1991 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa on 2040-cars

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Tesla, Porsche and Genesis top Consumer Reports owner satisfaction survey

Tesla swept Consumer Reports' latest Ownership Satisfaction Survey results, notching the top spot among brands evaluated. Its Model S also netted the No. 1 spot among the top 10 most-satisfying cars. Porsche and Genesis, Hyundai's new luxury spinoff, rounded out the top three brands. The bottom of the rankings was anchored by Acura, while Mercedes-Benz notched the least-satisfying car in the survey with the GLA, proving that the results weren't equally kind to all luxury brands. Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports, told USA Today those brands suffered by introducing cheaper vehicles. The scores, on a 100-point scale, reflect whether owners say the vehicles from model years 2015 through 2018 met their expectations and whether they would buy the same car again. They measure ratings in six categories: driving experience, comfort, value, styling, audio and climate systems (what, no cupholders?). Effectively, it gauges how much people liked the car they bought. Reliability is not considered. The Honda Ridgeline outscored competitors in the compact pickup segment by a wide margin, while the Ford F-350 was among the top 10-ranked vehicles in the survey, the first time in at least five years that a pickup made it into the top 10, Consumer Reports said. In the brand survey, Chrysler rose four places to No. 4 on strong customer satisfaction with the Pacifica minivan, while Hyundai tumbled 11 spots to No. 24 and Lexus fell eight places to 18th. Rounding out the top 10 most satisfying cars were the Porsche 911, Chevrolet Corvette, Lincoln Continental, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Toyota Prius, Tesla Model X SUV, Honda Odyssey minivan and Dodge Challenger. Not surprisingly, most of those cars, and indeed most of the high-ranking brands, are those with strong brand loyalty, fan-like followings and/or those that strike a strong emotional chord with buyers. The full brand rankings are below. Tesla (90) Porsche (85) Genesis (81) Chrysler (78) Audi (76) Mazda (76) Subaru (76) Toyota (76) Honda (75) Lincoln (75) Mini (73) Ram (73) Kia (72) Chevrolet (72) BMW (72) GMC (72) Ford (70) Lexus (70) Volvo (69) Dodge (68) Jeep (68) Mercedes-Benz (67) Volkswagen (67) Hyundai (67) Buick (66) Cadillac (64) Infiniti (60) Mitsubishi (58) Nissan (58) Acura (58) Related Video: Green Genesis Porsche Tesla Ownership satisfaction

Porsche Boxster/Cayman GTS, Macan, 911 Targa details leaked

The folks over at Jalopnik have published some rather interesting images from what looks to be a presentation held inside Porsche's North American headquarters in Atlanta, GA. What these leaked photos reveal is pretty significant - details about several of the brand's upcoming launches, including GTS versions of the Boxster and Cayman, a new 911 Targa, and information about the Macan crossover that will debut at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show. Of course, none of this information has been officially verified, but it all looks and sounds pretty believable to us. So, let's dig in.
First up, Porsche will launch the Boxster and Cayman GTS models at next year's Beijing Motor Show in April. Upgrades for the GTS models will include a 15-horsepower bump, standard manual transmission (with optional dual-clutch PDK), standard Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and a slightly quicker 0-60 time. Jalopnik reports that these models will cost around $75,000.
We've spied the soon-to-be-revealed Porsche Macan (pictured right) on several occasions, and these slides suggest that the small crossover will have two different types of turbo power under its hood. The Macan S will use a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6, while the Macan Turbo will use a 3.6-liter unit. Seven-speed PDK transmissions are expected to be fitted to both, and this leaked information states that the new, small Porsche will cost $52,000 and $75,000 for the S and Turbo versions, respectively.

Porsche testing four-cylinder Boxster at the N?rburgring

Porsche recently introduced a four-cylinder version of the new Macan for markets outside of North America, carrying Zuffenhausen's first four-pot since the 968 ended its production run the better part of two decades ago. But you can bet the compact crossover won't be the only Porsche to get the four banger before all's said and done. These spy shots, we're told, are evidence of just that.
Spotted undergoing testing at the Nürburgring (where else), this modified Boxster, our spy photographers tell us, sounds more like a four-cylinder engine than the flat six that's powered (in displacements ranging from 2.5 liters to 3.4) every version of the little roadster since its introduction in 1996, the year after the last four-cylinder Porsche ended production.
The test mule is also wearing modified wheel arches and aerodynamic aids under the bumpers, front and rear. Just what they're doing there we're not sure, but we'll probably find out sooner or later.