. And now the wait is finally over for Anglophile motorists as Mini has officially taken the wraps off the all-new Clubman. Larger than the model it replaces and with more useful apertures, the new 2016 Mini Clubman slots into the marque's new lineup above the four/five-door version of the core Hardtop hatchback. It measures a useful 10.9 inches longer than the Hardtop, 2.9 inches wider, and rides on a wheelbase that's four inches longer. It's also a big larger than the outgoing Clubman, which had been on the market since 2007. In fact, though it sits a few inches lower than the Countryman crossover, the new Clubman is touted as the longest and widest Mini yet. Size isn't the only element that sets the new Clubman apart from its predecessor, though. It's also got a more conventional door arrangement, with four proper, forward-hinged doors instead of the unusual suicide door on the outgoing model that opened onto the curb in countries where they know on which side of the street to drive, but into traffic in its own home market. The split tailgate doors carry over, however, and can be optionally operated hands-free to give access to 17.5 cubic feet of cargo space, or as much as 47.9 cubic feet with the split rear seats folded flat. The new Clubman, however, isn't just positioned as a more utile version of the smaller hatch, but as Mini's flagship model. There are even new interior trim choices available to that effect, including a diamond-quilted blue leather patterned after a classic English Chesterfield sofa. Naturally, it also packs all the technological advancements you'd expect of the latest product from the BMW Group. Though diesel options will be offered overseas, American buyers will be able to choose between Cooper and Cooper S specifications. The former comes with a 1.5-liter turbocharged inline-three with 134 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque, good for an 8.9-second 0-60 time and a 127-mile-per-hour top speed with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. The Cooper S upgrades with a 2.0-liter turbo four good for 189 hp and 207 lb-ft, to reach 60 in 7.0 seconds flat with the six-speed manual or 6.9 with a new eight-speed automatic, topping out at 142. Despite the added size, Mini promises the new Clubman will offer the same go-kart handling for which the brand has become known.