1995 Nissan Pickup Xe Extended Cab Pickup 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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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.

Nissan, Infiniti recall more than 130,000 vehicles for potential fuel leak

Nissan and its luxury brand, Infiniti, are set to recall 133,592 vehicles after discovering that fuel could leak out around the pressure sensor, potentially increasing the chances of a fire. While Nissan lists five nameplates in its recall, there are actually only three models affected by the improperly tightened fuel pressure sensor. They include the 2012 to 2014 Nissan Juke, as well as 2012 to 2015 Infiniti M56/Q70 sedans and QX56/QX80 SUVs. Nissan will begin notifying owners of affected vehicles soon, with the recall expected to officially kick off no later than January 26, 2015. Naturally, repairs will be conducted free of charge. Scroll down for the official bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And stay tuned for more news coming out of the NHTSA offices today. In addition to Honda's expansion of its recall for vehicles with Takata-built airbag inflators, the regulatory body published a huge number of unrelated recalls this morning, helping to stack the total number of called-back vehicles even higher in these last weeks of 2014. Report Receipt Date: NOV 28, 2014 NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V683000 Component(s): FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Potential Number of Units Affected: 133,592 Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc. SUMMARY: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 Nissan Juke, 2012-2013 Infiniti M56, QX56, and 2014-2015 Infiniti Q70, and QX80 vehicles. The fuel pressure sensors may not have been sufficiently tightened during production. As a result, the fuel pressure sensor may loosen with vehicle usage and cause a fuel leak. CONSEQUENCE: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source could cause a vehicle fire. REMEDY: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pressure sensors, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or before January 26, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. NOTES: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov. This is an expansion of recall 12V-069 Featured Gallery 2015 Infiniti QX80 View 26 Photos Related Gallery 2013 Nissan Juke Nismo News Source: National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationImage Credit: Infiniti, Nissan Recalls Infiniti Nissan Safety Crossover SUV Luxury Sedan infiniti qx80 infiniti m56 infiniti q70

Why it's difficult to accurately test the efficiency of a plug-in car

When it comes to electric vehicles and plug-ins in general, the Environmental Protection Agency-certified range is a hugely important number. While actual range anxiety is largely psychological, the magic number does provide a point of comparison of buyers considering one EV over another. The driving distance is also often touted by automakers when marketing their models. Unfortunately, as Green Car Reports finds in a recent deep dive, the way the EPA calculates the figure is a convoluted mess, and discovering the reasons why is definitely worth the read. The issue isn't about bad science but instead comes down to vague wording. The EPA's accepted range test is sourced from an evaluation called J-1634 from the Society of Automotive Engineers, and it seems to provide balanced results for vehicles that automatically reach a single state of charge when plugged in. However for models with multiple charge settings, the situation gets complicated very quickly. Of course, these modes are often created in the software, meaning that a car's certified driving distance can change with just a few taps of the keyboard without the real world results owners might experience actually changing. By showing the test's effects on the certified range for the Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf and Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive over the last few years, Green Car Reports makes a compelling argument that it's the evaluation that needs to change. Thankfully, it appears that the solution is a very simple one. Get the details here.